Cutting Gears

[KevinO]

I have need of several wooden gears for a project I'm making. The thicknesses are 0.5 inch, 0.25 inch and 0.125 inch. I'd like to design them in TurboCAD, save them as .png files and transfer them into Designer for cutting.

I think I'm OK with the file part of it but the cutting has me a little confused. I can use "Cut path" for the 0.50 inch gear but I'm not sure of the best way to cut the 0.25 and 0.125 inch gears. Is it better to use a carve region of depth 0.25 and 0.375 inch and rely on the automatic tabs or is it better to glue 0.25 inch stock to a carrier and cut all the way through?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Kevin

[eromran]

I have need of several wooden gears for a project I'm making. The thicknesses are 0.5 inch, 0.25 inch and 0.125 inch. I'd like to design them in TurboCAD, save them as .png files and transfer them into Designer for cutting.

I think I'm OK with the file part of it but the cutting has me a little confused. I can use "Cut path" for the 0.50 inch gear but I'm not sure of the best way to cut the 0.25 and 0.125 inch gears. Is it better to use a carve region of depth 0.25 and 0.375 inch and rely on the automatic tabs or is it better to glue 0.25 inch stock to a carrier and cut all the way through?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

KevinI've been trying to figure the exact same thing out Not a gear though) today and finally took a break i was getting myself confused. on the .25 gear for example if you used a .25 carve region it will carve that out .25 but when you add gear it puts it on top witch brings it back to top surface and would leave .25 behind it if you where on a 1/2 board that would be .5 gear. The only why i could think of was set the depth to go all way through (.50) then to get the gear to be .25 you have to lower the height down until it get to .25 cause 100% height would give you a .50 gear. I'm sure there is a better way i just can't figure it out ether. Hope fully someone wil come to the rescue sorry i can't be more help

[hotpop]

I would do the thinner gears on piece of 1/2" plywood. I would use double back tape to hold gears in place while cutting.

[ChrisAlb]

I've been trying to figure the exact same thing out Not a gear though) today and finally took a break i was getting myself confused. on the .25 gear for example if you used a .25 carve region it will carve that out .25 but when you add gear it puts it on top witch brings it back to top surface and would leave .25 behind it if you where on a 1/2 board that would be .5 gear. The only why i could think of was set the depth to go all way through (.50) then to get the gear to be .25 you have to lower the height down until it get to .25 cause 100% height would give you a .50 gear. I'm sure there is a better way i just can't figure it out ether. Hope fully someone wil come to the rescue sorry i can't be more help

Hi Ed,

This is a coaster project that Jerry (Eagle Hollow) and I had a lot of fun with. I "think" it will demonstrate how you can set a pattern down into the wood in carved regions, making it thinner than the original board thickness.

I attached the MPC as well so you can refer to the settings used.

KevinO,
This may work for you as well. Although starting with the .25 and .125 thickness material and attaching them to a carrier board would work as well. Almost like Hotpop said, if you use .25 and .125 material, attach it with double sided tape to the carrier and use just a "Path" not "cut path" and the 1/8" cut bit set to .25 and .125 respectively.

Hope that helps guys.

Chris

[forqnc]

I would do the thinner gears on piece of 1/2" plywood. I would use double back tape to hold gears in place while cutting.

I second this motion, this is how I would try to do it.

[eromran]

Hi Ed,

This is a coaster project that Jerry (Eagle Hollow) and I had a lot of fun with. I "think" it will demonstrate how you can set a pattern down into the wood in carved regions, making it thinner than the original board thickness.

I attached the MPC as well so you can refer to the settings used.

KevinO,
This may work for you as well. Although starting with the .25 and .125 thickness material and attaching them to a carrier board would work as well. Almost like Hotpop said, if you use .25 and .125 material, attach it with double sided tape to the carrier and use just a "Path" not "cut path" and the 1/8" cut bit set to .25 and .125 respectively.

Hope that helps guys.

ChrisChris,
thanks but i understand setting something down just lower the depth. The part giving me trouble is if you have a know thickness of a part let say .35 and your board is .50 (of an inch) you have to lower the part to the bottom and work up until it is .35 thick is there a different way other than what i tried to explain? OK in short how would you take your rosette which i don't know how thick it is and make it cut out to .35 thick (total thickness not raised above carve region because then you would still have thickness of carved region also) One more thing if the answer is you have to figure out the % of the depth and how that relates to the height and do all that you don't have to go into detail i have that figured out i was wondering was there an easier an more accurate way. Thanks again i know it take a lot of time replying to some of these post that are second nature for some. It is appreciated though.

