Second attempt at first real job. First attempt did not cut all the way through. So, on the second attempt I set the bottom deeper than the thickness of the material but still did not cut all the way through. The simulation shows a thru cut so I thought I was golden but it didn’t come out that way.
What am I doing wrong?
did you measure the thickness of your stock ?
sort of two potential cases
also, a magic trick is to set the zero to the bottom in the CC configuration screen and zero off your wasteboard, not the work piece… and you should get near perfect depth all the time
(BUT if you are very off on your depth measurement, the first round of cut will be deeper than you expected)
Hi Jim, as @fenrus said, there are 2 ways this could go:
If your stock thickness measurement is innaccurate then you could cut too deep or not deep enough - What are you using to measure your stock thickness? I’d suggest a set of vernier calipers.
Or
You’ve got a mechanical issue. The most likely culprits are generally that the pulley on the z-axis motor is slipping on the shaft:
If this looks good, Check the z-axis belt is tight, it’s hard to say exactly how tight but I usually can push mine 4-5mm at most
Put your endmill at the centre of your wasteboard and zero it using the ‘paper method’, without moving anything push down on the wasteboard, can you see the gap increase between the bit and the wasteboard? This can also lead to not cutting as deep as you intend.
If you search up the top for ‘not cutting all the way through’ it will bring up more posts with a lot more detail and troubleshooting that others have done in the past.
Usually with the shapeoko if you’re having a problem (whether it’s the machine or the user!) Someone will have posted about it here before 
I measured the material (with a caliper) and on the first try set the bottom at that depth. On the second try I set the bottom deeper than the material thickness. Got the same result in both cases.
BTW I’m Zeroing using the touch probe
Is the remaining stock only an onion skin or is it significant? Did you use the touch probe properly? The lip placed on the corner for X,Y,Z or directly on top (including the lip) for Z only. If it is a partial cut through with an onion skin, it may be that the wasteboard is not flat completely or your work holding distorts the workpiece.
It’s an onion skin and the probe acted normally.
You have 2 choices: increase the depth of cut and finish the project or find the cause by checking to see if your wasteboard is flat or if your zero is correct in several places on your workpiece then find the cause. Something to take into account, of course when you measure the thickness, you will measure near the edge with a caliper, that does not guarantee that the middle is the same.
Material thickness was .241" I set the depth of cut to .250". The actual finished cut was .228" and it was allmost the same at both ends and the center of the 11" material.
that look more like lost steps…
I don’t know what that means
If you are losing steps it is most likely the Z belt is too loose. When the router moves up and down the teeth on the belt are slipping and the position of the Z is no longer at zero but is higher. The machine does not have any feed back if an axis loses steps. Check your Z belt and it should be pretty tight.
I don’t see how that is possible since the tabs seem to be fine. Wouldn’t there be some variations in depth from one or more of the pieces? My material is 11"x11" and I’m routing 7 10"x1.125" rectangles with 3 tabs.
Actually, you guys know more about this machine than I do so first thing in the morning I will tighten the z belt.
I could’t wait till morning so I went and checked the z belt tonight. ZOUNDS and GADZOOKS Not only was the belt loose but the adjustment screw was almost all of the way out and the idler pulley was flopping.
Thanks and thanks again
Jim
I had to google that 
Glad you got it sorted @Jwjimbo
A good test now is to cut a slot or a pocket that’s meant to be 1/4 or 1/2 inch deep, then measure it and make sure it’s right on the money
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