I was learning how to flatten, and on a 240x240 piece of hard maple, I choose a pocket toolpath. Used a Whiteside 6210 1in bit. I checked the popular settings, and gave it a go
When complete, the x axis showed clear step marks while the y axis cuts were smooth and had little to no step marks.
Any ideas what I can update/set/change to ensure an even flattening on both the x and y axis?
I tried looking at old topics in the forum, but their solution pointed me to a shapeoko wiki that appears to be offline.
Sounds like a tram issue. Most likely your spindle is nodding towards the front of the machine. I’m not sure about a pro, but you probably need to shim the mount.
If you have little ridges that are going across from left to right then you need to tram router mount. You usually do this with shims. If the ridges are front to back then a left/right adjustment is necessary. You description would be likely the router mount. The 1" bit exaggerates tram issues. So if the ridges are at the back of the step over then you need to shim the top of the router mount out. If the ridge is at the front then you need to shim the bottom of the router mount. Usually some alum foil doubled over will work. You could also use some brass shim stock.
A suggestion for tramming is to get the 123 blocks or you could get a micrometer setup. The 123 blocks are very cheap and do have some other uses in your shop.
Everything @gdon_2003 said. When I first started I was too excited to be making wood chips that I didn’t bother with tramming, I’d just sand the grooves away. As my journey in CNC progressed I realized I needed more precision and trammed my machine, after about 6 months of playing around. Its a night and day difference. There’s so much to learn and fiddle with sometimes its hard to prioritize what to do: experiment with speed and feeds, experiment with different materials, machine setup, etc… My advise, FAFO.
