I am a member of a railroad museum and have been asked to do some engraving on a (composite) railroad tie. I am not sure what the composition of the 3.5" x 3.5" x 33" however when I attempt to engrave on the tie I end up with fuzzy little particles that are welded to the inside of the engraved letters. Apparently the heat buildup is significant enough to fuse the debris to the engraved letters. Does anyone have thoughts on what could be done to mitigate this problem?
Run a second pass after putting some diluted dish detergent in the letters?
You didn’t mention your current feed or speed.
Welded means melted, so slow down the router speed or move faster through the material.
Thank you. That was going to be my next attempt. I left the project behind for a long weekend away. I’ll be back to it on Tuesday. Thank you for your input.
That’s interesting. I was hoping not to have to have to make a second pass as the first pass is 40 min +/- but I’ll give it a try. Thank you.
Not having cut composite yet, I would treat it like Polycarbonate. Slow router speed, fast travel.
Good luck
Make the second pass a full-depth one.
This is my first attempt at composites. Now that you have brought up polycarbinates, I do remember having a similar problem.
Thank you
See response to WilliamAdams.
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