Handwritten carves

Hello…I am somewhat new to choosing bits for my handwritten recipe boards…I have all the artwork done and chose the Amana 45771-k bit and it was going to take over 2k minutes :flushed::flushed:…I can add pictures if that will help the discussion…like I said it’s a a handwritten recipe board that is all in cursive

Yes post your file, that seems like a long time and unless your carving a book you need to up your speeds.

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Hahahaha:):slight_smile: it is DEFINITELY not a book…it says I can’t post pictures yet because I am new to the group:/

post the picture at imgur or some other picture hosting site and link. Not sure of the limitations they put on new users.

Post some more and the gates will open? :smiley:

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Please note that the Amana 45771-K is defined as an “Engraver” in Carbide Create and is only suited for a very shallow cut — I’ve had good luck using t as a V endmill:

We can better advise if you’ll post your file here or to support@carbide3d.com

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So what might be going on is if you write in your own handwriting and scanned that image many times there are slight jaggedness in the handwriting. If the svg has a jagged edge the bit must follow all those little jags and takes forever.

There are a lot of fonts that look like handwriting and maybe try one of them to see if the time improves. A font will be smoother.

If you want your own handwriting then when converting it to an SVG in Inkscape (and other apps) you can smooth during the import of the image. If using Inkscape with trace bitmap image you can also set the thresholds to eliminate random spots which are hard to see unless you enlarge up quite a bit. This “noise” can cause long carve times because the CC application see them and tries to cut them.

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Have you considered using a laser for the text? We gave the family handwritten recipe boards when my mother-in-law passed away earlier this year and the laser worked out great for the handwriting. I used the CNC to cut the board shape out of cherry, then used the laser to do all the words. I think the 10w laser took about 20-25 min each board for a 4x6 recipe card.

Thank you for all the responses….it still will not let me post the pic:/I would send an email/text and then one of you could post it?

I love that idea but I don’t have a laser engraver:(

I’ve upgraded your account ---- you should be able to post images now — if not, let us know and we’ll look into it.

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Still not able to post a pic:(:frowning:

@WillAdams I sent the pictures the way you suggested.

Thank you

I upgraded one more level — I thought at even the most basic level one could post one image.

Hahaha you have very strict posting rules:):):slight_smile: still can’t do it




First look, that’s not going to carve well at all, letters are too close together.
Suggestion, rewrite that keeping in mind if you were writing with an eraser, that will keep the spacing at a manageable level for the cutter. Right now I’ll say the cutter would overlap almost everything and you will have a ruined board.
Also, depth of cut at .080" seems a bit aggressive, try a shallower pass.
You have your cutting board all ready to go, I would practice on some scrap wood before committing to the cutting board.

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I make a lot of prototypes of final projects. I can iron out problems before cutting expensive wood. Someone’s handwriting may prove to be a challenge. Our eye can clearly read the text but when translated to carving it can be an issue. I use 15 degree Foos bit from Amazon for projects that are fine lines. When people write they move the pen all around. For a CNC that is problematic because all the little jogs people make when writing mean long carve time.

One solution may be to increase the size of your project and convert the writing into an SVG and expand the writing on the canvas. That may or may not be practical. If this is a cutting board you could fill with epoxy. Epoxy on a cutting board will get cut up so perhaps the cutting board could be turned over for cutting and displayed with the writing on the top. Cutting boards are by nature cut up. There are multiple methods of making a cutting board. The best is end grain but there is also face grain and side grain types. End grain will not carve well due to the nature of end grain. Face and side grain will carve better but are easier to cut up. End grain cutting boards hide the cut marks better. So it is 6 of one or half a dozen of another when it comes to carving on carving boards.

I second Guy’s recommendations, I use 15 and 20 degree included angle bits for fine detail and small text. it is the only way way to get enough depth of cut to either hold epoxy infill or catch the light and provide contrast. I would use a 1/16 flat or ball nose on the centerline of a single line font before using a 90 degree V for small text. Although I have one I don’t think I’ve ever used my 90, I do use the 60 frequently.

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