Loose Fit on carved wood

CNC Machines Shapeoko
1

This is probably not a new question, but I didn’t spot it looking around…

I have a new Shapeoko XX and I’m trying to carve a box with sung fitting top/bottom. As a Test I cut a couple of circles in pine, one contour on the outside to produce a “plug” and a pocket or contour on the inside to produce a hole. I’m using the supplied 1/4 inch mill. The cuts look clean and I was hoping for a snug fit but there is quite a bit of slop (.02 to .03 in) between the plug and the hole. When I measure the width of the cut is is ~.265 which seems to account for the gap.

So I’m assuming this is normal? If so, do I just add an offset to get the parts to fit better?

Thanks

2

Yes, but start by calibrating the machine and determining how the nominal endmill diameter matches up to the actual width of the slot cut.

See: https://docs.carbide3d.com/shapeoko-faq/how-to-calibrate-the-machine-for-belt-stretch/ for a bit on this.

1 Like
3

Thanks, will add it to the project list.
If I cut a straight horizontal or vertical line and measure the width that would tell me the difference between the endmill diameter and the actual cut diameter. Would I be better off

  1. creating a new tool with these dimensions
  2. adding an offset to my designs

Also, I assume there is probably some variation depending on the material I’m cutting…

4

I believe it’s better to create a new tool — that way the same design can be cut in different materials or with different tooling without needing to be modified.

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