Lithophane sled

[halftone]

I'm trying to make a 5x7 Litho sled, my board is 11.25X14X.75, my material is 5X7 but when I carve it comes out 3 1/4X4 1/2. What am I missing? Thanks.

[jaroot]

Not sure if there is enough information in your question to properly answer. This is how I set up for lithos. I first carved a carve region in a board that was slightly larger than the acrylic that I'm carving adding 7" to the length. The carve region is carved the thickness of the acrylic, in our case we are using 1/8" acrylic. The carve regiion is placed on the center of the carrier board (sled/jig not sure about the terminology). then when I carve the acrylic I tape it down into the carve region on the carrier board and have the machine carve the litho centered on the board using original size.

The only thing that pops into my head about your situation is that perhaps the acylic is setting proud or pertruding above the surface of the sled and the machine is measuring it wrong because of that.

Maybe some pictures and/or mpc files might help with assistance.

Jim

[quarrydesigns]

Sounds like a scaling problem.. Are you answering yes or no to stay under rollers? Is the maching asking to scale the project?
Can be caused if you sled is even slightly less than 14" long which doesnt allow the 7" to stay under rollers on a 7" carve.

Like Jim said really need some more info..

Daniel Smith
www.quarrydesignswoodworking.com

[AskBud]

I'm trying to make a 5x7 Litho sled, my board is 11.25X14X.75, my material is 5X7 but when I carve it comes out 3 1/4X4 1/2. What am I missing? Thanks.Without seeing your MPC, my guess is that your MPC (design) is the size of your sled rather than the litho. You probably further said to "stay under rollers" and "size to fit" (scale to size). This causes the machine to reduce (resize) your carving.

There are two schools of thought on solving this problem.
1) Design your Litho project the size you wish it to finish (5 x 7). Place it on your sled (which is at least 7" longer than your design) and select the option to stay under the rollers. Presuming that you placed the material in the center of your sled, select to "Center" the carve. If you get a prompt asking if you wish to resize select "NO".

2) Design your project using your sled dimensions. Select to option to "NOT stay under the rollers, and "DO NOT RESIZE". Your project will be carved, on the sled "as you designed it".

My "Download" link, below, Has lots of AVI lessons on many items as well as links to many other sources of Tips, Tricks, Tutorials, and such.

Before you get into full blown carving mode, I suggest that you review quite a few of these offerings. That way you may succeed in making beautiful carvings without damaging your machine or ruining quite a few projects in the learning process.
AskBud

[Digitalwoodshop]

Homework Alert.... You are assigned to read the CarveWright Tips and Tricks.... There will be a Quiz in the morning.... LOL.....

This 7 inch rule of Wood is just one of the MANY tips and tricks you can read to prevent what we call pilot errors.... As in flying without reading the manual... Every problem you will ever have with the machine has been had by almost all of us before... We wrote the Tips and Tricks to help new users get the most satisfaction out of the machine. Had there been a Tips and Tricks in 2007 as detailed as today the hundreds and hundreds of machines would not have been turned in by frustrated users back to Sears. Some brag about the number of machines they went through....

So LHR has made improvements every day since the beginning and learned from US and now have a Remarkable Machine that is VERY RELIABLE... There are far more Pilot Error Posts than Troubleshooting Posts... As as the machines age most of the Troubleshooting Posts are:

FFC Cable bad... It can only bend so many times... And if a sharp bend will snap at the bend....

Y Gear Box Bearings go bad.... Replace at 250 cut motor hours to avoid problems.

Cut Motor brushes are too short.. They last about 290 hours.... Replace at 250 cut motor hours.

Sand Paper Belts rolling under. Hard to see when rolled under. Will raise the board and you get X Tracking Errors.... Shifted cut in X or a Broken BIT....

So that is the top 4.... All CONSUMABLES

So read Tips and Tricks and the Manual.... The most common 1st post is.... "The head is cranked up all the way and will only click to go down...." The answer to that is in the Owner's Manual that was never opened.

This Machine is not like a Table Saw... You need Knowledge to run this machine.

Welcome....

WE were all NEW Once....

AL