[KevinO]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to use "Cut Path" for the 0.5 inch gear, and I will use a carrier for the 0.25 and 0.125 inch gears. I think the actual cutting time will be a lot less for the thinner gears using this method. I haven't used double-sided tape yet. Any recommendations on the brand? Is plain old double-sided Scotch tape good enough or should I look for a stronger tape? I'd hate for it to let go in the middle of the cut!
By the way, this forum is great. It seems that no matter what the question, someone has "been there, done that"!
I'll post a few pictures when I finish the gears.

Kevin

[Amonaug]

1) Wouldn't the easiest way to be to make the gear pattern then simply use "outline pattern" to get the path.
2) Apply a carve region to that path to get the tickness of the gear you want.
3) So for example you have 1/2" wood stock and want a 1/4" thick gear you set the carve region depth to .25.
4) Copy the path then paste, remove carve region from second and use cut path.

This method you could get any size gear you want by using the same stock wood. Only thing is it may mean a lot of carving depth depending on how thick of wood stock you start with.

This of course is if you are simply looking for a flat faced gear. If the gear face is other than flat then it gets a bit more complicated. It also has the advantage of leaving tabs in the cut path depending on how thin you get.

As for double-sided tape I use carpenter's tape, less sturdy tape may work as well.

[DocWheeler]

Kevin,

It seems that nobody addressed your question! The thin double-stick tape is not adequate to hold the cutout piece. There are several other sources, some use the double-stick carpet tape.

I had some from my construction-trade years, but also bought some that was made in England recently that was a lot thinner.

Good luck with your project.

[Eagle Hollow]

Kevin,

It seems that nobody addressed your question! The thin double-stick tape is not adequate to hold the cutout piece. There are several other sources, some use the double-stick carpet tape.

I had some from my construction-trade years, but also bought some that was made in England recently that was a lot thinner.

Good luck with your project.

One other tape I found is used to hold insulation in place on metal framed buildings. It's about two inches wide. Unroll amount wanted, apply and remove top paper..it really holds but is around 22 bucks a roll that is at least 25 yards long.

Jerry
1.126

[KevinO]

Thanks again. I'm off to try and find double-sided carpet tape.
Amonaug, you're right, I could just use carve regions for the gears which is the simplest way to do it. The only reason I would consider using a carrier is that I think it would cut the carve time way down since it basically just has to cut out the shape, whereas the carve region would require a lot more cutting. Maybe I'm trying to over-engineer it, the carve region approach may be less time-consuming in the long run.

Kevin

[ChrisAlb]

Chris,
thanks but i understand setting something down just lower the depth. The part giving me trouble is if you have a know thickness of a part let say .35 and your board is .50 (of an inch) you have to lower the part to the bottom and work up until it is .35 thick is there a different way other than what i tried to explain? OK in short how would you take your rosette which i don't know how thick it is and make it cut out to .35 thick (total thickness not raised above carve region because then you would still have thickness of carved region also) One more thing if the answer is you have to figure out the % of the depth and how that relates to the height and do all that you don't have to go into detail i have that figured out i was wondering was there an easier an more accurate way. Thanks again i know it take a lot of time replying to some of these post that are second nature for some. It is appreciated though.

Ed, Sorry for the delay in replying. got busy today helping a friend layout some stairs.

Actually there is an easy way. When you pass your mouse cursor over the board it reads the coordinates in the lower left corner. The last number is the height number. It will read 0 (zero) on the uncut surface of the board. If you have a .25 deep region it will read .25.

So if you're working with say a 3/4" board, that would mean the "top" of the .25 deep region is 1/2" from the bottom of the wood. .75 - .25 = .5

So for KevinO's gears. If he was using 3/4" stock and wanted a 1/4 thick gear, he'd just set the top of the gear so it reads .5 and wala, it will be a 1/4" thick from the bottom.

Hope I explained that well enough...lol. If not, let me know and I'll get another cup of coffee and try again..lol

Chris

[LollyWood]

Chris,

You just saved my naked butt. hehehehehe (ugly pic I know ;))the Boss has been asking for coasters since Christmas. I'm not savey enough to figure the depths of the regions so I just stay busy w/ other projects, but now.... And Mothers day is coming YEEHAAA.

I want to Carve these 3 to a board. And use a carrier. Do ya happen to know the approx carve time for one of these?


Thanks in advance, :)

[ChrisAlb]

Bernie,

I just put 3 of them on a board. Set to best it's 48:11 to carve them. They are set up like that to put a 3 -1/2" circle of plexiglas in them. Also, I used no carrier board for mine. Just a 14" long 1 x 6 pine.

Hope that helps.

[LollyWood]

:)
Thanks Chris,

Gona give em a try this weekend. (crosses fingers) I'll let ya know. Would like to try some diff center designs. Will prob blow my Gizmo up, heheheheheheh
:)

[eromran]

Thanks Chris,
Shows how observant i am i have never seen those numbers down there so it probally in the owners manual.