Quote Originally Posted by sunmiztres View Post
Great job 200K and thanks for sharing. I just got done buying some 4" PVC to try this out as I am very interested. To me the way it sounds I could just put the 1/4" wide, 1/8" thick strips on top of the plates. Would I need to make the indentation where the bit touches during calibration? I just want to make sure the depth during carving is correct. Again great job.
Bergerud, Couldn't we take your jig and add the 1/8 strips into the design so they lay over the top plate? What do you think?
I had trouble with the board sensor stalling when I used 1/2" wide Corian strips. The 1/4" wide strips should pass muster. Make sure the outside edge of the middle piece is flush so the bit can bypass the jig on the first descent or you will get a z-stall. I even have a small groove to permit the carving(tapered) bit to slide down next to it.

Just be sure the Y-truck is not contacting the PVC workpiece. My Corian pieces raise the machine head 5/16" to prevent this but it's got a little overkill built in. You might get away with only 1/8" extra height, but I'm sure 1/4" would certainly work. Maybe double up the thickness at the ends? Just make sure you have only 1/8" extra height in the middle where the bit touchpoint is to calibrate the workpiece height.

I'm amazed how simple the solution turned out to be after going through a slew of false starts and dead ends in getting there.

200k