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So did you use the builtin inlay procedure in CC or another method. What were were your settings for the two parts?
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Wood or epoxy inlay?
I do not believe my current CC software, V7 757 build, supports the inlay function. Just used Advance V-carve to cut the entire tree. Then filled it in with epoxy. Two separate pours, leaves first then the trunk. I used hot glue to dam up the leaves, let the epoxy set and then poured the trunk.
Epoxy…wasn’t easy. Cut the entire tree with advanced v-carve, then filled the leaves first, damed them up with hot glue, let it set and poured the trunk. The removal of the hot glue wasn’t easy but doable.
There is a feature/checkbox for this under Advanced V Carve:
(Not a Pro feature — I disabled Pro mode before taking that screen grab)
Oops Thanks, I just never knew it was there!
See the discussion (and some sample files) at:
The most important question I have about this feature is who won the bonus points?
I could not see from the picture it was an epoxy inlay. I have tried to use the Inlay mode without success. I sent my files to projects@carbide3d.com and got a few responses but no resolution. My issue with the inlay mode is the male inlay had gaps around the edges of the female pocket. I had followed the fenrus tutorial from here on the forum and asked the questions on the forum but my issues have not been resolved. I have used the manual method which starts the male inlay at .1" which effectively makes the inlay slightly smaller than the female pocket. However that created a .1" pocket under the inlay and gives you only .1" of gluing surface on the male to female interface. My total pocket depth was .2" as well as the inlay depth of .2". The C3D inlay mode gives you an option of a glue gap so you get effectively more gluing surface of the male/female interface.
Nice work on your cutting board. Olive wood is very nice to work with and has beautiful grain.
Can you explain “using hot glue to dam up the leaves”. Not sure if that process. Also once the epoxy dries, do you just sand over the entire piece? What grits? Very new to this. Thanks. Vinny. By the way, the piece is amazing.
I have filled a lot of projects with epoxy. I luckily have a Jet 16-32 Drum sander and use that to remove the excess epoxy. When you fill with epoxy you need to slightly over fill. The reason is epoxy slightly shrinks when it dries. So if you fill just up to the edge of a pocket you will have a slight dip in the pocket when cured. You dont need a drum sander but it helps. Start with a 5-6 inch random orbit sander with 60-80 grit. As you get the excess off and just a skim coat of epoxy left change to 120. After you get the project flat you can sand up to 180-220. Some people think they need to polish the epoxy. After sanding to 180-220 grit the epoxy will look dull as dishwater. There is no need to polish the epoxy. A good top coat of oil or water based finish will shine up the epoxy. You just need a clean and smooth surface and not polished. Polishing the epoxy is also polishing the wood next to it and when you sand over 220 you can cause finish to not adhere well. The reason is if you polish down the wood it can get stained from the polish and there is no tooth for the finish to stick to. If you whole project is epoxy then you can polish it up to 12000 grit and then use a plastic polish like Howards Restore A Finish. This stuff works well on a polyurethane top coat that has been scratched. Let the top coat cure until hard and the Howards’s will buff up your finish to a mirror smooth finish.
Also this stuff works well for polishing epoxy/plastic.
Epoxy is essentially plastic and works and acts like plastic.
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Hi Vinny Thanks for the compliment. You can find an SVG file to import just about anywhere to start. I cut everything at once with Advanced v-Carve using 1/8 end mill and 60 deg. V -bit. I used a hot glue gun to put a dam right where the trunk and leaf met, poured the tinted green total boat epoxy and let cure. It was a slight pain to get all the glue out but it worked. I then poured the rest of the tree. Both pours where left slightly higher than the surface. I then put it through the planer for level. Went through 120 to 3000 grit paper and it was just fine for shine after that. Good Luck
Thanks for clearing that up for me. Great job. Look forward to seeing more. What type of training did you get to run the software that you use? I am going to be using carbide create but I am not familiar with the whole CAD/CAM and vector stuff. Can you refer me to anyplace online that I can maybe take a course?
If you’re interested in the Vetric line of software, go check out “Learn your CNC” videos. Kyle has a free class that you can check out to see if you like his style. Life time access when you sign up.
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