Carving great, but cutout really choppy

[djarboe]

Just did another carving in maple. The carving went great, but the cutout edges were really rough and choppy. Any ideas?

I checked out the bit/holder, and they are tight. The bit was locked in nice and tight. Also checked the chuck, and it is nice and tight.

[AskBud]

Just did another carving in maple. The carving went great, but the cutout edges were really rough and choppy. Any ideas?

I checked out the bit/holder, and they are tight. The bit was locked in nice and tight. Also checked the chuck, and it is nice and tight.We need to see the MPC. Please attach the MPC.
AskBud

[Digitalwoodshop]

Did you do the cut pass in multi pass mode or all in one shot... Did you use masking tape on the brass roller part of the board and since it was maple 2 more strips on the bottom to give the sand paper belt something to bite into... Hardwoods can slip.... Did you get stair stepping?

Need more info and pictures. And the .mpc for Ask Bud.

AL

[djarboe]

Yup, used masking tape on the brass roller part (learned that from you all). used a shorter board with rails taped to the sides with carpet tape. No, there was no stair stepping. I always use several passes on cutouts, and have used this mpc several times. But, I can't remember if I rechecked the max cutout depth. Do I need to reset the max. pass depth each time I do this, even though I only change the text?

Anyway am attaching the mpc and a photo of the results.






Did you do the cut pass in multi pass mode or all in one shot... Did you use masking tape on the brass roller part of the board and since it was maple 2 more strips on the bottom to give the sand paper belt something to bite into... Hardwoods can slip.... Did you get stair stepping?

Need more info and pictures. And the .mpc for Ask Bud.

AL

[Digitalwoodshop]

Looks like the board was flopping around on your carrier sled... If only tape holding it... Looks like it shifted...

A test for your machine would be to draw some rectangles and circles and place them on a single board and assign a depth of .15 deep using the 1/8 inch cutting bit.

It could be a loose Y Belt, Bad Y Rail Bearing, Bad Y Gear Box Bearing to start.....


AL

[djarboe]

Checked the cutout max. depth per pass, and I had it set to 0.080". What is the minimum value that can be used here?

Will be trying a test cut as suggested with a square and a circle on a solid piece of wood with no rails.

[cestout]

Looks to me like a dull bit. For straight cut outs I usually just use my table saw and miter saw. Smoother - straighter cuts and less ware on the machine.
Clint

[djarboe]

Well, you were right on target. Did a test carving on a solid board 0.775" thick, with nothing but a cutout circle and square. Each pass was 0.125". Turned out great. I did not put that much carpet tape on my rails for my project, and I think it got loose and started vibrating during the final cut.

Never had this problem before, but in thinking back (which is about 30 minutes at my age :)) I think I used much more carpet tape for the rails.

Always learning something. Thanks!!!!



Looks like the board was flopping around on your carrier sled... If only tape holding it... Looks like it shifted...

A test for your machine would be to draw some rectangles and circles and place them on a single board and assign a depth of .15 deep using the 1/8 inch cutting bit.

It could be a loose Y Belt, Bad Y Rail Bearing, Bad Y Gear Box Bearing to start..


AL

[lynnfrwd]

Checked the cutout max. depth per pass, and I had it set to 0.080". What is the minimum value that can be used here?

Will be trying a test cut as suggested with a square and a circle on a solid piece of wood with no rails.

I don't think it is so much the minimum that you need to look for as it is the maximum without breaking the bit.

But I agree with Clint! Got straight cuts - use a different tool.

Oops, sorry...I started this reply quite a while ago and got a phone call. Glad you got it figured out.