Squaring my board, with the machine.

[TurtleCove]

So, I'm just messing around with my new machine right now, to get familiar with it. Got a "check cut motor" today, and I see there are several messages up there to help me deal with that.

In any event, I was carving a grid into a board, like a checkerboard pattern today, and the lines got "off". Meaning towards the end of the project the lines were too short on one side of the board, and too long on the other. I suspect my board wasn't square....does that sound plausible? Or perhaps slippage. No big deal, since I was just playing with scrap wood.

If I had no way to square a board, before loading it into the machine, is it then suggested we use the built in functions to joint the edges, and have the machine cut the board to length?

-dirk
www.thinboards.com

[Amonaug]

I don't have a jointer, etc so yes I use the CW to square boards. Sometimes if it doesn't need to be precise I use my tablesaw.

[brdad]

I don't think your grid should be off because the ends of the board are not perfect since the machine doesn't measure each line off from the end or sides of the board.

As long as it was set up right in designer, I'd sooner guess there is a problem with the X or Y axes. Which axis depends on which lines went off?

If the ends of my board are not part of the project, I don't pay any great attention to having the end perfectly square. Width matters a little more since you don't want it to jam on the guides on either side. In fact, I would imagine that would be one issue that could cause your lines to be off if it was the X axis.