ABC Blocks Made of Sycamore

gdon_2003 · February 11, 2025, 5:06am

Ever do a favor for a friend of a friend. Well I volunteered to cut the ABCs into some sycamore blocks for a friend. When I got the blocks there are not very consistent in size. So first I measured all of them and made a jig to hold 6 at a time. I thought I would mark the center of each block and machine them one at a time. I would machine one, then move over with jog and reset zeros and machine the next one. Well I put the first block in and used some wedges to hold it in place. About 3/4 of the way through machining I could see the block coming loose so I just grabbed it and held it in place.

So I rethought my approach and got my drill press vise out and decided to use that to hold one block at a time.

I had put adhesive shelf paper on the face of the blocks so I could mark the center and would also be used later for a mask when painting the blocks. So my drill press vise is working. I set X Y and Z zeros on the first side, machine it and then flip the block over and jog through rapid positions to the original X and Y and then just move the flipped block over and match it up on the same X and Y position.

I used the Easy Liner Adhesive Shelf paper and cut it into 2" squares. Most of the blocks are about 1.9" or so square. I applied the adhesive shelf paper and used a centering ruller to mark the center. I put each block in the vise, set zeros and machine the first side. Then I flip the block and use the center mark to just line the center back up to where the bit is already set to X and Y zero. Then just rerun the same job. I created a .c2d file for all 26 letters and 10 numbers. Each file takes about 7 minutes to run an advanced vcarve, flip the block and run another 7 minutes. So each block is taking 15-18 minutes to complete machining. I plan to do this over several days. It already became mind numbing after just 4 blocks A-D.

Here is the A&B with no clean up. I am using an 1/8" down cut bit to cut the area around the letter .1" deep and a 20 degree vee bit to complete the advanced vcarve. The picture looks a little rough but I think they will clean up well. Plus the mask will help when it is painted to keep some of the over painting off the wood.

This project is just proof that no good deed ever goes unpunished.

The blocks in waiting.

Redlander · February 11, 2025, 9:47am

Let us know how the Sycamore machines? I have read that is not the most favorable for making furniture etc due to movement/moisture issues. I have a few pieces that are over 48” in diameter I’m getttnig ready to put on the saw mill to see if will be usable for something.

gdon_2003 · February 11, 2025, 7:08pm

The sycamore machines fine. I know the pictures look a little rough but they are better in person than in picture. Sycamore if flat sawn tends to warp during drying. If you quarter saw it it is more stable during drying. After drying if you saw it thick enough to flatten it it is very stable. Sycamore cannot be bent after it is dried. The quarter sawn figure is great but plain/flat sawn is just not very exciting. So if you can get it dried it is a good wood and has a lot of figure if sawn correctly. Sycamore makes great kitchen utensils because it does not give good its sycamore flavor and does not pick up the food flavor in the wood. Sycamore is quite hard but seems to be machining quite nicely. The ABC blocks will need some clean up and the first one I machined, the A, moved so I will clean it up with a chisel.

Redlander · February 11, 2025, 7:23pm

@gdon_2003

Thank you, quarter sawn it is for most of it then and some 2” slabs I can mill down later after it dries.

gdon_2003 · February 11, 2025, 10:41pm

Machined a few more pieces today. I took the original jig off the spoilboard and bolted down my drill press vise. I also started indexing the blocks on the outside edge so after setting X Y and Z on the first side I just flipped the piece over and indexed on the end of the vise and started the job again. I really got tired of switching the vee bit and end mill over and over. Will machine more each day until I get them all done.

The little piece of oak in the bottom of the vise is to support the bottom of the blocks. The two supports under the vise jaws are too far apart to hold the block up and that gives me a reference surface for each block.