SO3 not cutting square

I programmed a small 8x20” serving board and after cutting the holly in the corner I decided to cut a handle on the opposite end. The handle is where the problem occurred, I centered the handle on the stock in CC and then did touch probe for x,y,z and the handle was way off and not even centered in the stock. Pics of the final board included (i cut off the handle).

here are the fileshandle cutout 0.125.nc (17.2 KB)

You seem to be cutting the handle as a slotting internal profile cut — that’s difficult to do since tool engagement is so high — add geometry and clear as a pocket down to at least tab depth.

Nice looking cutting board!

You should be able to salvage it by planning off the end with the handle until it’s flush/smooth.

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Will, thanks for the quick response! I dont exactly understand what you mean though…what does “tool engagement” mean and why is it difficult? Are you saying to pocket the handle with a larger bit? Why does the pocket cut change the location or “squareness” of the shape in reference to the board? thanks

The cutting board may have been mounted at a slight angle on your wasteboard and if the origin is at the other end, that could translate into a big offset.

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Tool engagement is how much of the endmill is involved in removing material — if you’re cutting a slot, then the entire front half of the endmill is cutting into material — if you’re cutting a pocket, after the first pass, you’re cutting less, which is easier on the machine.

I suspect the difficulty of the cut resulted in steps being lost and the machine getting off track.

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I also just realuzed that probing X and Y doesnt result in a square reference…I am an idiot, I was driving home and had an “aha moment” I think I need to make a 90degree squaring reference to fix all of my problems. Thanks for the insight on the pocket and cutout differences…I would never have thought about the cut resulting in loosing steps! Thanks so much

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