I would add a chamfer layer to all of your pocket and contour edges. I like the 90° V-Bit for those operations. Try a .7mm to 1mm offset from each line and then run the V-Bit along those contours, with “No Offset” at a depth of 1.5 to 2.5mm. Chamfers add a professional look to any project.
A couple Instagram Reels covering the process:
That is awesome!! Great job! I’m a newbie to the cnc world. I see something similar coming in the near future!
With the Superbowl coming up i made a gift for my niece’s boyfriend who is a huge Chiefs fan.
Used the laser to add a little something to the back.
Looks great.
Stained, masked and then carved I assume. How deep did the stain penetrate?
Thanks. I stained it then carved, no masking. It was done with pine so that the wood color would look like the white strips and stars.
Finally cutting stuff! Inserts for drawers, so nothing exciting, but still! The first day of actual use! Lol
How did u do stars it is hard to tell? It almost looks like an advanced v carve? They look really good i have been doimg 60 degree v bit but like the flat bottom approach if that is what you did.
Vectric Vcarve Pro for the software and a v-carve toolpath with a 60° v-bit. One thing to make sure it cuts well is a sharp bit.
Using a 60 degree and/or a 90 degree works well for larger objects. A 15 or 20 degree vee bit gives you a crisper point in the stars. The 60 works but try a steeper vee bit. The advanced vcarve is the way to go. If you do a simple vcarve you can go quite deep. A simple vcarve goes down the center of each line and goes as deep as required for the vee bit to touch both sides of the line. In shallow material you can cut right through. On simple vcarve you should always use bottom of material to get the full depth. Limiting the depth of a simple vcarve can have strange effects. An advanced vcarve only cuts the vee bit around the perimeter and the flat end mill cuts out the flat bottom to the depth you assign.
If you like a 60 degree vee bit then try the cadance manufacturing groovee jenny. That bit is a down cut bit and leave a cleaner upper perimeter. The down cut bit is not perfect but takes a lot less clean up over a standard bit or an upcut bit on the flat areas. The only down side to using down cut bits is on deep cuts the chips are forced down and can clog up the tool path on flat cutting end mills.
The down cut flat end mill will cut down to 2" if required. The flutes are undercut where the shaft meets the cutting flutes and gives you extra depth if required. On flat end mills you should not cut below the recommended depth because the shaft of the bit tends to burn the top edges because the shaft is the same diameter as the cutting flutes. Most of the C3D bits have a recommended depth for the 1/4" bits of about .75". The smaller bits have an even shallower maximum cutting depth like the #122, #112 and the #102. I bought a .25" down cut from Grizzly that cuts .5" deep
Well we are using the same software but again your stars look more flat in the middle vs v carved. Thanks for the info!
Maybe using the flat depth setting?
Cut this topography piece over the weekend. This is my first exercise in 3d carving. Created the initial depth map from Tangram Height Mapper, then adjusted this file if photoshop to maximize full tonal range (white to black). set z-range to 1.125" in CC with an additional base height adjustment to allow the mountains to stand proud of the base. Overall size is 8" x 5.5" x 2". The topography is cut from hard maple (I think… it is a piece of a front door my neighbor had set out to the curb for disposal and I decided to grab it and repurpose it looks and cut like maple but the smell is different so I’m not positive of the species. The base is Ozark Red Cedar also machined from a single board. Once I can get an MCEtcher bit I will engrave a name plate for the post I incorporated into the base design. This piece shattered my expectations and I find myself awestruck when looking at the finished result. So pleased!
The rough-in was cut with the std 1/4" 201 endmill the finish passes (2 passes one perpendicular to grain and a second pass parallel to the grain) I used a 1/32" dia. - 6 1/2 degree tapered ball nose with a .008" stepover on the first pass and a .004 stepover for the second.
I am posting pictures from different directions of sidelight so you can really see the detail that was captured in the carving.
BTW: this is a section of the Rockies in Colorado, specifically the area around “Red Cone Mountain”
Finally finished a batch of coasters for a friend’s brewery. I really didn’t want to paint any more than I had to and wanted to avoid using resin so I used maple and paddock inserts in a cherry base to get his logo colors, or at least close to them. I managed painting simplicity, but created a bunch of other complexities to resolve LOL
I learned a lot doing a big (for me) production run like this.
Most turned out okay (the early runs, meh), but wish I had tried a few more configurations before jumping in on the first one that worked. Also wish I had spent more time on my tool paths before starting, because they needed some refinements once I started cutting lots of them.
Good learning experiences that I’m already applying to my current projects.
Is The black is paint?
Looks great BTW. That’s a lot of coasters.
Thanks! I’m glad this project is over for sure.
Yeah, it’s paint. I masked the board, cut the design and painted black on the base before cutting them out. It was a pain masking the whole table, but it saved a lot of time because I didn’t have to mask the edges of each coaster before painting them.
I got the table masking down so it didn’t take long to put it on or remove it and I had a couple boards on the table each time.
Making that many of anything gets me bored and it’s a struggle to make sure I don’t make stupid mistakes. I cut designs in 25 serving boards last weekend and it took 2 bits. I created 2 files, one with bit A first and one with bit B first and flip flopped between to minimize bit changes. I picked the wrong file one time but it didn’t really ruin the cut luckily.
I have the same issue. Creating a few things at a time or custom projects is a lot more interesting that trying to make a ton of the same thing and maintain any kind of consistency. I was about a third of the way through and I felt like it was never going to end. At times it was definitely a grind.
That’s a good idea on separate files for production runs. I usually just alternate between toolpath groups and label them so I know when I should be using them (and disabling the other).
I’d say that you didn’t manage to get a great enough reward for you efforts.
I’m not sure about that, but maybe it was my process that started to wear on me.
I cut all the components first; left eye, right eye and face/ears. Once I had more than enough of all of those I started cutting the bases. Assembly happened near the end and seeing them complete was satisfying.
