Creating a carved region using the Straight bit, not the carving bit.

[TurtleCove]

I've got some MDF board here, and I was going to head to Lowes, and check out there Corian.
Thinking about making my first Lithophane.
I just went to the excellent Lithophane 101 tutorial by Jason.

At the end of his tutorial he talks about making a sled for your 1/4" thick acrylic, and he suggests carving out a 1/4" recess in MDF, using the carving bit. Wouldn't it be faster to use the 3/8" Straight - Jointing bit to hog out the MDF in a large rectangle like this? And, maybe just use the carving bit to clean up the corners....though, for making a lithophane recess, I don't see why the corners would need to be square.

If others don't see a problem doing so, how would I tell the machine to carve out that large region, using that bit, instead?

[TurtleCove]

And, just a side question here....
Since Corian is suggested for lithophanes, isn't Corian often used for counter tops? And isn't 1/4" thick material typically used for lithophanes? And, last I looked, counter tops are way thicker than 1/4". See my disconnect?

[bergerud]

I use the 1/8 cutting bit to make carrier boards out of MDF. Instead of milling out the whole rectangle, I just cut out a large hole and mill a shelf for the work piece to rest on. If one is going to use the same size work piece over and over, I think this is the way to go.

[lynnfrwd]

You can also do it this way with the 3/8 Straight bit. See Tips & Tricks: http://www.carvewright.com/support-page/getting-started/tutorials/tips-tricks/pocketcuts/


(http://www.carvewright.com/support-page/getting-started/tutorials/tips-tricks/pocketcuts/)

[TurtleCove]

Berg, you don't feel the material (as thin as it is) needs support underneath it?

[lawrence]

Backsplashes are typically 1/4 inch- standard corian for countertops is generally 1/2 inch and is glued up along the edge to create the thicker look. Only certain colors will work for lithophanes.

Lawrence

[bergerud]

Berg, you don't feel the material (as thin as it is) needs support underneath it?

I guess it depends on how big and how thin. You could leave a cross underneath for support.