I have cut several baseball dice games and they went well until tonight. In attached photo I have marked 3 areas that the depth is uneven. I start with 0.025" then I make another cut at 0.027" to clean up the cuts. The 3 areas I have modified the depth of cut several times and at present, I’m at 0.115" and they won’t clean up. I have rezeroed the Z axis, but not the X or Y. Does someone have any hints as to what I might try? I tried to load the Carbide Create file, but I get a message that it is too large.
1 Like
Your spoil board looks good. I have to ask, when was the last time you leveled it?
Looking at the project, it looks like it is in the lower middle. Could it be warped? The O and U look to have been affected also.
2 Likes
Ensure your bit is tight in the collet. I ran into a similar issue cutting aluminum and my bit was not tight enough. Everytime I lowered Z, the bit just slid farther into the collet. It was very odd until I found the problem.
Cheers.
1 Like
I made one of those as one of my first projects. Mine was on a bamboo cutting board. I made a few bad design choices leading to some messed up lines in a spot plus it is hard to read just in the grain.
I like the contrast you have. Did you paint or is that some other
1 Like
Zman, This is a new machine that has been in service less than a month. Could the stock be warped, yes. I have put a straight across it several directions and I don’t see much deviation with the naked eye. I would have thought that changing the depth of cut as much as I did, I would have seen some improvement. I just redownloaded both create and motion, maybe I had a hick up somewhere. Also, going to check the tightness of the collet, per Bozo’s suggestion.
It is painted. What bit did you use for the peg holes? I have tapered bit that I’m going to try on this board after I get my other issue resolved.
I would recommend using a more acute tool — I have defined a 30 degree Amana as:
and it has less vertical variation for horizontal, so is more forgiving of an uneven surface.
1 Like
Thanks, another tool that will have to try.
I will check the file when I get to the computer later.
Is the stock itself flat? Is it possible that you’re not seeing any change because you’re at the limit of z travel in the downward direction? Usually if I am carving intricate details I will take a pass across the entire board to ensure it’s flat to the machine because I don’t have a planer. The fact that you moved the zero .080” or so and haven’t cut those areas make me think it’s a combination of those two things. There could be small dips there and if you’re at the limit of travel it’ll lose steps at the very bottom.
1 Like
I’m rather certain that it is relatively flat, but not 100%. The notion that you bring up about the Z depth has reached its limit is a great suggestion. I guess that when it set the depth with the bitsetter, I would be good to go, maybe not though. When I recheck the collet for tightness, I will move the cutter some and then rezero the Z depth. Thanks shapeokonoob.
2 Likes
I checked the file. I used a #102 1/8" bit for the holes and went .4" deep.
My stock was .6" thick.
I used that bit for the holes and the dice pocket.
For everything else I used the same bit as @WillAdams suggests the Amana 45771-K 30 degree.
1 Like
Thanks for the feedback.
Well, it turns out that my stock was not flat. After extending the cutter and other things I started to cut again. Right out of the gate I was seeing the same results. So I removed it, planed it and ran it through my drum sander. I started all over and what do I find, the cuts were being made. So slap me silly, take more care when starting a new project. Also, I want to thank everyone for trying to resolve the issue. Your input is greatly appreciated. Happy cutting my friends.
5 Likes
Don’t say that too loud, Last time I had a line of people ready to slap.
Good Luck.
Make Chips not dust
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.