Hello. I want to make sure I’m doing this correctly. I use the McFly surfacing bit before cutting my project. When setting zero this should be done at the lowest point of the stock, correct? Also, I would be interested to hear what depth you surface with. I typically go from between 0.005 to 0.010
I would zero at the highest point on the stock, otherwise you may bog the bit down when it hits those areas and is cutting deeper.
I cut way deeper than that on hardwood using the McFly - up to about 0.04" (1mm). I also set the feed way higher than CC has it - 150 IPM to start, and I usually use Feedrate Override to go faster.
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Thank you for that info.
I also do what @mhotchin said. Additionally, I removed the two horizontal bits. Not sure why, but I get much cleaner results this way. I run the rpm at 14,000 too. I’ll also set up my cut so that the first passes take away 0.04" to 0.03" and the final pass does 0.01". For the final pass I’ll also override feed rate down to 140 IPM (from 200 IPM).
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I use a 1 1/2" planer bit I’ve had since the '70s. 10000 RPM
If the surface is already pretty flat, and I’m just sweetening it up, I’ll go as small as 0.002" DOC
If it’s a new piece of stock that’s warped, or really rough I’ll go as much as 0.050"
I program my clean-up / surfacing programs at Z0 (Enter 0.0001 and it will output 0.000)
and I save them as clean-up_12x8.nc so I can reuse them.
Then I touch off several spots on the stock to find the high/low spot. Touch off the high spot, and instead of clicking “Zero Z”, I’ll type in the depth of cut I want. i.e. In the Z field I’ll type 0.050. Now when it cuts at Z0.0 it’s 0.050" into the stock. Then to cut another pass deeper, I just add the depth I want to the current Z value. i.e. After a cut the tool raises to 3.173. I want another 0.010, so I add 0.010 to 3.173 and enter 3.183, then rerun the path.
I also usually draw in my own path & use the contour with no offset operation.
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