I've been trying to get my 3d printed circular knitting machine going for almost 6 months now and I think I'm almost there. I finally realized that it's impossible to crank the heel/toe on this machine - but only because the extra drag of decreases causes it to bind up. It'd totally be possible if the gaps on the spindle were larger so it was less difficult to pull slips/decreases down into it.
Anywho, I gave up on doing everything on the CKM and just cranked a tube (worsted weight - 36 needles) with the intention to do an afterthought everything. I did the heel today. Not great, not terrible, it'll work. I'll try to throw on the toe tomorrow. I definitely should've made it wider so I had a more gradual decrease and a larger heel. But hey - try, fail, learn, do better : )
Whoa! That's really neat. Do you have a picture or video of your machine? I've wanted a CSM for years. I could never justify the price. Never occurred to me that you can make your own.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2y1gakl4IEw
I don't have videos of mine but I used the model from the video above and it shows assembly/use. I should note that he specifically says you can't do a heel/toe on the machine because it only turns one way. But, if you use both guides it CAN crank both ways. However, it tends to get jammed on me when doing decreases due to too much friction. So, I just crank a tube and do the afterthought... Still a huge time saving.
Here's a picture of it during some lightweight/fingering turning from a couple of days ago.
All in, I've got maybe $75 into the build if you don't count time. It was fun, so I don't : )
"Dean and Bean" (I think) sells a printed version for something like $400? Of course, the metal ones go for multiple thousand.
Thanks for sharing the video and the photo. That looks like it is going to be great for making lots of socks!
I'll have to look into the dean and bean machine.