can I get some help from seasoned carvers?

[princess sawdust]

Hi all, I finally received my routing bits yesterday and was so excited to try them out. My first "routed" project didn't at all turn out. What did I do wrong? I used the 1/4 inch round over bit. I will include the project so you can see all of the settings.

My main concerns:
Why did it do a double pass on the right end of the piece?
Why didn't it even "round over" the end cuts?
Doesn't the rout function finish the edges of a piece not just cut a groove?

Plus, how can I eliminate the squares surrounding the balls? Or at least "stack" the lettering on top of them better?

Thanks in advance, Princess Sawdust

[SpiffyDog]

Princess Sawdust,

What type of wood are you using? This will have an impact on the chipping.

Attached in your design with some modification. Please review and let me know if there is something else that needs changed. Happy carving!!!

PS: The font is different as I probably do not have that particular font loaded on my computer.

[princess sawdust]

I used poplar for the trial cut, I will probably use oak for the final.

So to get the square to dissapear did you just lower the entire face the depth of the squares?

Any suggestions to get a better rout around the edges?

[HandTurnedMaple]

For the patterns, they were created with the background squares. To eliminate this, import them again but use raise/lower to eliminate the background.

[SpiffyDog]

Princess Sawdust,

To eliminate the raised areas, I just added a rectangle to cover the area and made it a carved region and set it to the appropriate depth.