Watch This Before Buying your First CNC

Getting started with CNC can feel overwhelming! There are so many options, so many decisions, but what if there was a CNC that made it easy. This is a Shapeoko 5 Pro, and I believe a Shapeoko should be your first and last CNC. In this video I'll break down why, drawing from my seven years of experience helping over 1,100 CNC beginners get started. I'll also share the story of how I decided to buy my first CNC, the lessons I learned, and help you decide which Shapeoko model best fits your goals and budget. Whether you're just getting started or upgrading, this video will save you time, money, and headaches. And in case you're wondering, I'm not being paid to make this video. And yes, Shapeoko did send me this machine. These are my honest opinions! 

Let's start where it all started for me. 7 years ago I had all the typical woodworker power tools. I was building custom projects and selling them, and things were going well! But I had a realization; custom woodworking isn't scalable the time investment versus the return just didn't add up. Enter CNC! Like many of you, I first stumbled upon CNC on YouTube. I thought maybe CNC could help me introduce some replication into my business. After 6 months of research, I finally pulled the trigger and bought my first Shapeoko. Looking back, the first machine wasn't just the start of a CNC hobby, it completely changed my life. I still remember the day I finally decided to buy my first Shapeoko. It was January 2018, I was sitting in a hospital waiting room in Louisville Kentucky while my wife was having a procedure done. With time on my hands, and let's be honest, no one to talk me out of it, I finally placed my order for my Shapeoko 3XXL. 

That one decision turned out to be bigger than I could have ever imagined. From 2018 to 2021 I made over $100,000 in Revenue with that Shapeoko 3 XXL, all while working a full-time job. That success wasn't luck, it happened because I started with the right machine. I avoided decision fatigue by going with an all-in-one solution. I had a CNC that was easy to learn but powerful enough to grow with me. When I got my first Shapeoko I was a complete beginner! I didn't know anything about CNC, but the Shapeoko made getting started very easy. Within weeks I was successfully making projects. That early success gave me confidence and momentum to keep going, it showed me what was possible, and laid the foundation for everything that has come after.

I'm not sharing this to brag! I'm sharing it because this is what's possible when you have the right tools to start strong. Between my personal experience and seeing thousands of people buy a CNC and give up because they're frustrated, I wouldn't recommend any other hobbying CNC to get started. In my experience, most people just want to create cool projects. That means people want to go from idea, to design, to final project as easily and quickly as possible. 

My first CNC - Shapeoko 3 XXL

Most CNC machines make you figure everything out yourself: software accessories, upgrades, etc. With Shapeoko it's all in the Box; no extra research and no second guessing. Carbide 3D, the company that makes the Shapeoko, has thought of everything so you don't have to. Need project files? Cut rocket has ready to run files tailored for your exact machine. Too many decisions? They bundle everything you need for success. Worried about breaking something? Their 60-day mistakes on us policy has you covered. Feeling overwhelmed? You get four one-on-one training sessions with your CNC purchase. Want to master your new CNC? my.carbide3d.com is a full online course for free. Prefer other software? No problem, Shapeoko works with anything. Short on Space? Choose from multiple machine sizes. Need support? Their industry-best customer service connects you with a real person right here in the US. Carbide 3D makes CNC easy so you can focus on the fun part, making cool projects on your CNC.

So for the absolute beginner I recommend a Shapeoko 4 or Pro. This is for someone who is a hobbyist. Where maybe you're retired and you just want to have a hobby, and you want to do some fun sales, small projects, those types of things. Maybe you have limited space. These machines right here have a work area of about 33” x 33”, overall footprint about 3ft by 3 ft. Maybe you have no prior experience. This is where this setup really excels, because everything is streamlined, vertically integrated together, and a great place to start. Budget wise, you're looking at 2-3K depending on which one you go with. The least amount that you can spend to get into this ecosystem,this is machine price and everything else that I've talked about that comes with any of these machines, is $1,800. That will get you into this ecosystem and creating cool projects, but what about intermediate?

The next step is maybe you want a more established side hustle. I know a couple things about side hustle, I created an online course called the CNC side hustle. For a more established small business I recommend a Shapeoko 5 Pro. This machine is going to be higher performance, it can run all day. This machine comes in three different sizes 2x2,  2x4, and 4x4. So depending on the space that you have available, you're going to need roughly a 5x5 square foot area to have a 4x4 machine. The machine that I have in my shop is a 2x2 and that's the cutting area, so 24 inches by 24 inches. So to get into one of the Shapeoko 5 pros you're going to need a budget that is $4,000 to $5,000, based on the size and router spindle. That is going to be all in for everything that you need to get started, you're not going to have to source anything else.

Now if you want something larger with a higher budget to do bigger projects and want a little more professional setup, then I would recommend something like the Avid. Avid CNC is a fantastic company that also puts the success of their customers foremost. So I recommend something like an avid Pro 4x8 or something along those lines. 

Now I know this sounds like an ad for Shapeoko and there are a lot of CNC's on the market, some bigger, some cheaper, some faster, but in my personal experience none of them get you from idea design to final project faster or easier than a Shapeoko.