quick question

[optionman]

getting my machine friday. if i want to use a 24x12 board and rout the edges, and i select to keep the board under the rollers, do i need 3.5inches extra on either side? do u always need the 3.5 inches extra if i select to keep the board under rollers, regardless of its size?

thanks and i look forward to posting my first completed carve.

[DocWheeler]

optionman,

Yes, When you tell the machine to keep it under the rollers it adds 7" to the mpc that you want to carve. This is a confusing point since you can have an mpc where the carved portion is not within 3.5" of either end of the board - in that case you would tell it NOT to keep it under the rollers (but it would actually stay under the rollers!)

[optionman]

thanks for your quick response.

i guess i'll tape the 24x12 board to a 32x12 board and place a 4x12 on either side. the cs will have no problem routing the edge of my 24x12 board? no interference from the side pieces?

[DocWheeler]

Since you will be routing all the way across your board with that setup, you need to support the ends of the board so it does not drop down and lose contact with the board sensor under it. There are a lot of posts on that problem, mainly under "stair-stepping".

[optionman]

if i create a 9x9 .5in deep carved region in a 16x12 board and then place a 9x9 .5in deep piece of wood in the carved region, will cw be able to rout the edges of the 9x9 object board without ruining my ability to re-use the 16x12 board for future projects?

[DocWheeler]

optionman,

Without using a sled, the best you could do would be to have an inverted "U" shaped piece left with less than 3.5" on the verticals and less than 3" on one edge. If you centered the 9 X 9, you would just have a board with a big hole in the middle.

With a sled (or carrier board with end fillers), you could just use a 9 X 9 piece out of a corner (minus the cut of the router bit). An attempt to define sleds/carrier-boards is in the works.