Layering Wood (Glue-Up)

[PghDrake]

So I just got my machine yesterday, grabbed a couple images from the store here and for my first project I made the attached "sign" as a test. I think it came out amazingly well (watching all the videos I did was a big help).

My question is this - what I'd really like to be able to do is layer boards, like with a dark walnut on top of a lighter wood below (say, maple or even pine). This way the tops of the lettering and designs would be highlighted and the depth would be lighter.

That said, in order to do this I would need to glue-up the boards...which I'm fine with but I noticed on the product page for the bits that one of the main things that cause the bits to dull faster. Have you folks experienced this, and if so is it still worth it for the effect or do they dull so fast it's just not worth doing it this way?

Any/all advice on this technique would be welcome!

Thanks ahead of time for your help.

-Don

[PghDrake]

First Noobie Mistake - forgot to upload the pic!

-Don

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[spalted]

Welcome aboard!
Nice job on your first project.

I've routed a lot of glued up wood and plywood.
Glue does decrease tool life some I suppose, but so does using them. The way I look at it, cutting tools are consumable items, using them up is just part of making cool stuff.
I wouldn't think twice about doing a glue up and running it through.
I don't think it dramatically reduces tool life on carbide tooling, high speed steel it does, but nothing we are running is HSS.
I say glue up and go for it!

[myshop1044]

Years ago someone showed some multi color layered plywood, haven’t seen it since , !!!

[Deolman]

I don't recall the user but maybe they will see this and show some pictures. They glued two different woods together and did their carving down to the next layer in some areas. The results were quite quite nice.

I guess the glue used might be concerning. Too soft and it might clog the bit. Too hard and it might excessively dull the bit. If it was me I would make some glue tests to see what might be the best. Of course in the end it may be nothing more than a SWAG before it's over.

[Dale]

I've done several projects where I have glued up different species of wood (my favorite is walnut and maple) and have not noticed any effect on the bits.

[myshop1044]

Yes it was a peacock and the eyes on the tail had different colors for the different layers

[spalted]

Now that I think about it, wasn't there and old Tips and Tricks issue with a laminated wood project or something?

Or was it forum posts that I've seen..................
I dunno, either way it's a cool effect.

I looked to see if I had any photos of ones that I did in the past but I came up empty handed.

[Mugsowner]

Carving glue ups is very common. I have seen folks do some great work with glue ups. I have done a few, they didn't seem any worse than any other carving board. I also use Anigre which is full of silica that is very hard on cutting tools, but carves great and hold up well to small detail without break out and Ipe that burns up HSS tooling in the blink of an eye, it is one of the hardest woods out there, but once again holds up well for fine detail. When I'm working with wood, I'm going for a look, so tooling is second to that. To make an omelet you must break a few eggs. The gain over comes the loss.

[PghDrake]

Wow - thanks everyone for your responses! I feel much better about the idea now, and I plan on trying it in the near future. For now I'm still working on tests, learning more about the tool, depth carving, etc. For Glue I use Titebond III for just about everything, I have yet to find anything that it's not great for - and (not that it would matter here) it's indirect food safe for use with cutting boards, which I do a lot of.

I'm really glad I looked deeper into the negative reviews I read - the support and community here has been nothing short of spectacular....oh yea and I'm really loving the machine too!

-Don

[DickB]

I don't recall the user but maybe they will see this and show some pictures. They glued two different woods together and did their carving down to the next layer in some areas. The results were quite quite nice.

Here is one I did a while ago:

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[PghDrake]

Here is one I did a while ago:

WOW! That looks great! I really love how you two-toned the top names. I have so much learning to do to become that accurate with my lettering heights, etc.

Edit: DickB, is there any way you'd be willing to post the file for that to help me learn the technique better?

-Don

[dbemus]

DickB

That is an outstanding piece of work!!! Great choice of fonts and exquisite carving depths. Thanks for sharing!

[DickB]

OK. I used Designer 3 for this project. The prep file is of course run first to make space for the layered wood. I used 1/8" thick material from Rockler, so the prep area is 1/4" deep.

87295

Next I glued some black walnut.

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And then some hickory.

87297

I use a sled whenever I can. There are a few good reasons for this. It saves material, deals with warped boards, keeps the cutting bits away from the brass roller, and dampens vibration which can cause the X encoder to become unreliable. My sleds have 4" end caps and 1" side rails on 3/4" plywood base.

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So in Designer I draw a rectangle to represent the project board on the sled, say No to stay under rollers, and Place On Corner. Note that the actual sled is bigger than the virtual one, but by placing on corner and loading the project board in the corner of the sled, it positions the project on the project board properly. This also minimises board (sled) measurement time.

In the project itself, I set the depth of the oval slightly deeper than 1/4", .32", to ensure that all of the unwanted black walnut is carved away. The depth of the last name is set to .25 and the height adjusted so that the top of the letters are again slightly deeper than the hickory, at .138". Just entered a number in the Height box, then place your cursor over the letter to read the depth at the bottom left of your Designer window. Change the Height number to get the desired depth. In this case it was 90. Set the height of the first names to 999.

I drew areas for the prep board on the final project virtual board, but did not assign a carve region. I saved the project, then save it again naming it prep to make a copy. I deleted everything except the prep areas, then assigned them a carve region. This ensured that the prep area aligns perfectly. Make sure that you load your board with the same orientation after the prep is done!

[DickB]

DickB

That is an outstanding piece of work!!! Great choice of fonts and exquisite carving depths. Thanks for sharing!Thanks! And, it's much easier to finish than painting the letters, which I suck at.

[DocWheeler]

Nice to see this being done, here is a link to one I did three about years ago https://forum.carvewright.com/showthread.php?4170-Jewlery-box-and-more-projects-by-Doc-Wheeler&p=260193#post260193 - perhaps my last project. I like Dick's glossy one, I did a mat finish on the one I linked.

[dbemus]

DickB

Thanks for sharing the photos and details of the process. Very helpful! Have been planning on doing such a project for some time. Highly motivated now!!!

[want2b]

After seeing the final product it was obvious the layering was the way to go. Started on some Xmas gifts early, attached are 2 of 8 completed recently. One is oak background the other is sycamore. Both are redwood second layer and poplar top layer. Been using up a lot of pieces. Cut the layers from some 2x6 redwood and the same of poplar and planed down to the 1/8 inch. Really love the result( and not staining/painting).
Thanks to the original submitters
Rick H

[oscarl48]

Beautiful pieces and a great technique.

[shortround72]

I’m getting excited about using my Carvewright again!! Thanks for the inspiration guys!!


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