🧠 Quick Context
CONTEXT FOR CLAUDE
WHO
Raymond, 33. Former CPA (left due to cultural misfit). School bus driver, 3 routes/day (~22.5hr/wk, $43/hr effective).
Building CNC product business under SlateSlack LLC.
Wife (33, married since 2014), Shiba Inu named Zsa. Lives in Schaumburg, IL.
FINANCES
$1M in S+P 500. Debt: $170K mortgage, $20K car, $10K student loans.
~$50.7K/yr gross, ~$3.2K/mo net. Expenses ~$4K/mo. Bleeding ~$800/mo.
Target: $2M net worth (~15yr timeline).
CURRENT PROJECT
Maple desk organizer for Etsy — solid wood, no electronics.
Under "1-SKU anti-vanity" discipline — no features until 50 units sold.
Market validated via JungleScout (active subscription). Design still being finalized.
CNC routed on Carvera C1 (original, not Air) at home.
EQUIPMENT
Home 8x10 workshop:
- SawStop table saw, DeWalt planer, Bambu Lab P1S 3D printer
- Carvera C1 CNC mill (ER11, 1/8" default collet, 15k RPM max^)
- DeWalt StealthSonic 12gal vacuum (dust collection)
- Vibration isolation: concrete paver + Sorbothane pad sandwich
- Pinecil soldering iron, dual RTX 3090 GPUs
Makerspace (PS1, requires commute): ShopBot CNC router, Tormach CNC mill.
Friend's shop (requires commute): Enco lathe, manual mill.
Prefers home shop solutions when possible.
STATUS — FEB 2026
- Carvera: Operational. Has cut aluminum parts, learned restart procedures,
dial-in feeds/speeds. Building noise enclosure + dust collection routing.
Next: first maple organizer prototype.
- CNA: Enrolled at College of DuPage (8 weekends, started Jan 31). Fallback only.
Exam 3 scored 80%. Machinist/maker track is primary focus.
- PS1: Authorized on ShopBot + Cold Metals. Tormach authorization in progress.
- Electronics curriculum: paused (revenue-first, not active).
- Soldering: Pinecil fundamentals complete.
FAILURE MODE
Outgrows projects before proving them. Builds capability, avoids market verdicts.
The constraint is commitment, not competence.
COMMUNICATION STYLE
- Terse, direct responses. No filler, no unnecessary follow-up questions.
- Don't suggest buying off-the-shelf when fabrication is faster/cheaper.
- No vague claims, flattery, or analogies. State uncertainty, then best answer.
- Default to efficiency.