Just getting started.... have a few questions

[mikemotherway]

Hi,

I just made a purchase and have been reading the forum, tips & tricks, and manuals. There's a lot of helpful information posted. I'm appreciating this resource.

I'm hoping to get pointers in 2 areas to start.

1- for first carvings.... is there a preferable material to start with? I have a fair amount of eastern white pine on hand. Will I run into problems?

2- I'm hoping to carve out slot car chassis from 1/8" lexan. Is there a recommended speed and depth to do this? Slower speed and cut through in 2 passes? From reading it sounds like I'd want to use a sled to allow cutting all the way through the lexan. Any tips here are certainly welcome.

Thanks
Mike

[DickB]

Mike,

I have carved pine and can say that you may or may not have tearout issues, depending upon the pattern and the specific piece of wood. In my area the local home center sells clear pine that comes from New Zealand, and it carves the best. If you have pine on hand, start with that and get some experience with the machine.

I haven't carved lexan myself, but I can give a couple of pointers. You say you want to "carve" lexan; but did you mean "cut"? Carving and cutting are different operations with different bits on the machine, although you can combine them in the same project. The software does not give you choice over cutting speed, but you can specify maximum depth per pass and therefor number of passes. To make through cuts you'll need to either use tabs in the cutouts or secure the stock with double-stick tape, so that the cutting bit does not of catch a loose piece and break things. I would recommend that a beginner start with a few practice cutouts using tabs to learn the machine before diving in to lexan and sleds.