The heating grate looks fantastic. Good job!
What FEA program did you use? Was it easy to pre & post process with? Thanks.
Iām old and learned FEA the old school methodā¦MATH, moment arms, bolted connections, etc. (I think F360 does it, but Iām comfortable with old school methods) Iām not sure what you mean Pre and Post processā¦Designed in F360, and Post processed using the Carbide3D post for the Shapeoko. Hope this answered your questions.
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Can you add a picture of the other side?
Itās just flat, I didnāt do anything fancy.
Iāve been busy making a number of awards for a tournament. I thought Iād show these ones because these are not the typical plaques. 4x4 stock cut to a set dimension. I was able to make all six of these in one shot with my Shapeoko 5 4x4. Text is laser engraved.
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They look very effective, what a good idea. One question, how did you do the lettering on the sides?
Dang, Jon, the award winnerās parents are going to need some really strong magnets to display those on the refrigerator door! 
BTW, +1
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Understood. I was referring to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that is used across many industries for stress analysis. My background is automotive and I have used several of the large scale programs. I thought that you might be using a FEA program and was curious about which one. Sorry for my confusion.
You are a hidden hero
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Third project, no issues so far. Agonized about feeds and speeds, cut depth and running into things as I didnāt think this should take 5 hours. Managed to get it down to 2 hours where I felt semi comfortable.
One question about sounds of bits going through Curly Maple. I noticed that when I started a clearing path that the bit squealed a lot when it started the first plunge and cut. Subsequent cuts didnāt squeal at all. I was using a 1/4" down cut endmill running the following parameters:
Golden Boy bit from CIC Workshop
Diameter 1/4"
Flute 3
Pass Depth 0.250
Step over 0.1
Speed 18000
Feed 100 inches/min
Plunge 50 inches/min
What does the squealing sound tell you? Should I change something?
Thank you for any help.
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I used acrylic paint and then wiped the excess off. I sometimes use powder coat paint but the heat gun would mess up the base coat paint in this case.
Itās telling you its cutting 180 deg of the cutter surface on the first pass, the bit itself is designed differently than a normal spiral cutter due its objective of clearing. There is allot more groves that interact with the material being cut. In this case I think the wood is squealing instead of the bit!!
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Itās called āslottingā when the tool is cutting the full width of the bit.
Your ears will be as good a guide as your eyes.
Itās noisy, you can slow the feed rate down (%50) until the slot is done and the normal stepover takes over.
This is the reason you make a pocket to cut out something instead of a contour.
It relieves the amount of times the bit has to slot.
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@jtclose Thanks for the advice Iāll try slowing it down next time.
@Redlander I agree its the wood screaming.
Iām sure their marketing folks would tell you how great that is. You probably paid more for the deletion to āremove weightā. But, congrats on a fun purchase.
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I havenāt cut anything yet, still in the reading and learning all I can Stage. I received my Pro 5 just after New Years, still have to organize my shop and get it set up. I have read through all of the post here and have learned a ton of information, even before making my first pretty pieces of firewood.
My question is, and I havenāt seen anything posted, has anyone ever used any LVP flooring planks, for stock to cut, it seems like it would be fairly inexpensive, for practice, or maybe even signs and coasters. Iām just curious of your experience, and outcomes. If you have, post some pictures, I would like to see them.
@DCush Been using āLVP flooring planksā for various custom projects for 5 or 6 years. I built fixtures to hold the raw parts. Good Luck
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Made a office name plate for a coworker. My finest r.e: fiddliest inlays yet on Indyās whip. I had to use the Amana Tool 46473, 6.2 Degree bit and lots of custom v carve inlay offset tests in Carbide Create to get the inlay to fit just right. Oh, and a 3d carve of the Cherubin from the top of the Ark of the Covenant on the reverse 
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