If it was lost steps I would have expected it to be off for the rest of the cut. This area was one of the first cut in the project.
Workholding was with double sided Xfasten tape and clamps. There is no way it moved.
I double checked the definition of the v bit in the database and think it is correct. I will check again and like I said try a test with lower depth per pass.
The simulation looks perfect but maybe so will try another gcode simulator to validate.
Did you use the correct V angle tool?
To keep the boards flat, get two straight long-grain boards and cover one side of each with “Form Release Tape” and make a sandwich with your work - clamping the boards to the faces across the glue joint while you squeeze that seam together with clamps. The release tape will keep the cauls from sticking to the boards while your normal clamps will squeeze the joint.
Correct in that I loaded the one I specified and that is configured in the DB as 60 degrees. I will validate though.
@GJM I have some clamps similar to what is shown further up. I didn’t use them this time but will next. I am not sure if I will really have enough time with the PVC though.
Since I am using PVC glue here I don’t think that it would stick to the wooden cauls, but I never tried so who knows.
I delivered this sign to the customer. She was my first official one so I gave her a super cheap price. It was a learning experience for me and I was looking for an excuse to test with PVC so it worked out.
To save her money though I skipped painting and left that to her. She posted to a group on FB that her attempt didn’t go well. Based on advice from @baricl I told her no special paint was required. I am not sure what she used or what went wrong. Hopefully she didn’t try normal wall paint.
We since passed on that Acrylic model paint would probably be best. Any other suggestions?
A portion of the sign that is exposed has the fake PVC wood grain showing so maybe that is messing her up. I did not sand /scuff those surfaces.
I did give her 2 copies of the sign, one that I messed up a little on. I suggested that she practice the paint technique on that.
Not sure what “It didnt work out” means. I just use canned spray paint for the cut design and normal outdoor house paint for the top. If she was trying to paint the side with the wood grain it might be a little harder. You would have to press harder on the roller to get in the groves and then you would probably get top coat paint down in the design. This is not hard to but if youve never done it before it takes some practice.
Yeah, me either. She didn’t post any pictures. For the raised stuff with the wood grain I would expect a brush really, it isn’t wide enough sections to warrant a roller.
I should have kept a piece to experiment with.
So you do use regular laytex type house ping vs model acrylic. I will pass that on.
I knew I should have painted it but I was already at a point of breaking even not counting machine and cleanup hours. Paint and time doing that would have put me way in the hole.
A good lesson to learn (I learned.) Only deliver your completed product. Even though you were getting into a hole, it wouldn’t have been as deep as the one the customer helped dig for you.
Yes. But, if I had asked her to pick the paint and scheme I would probably still be waiting. Getting any design decision was tough.
Next time, with that wood grained PVC, spray paint the stock THEN carve. If the color scheme calls for something other than white, use different stock material.
If I picked the colors on it I would keep the wood grain portion white and paint the base layer. Not sure what her plan is though. I will reach out to her and see what the issue is.
I guess I better cash her check 
How would you do that?
With flat PVC sheet you could use Oramask to paint different colors, but on that woodgrain stuff I’d always paint first. Leave the pockets white.
It would have to be a manual careful paint job but for this sign I think the raised part being white would look best.
If I had used the smooth side then I could have masked but she did say she liked the wood grain look. That was about the only design advice I got from her.
She said she gave me artistic license for the material so I picked PVC as it is going to be outdoors. My only other option was really cedar and I would have spent as much on that as the PVC to get enough pieces to glue up without knots.
Paint first is what I did on this “Burma Shave” set. (As @neilferreri says.)
I think I figured out what was causing the extra layer of the PVC that had to be cleaned up manually. Shown in this post above:
The Amana 51405-K bit I was using for the pocket clearing is measuring .225 at the tip instead of .25 as it does further up the shaft. I am not sure if that is intentional.
If I change the diameter in CC to reflect the .225 then I may get myself in trouble elsewhere in the cuts. I may give that a try.
Also, I finally removed my X stepper motor and found that the set screws on the belt gear needed a little tightening. I am cutting some walnut right now, not PVC but the cuts look significantly better than I have had before.
Live and learn.
Are you certain that the cutting tip isn’t 0.125" radius from the centerline of the tool?
Were you able to measure it w/o damaging the flutes?
Not certain I guess. I used calipers to measure the diameter. I feel like this would explain the extra layer or flange that was left in that image above. Cleanup was easy but tedious.
Here’s a decent picture that shows why it measures 0.225.
If you want to measure actual cutting diameter, peck drill a hole with it & measure the hole.
Hmm. I’ll try that when I get back from vacation. I can try another carve and see if the tightening on the X pulley solved the issue.
I will say that bit left a beautifully smooth bottom surface.
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