Maker Feature – Tim Sway
For this next Maker Feature we’re interviewing Tim Sway. If you’re not familiar with Tim, he’s the master of making instruments (guitars mostly) and other fun projects from reclaimed materials. We were SO excited to have him join our community when he purchased his Maslow earlier this year and have loved seeing his projects using his set up.
Q: How did you get into designing and building with CNC?
A: 5 years ago I had no interest in learning CNC but I forced myself to so I could teach my son and keep his learning current. I am now hooked and realize my disinterest was fear of trying something new and failing.
Q: Do you use your machine for business or as a hobby?
A: I run a small business and the Maslow will give me capabilities to make larger cnc projects, signs, etc., that I couldn’t do before.
Q: What was your first project?
A: A honeycomb pattern, folding privacy screen made from reclaimed hollow closet door skins and rice paper. (You can see Tim’s full walkthrough of this project and Maslow review on his YouTube Channel)
Q: What was the biggest struggle you had in setting up your machine?
A: The biggest struggle was understanding the software and steps/ There was a lot of extraneous and misleading info on the web, which I believe has since been streamlined.
Q: Is there anything unique about the way you use your Maslow?
A: I work pretty exclusively with reclaimed materials so almost everything I will cut with it will be reclaimed wood.
Q: What is a dream project you’d like to build?
A: I’m hoping to put my Maslow to good use on my next big instrument build; I plan on making a hybrid plywood/carved double bass from reclaimed materials and cutting some of the parts, templates and jigs on the Maslow. This is a step towards a longtime dream of mine to develop my own double bass design I’ve been developing off and on for years.
Q: Do you have any advice for current/future makers?
A: Fail, fail and fail again. Don’t take it personal or think it means you aren’t good at what you are doing. Failure just means you are on the edge of or beyond your know success/comfort zone – and this is precisely where learning and discovery begins.
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As always, thanks for your time, Tim! We love our maker community and are lucky to share your story.
If you’d like to follow Tim and his projects, you can find him on YouTube, Instagram @timsway1 and his website www.newperspectivesmusic.com