
If only I knew
Welcome to the dark art of 3D priniting / Amateur radio
and several other of my mad hobbies



Bits From Bytes RapMan 3

Anycubic mini Kossel delta

My Dream TEVO Little Monster

In the beginning.
My tumble through the looking glass into the world of 3D printing started through something totally unconnected to the hobby/lifestyle/business I put it like this because a few of the people I have spoken too along the way I do truly believe that their 3D printing devices have actually become either a extension of their being or the one thing that fills their life to capacity. Anyway I digress this whole experience began due to not being able to find any decent Christmas light displays to take my granddaughters to see I decided that this year I would have my own, However in order to achieve this I was going to have to get myself a CNC machine capable of drilling a pattern of holes over and over again. I was then offered the Rapman and told that it would not need a lot to get it up and running how silly could I be ?
Add to this that after some 20 years of saying I am going to do my amateur radio licence I have finally taken the plunge and I am due to sit the Foundation licence in the next few weeks thanks to the guys at Havering Radio Club. There is more about this below. Any reviews I do on this site are my true opinion and I have not been paid for them in fact many of the items I will review have been paid for out of my own pocket so expect blunt and truthful.
IF ONLY I KNEW “That not a lot” can mean almost anything
Rapman Saga
In the Beginning.
If only I knew, there is a reason the manual says do not over tighten!
If only I knew, 3D printing becomes an obsession.
# Time spent approximately 2 weeks
# Successful prints 1
Jan 2018
In the begining
After a disappointing search for some fantastic Christmas lights last year it was decided that I would hopefully this year be able to amaze and bewilder my grandaughter’s next Christmas with a truly breath taking display.
If only I knew, This was going to be my own personal trip down a rabbit hole.


Feb 2018
Descent into madnes
Having spent many sleepless hours scouring the web for a UK supplier for what I wanted or even a US supplier who would be willing to ship to the UK I finally gave up and started to look for ways to create my own versions of what I wanted .
It was decided that the easiest way to create what I wanted was to build my self a version of the MPcnc. This required a load of 3d printed parts so the hunt for a cheap 3d printer began.

Mar 2018
The rapman comes to stay
Any normal sane individual would have been turned away from 3d printing after going a few hours with the colossus called RAPMAN but not I oh no I just dug my heals in became stubborn and like john wayne in “The wings of angels” was determined to move his toe I was determined to get a print from this heap of poly carbonate and screws.
If only I knew “Easy to use can mean that it has a switch to turn it on but not a lot else”