A lot more seems to be happening in the cnc world in the US, China and in Germany

I looked hard at what was available in terms of a high end craft cnc machine to see if the skills needed to make things by machine were skills I could master.

I wondered if there were machine manufacturers or distributors in the UK, people I could talk to and perhaps go on training courses to learn the necessary skills.

I struggled - I did find Rory at Stoneycnc in Dublin who has the distribution rights for Stepcraft for the UK and Ireland and I then bought a second hand Stepcraft off Gumtree from someone in Somerset - with hindsight I probably should have bought new for the support - Rory has still been very helpful.

It is a steep learning curve and I stalled to start with before getting help from a friend who is a retired engineer.

The title of this article reflects what I have found - we seem to be quite a way behind in adopting the latest technology in how things are now being made elsewhere.

I am making personalised wooden signs/plaques out of upcycled oak gate leg table tops bought locally off ebay and people are liking and buying them but certainly in South Cheshire there aren't many places I have found to turn to for help/support.

It appears many crafters are upgrading to computer driven tools in the US, China is manufacturing cheaper ranges of machines of both cnc and laser cutters/engravers and they are being imported - Germany makes the Stepcraft machines.

The main software for people making wooden signs and the like is from a Redditch based provider Vectric - it's a good product - there is competition from Fusion 360 which is free at a starter level.

I think we need to get on board with this technology as it is kind of the cusp of a revolutionary change.