Hey everyone. Tried my four-bladed smoothing/flattening bit for the first time today.
I noticed when my Shapeko measured the bit, the round part between the blades touched down on the BitSetter button, not the actual blades. To compensate I measured from that surface to the tip of the cutters (0.049 inches), then in Carbide Motion I subtracted that from the Z figure that the machine gave me when I used the BitZero device to establish my X,Y, and Z zero numbers. Is this correct thinking? I figured if the measurement was not from the actual cutting edges the Z depth would be off.
I ran the job; the blade cut smoothly, but the cut was way deeper than I wanted, maybe about 0.0580 inches (1.5mm). The blade even clipped my plastic hold down clips, because the cutter (1 inch in diameter) extended beyond the edge of the board. However, I think I know how to fix that problem, as by then I was experimenting on a board that was only .60 inches thick.
So, my question is: do I need to add or subtract the distance from the blade edges to the surface between them? Or is this information already built into the database for the cutter? Or do I just go with the numbers the machine is giving me from the surface between the blades. I plan on using this bit to cut a .5-inch deep pocket on a Walnut board of 16.5"x12". This will take a 63 minute tool path down to only 7 minutes. Please advise.
I took the cap off mine while surfacing a long time ago. I have glued a magnet to the top. If I need more height, I add more. For the surfacing bit, I added my putty knife on top of the magnet.
I have an SO3. When I am surfacing my spoilboard I remove the BitSetter because I dont want to hit it when surfacing. If surfacing some material on the spoilboard I would go into configuration and uncheck the BitSetter and power cycle the Shapeoko. I have been told here on the forum that an SO5 does not need power cycle. When you turn off the BitSetter it messes with the internal coordinates of the machine. So by power cycling an SO3/4 it resets the internal coordinates. Then I use the paper method to set my bit on top of the material (Spoilboard when surfacing it).
I have a Whiteside 6210 1" Fly bit and it is hollow in the center. So I cannot use the BitSetter with that bit. You could do all that math but if you make a mistake you could plow into your material you want to surface. It is simpler to just turn off the BitSetter for me than to try a bunch of things that might not work.
After the surfacing just turn your BitSetter back on and power cycle the Shapeoko again.
