Two-sided spoons with manual tabs test file---is this right?

[Ohio]

I'm testing these designs and want to carve them in MDF to see about length, width, handle shape, poly count, etc.

- The MDF is 12" x 40", so plenty of room all the way around.

- I am not using a sled or jig right now. I bought and made a BergerudSled (thanks for that, Bergerud) and have a simple file to test to learn to use the sled properly because if there's a way to break something, I will find it. Tools fear me.

- Model workflow was from Lightwave to MeshLab to STL and imported into Designer BASIC.

- I placed the spoons front and back, added lines and made tabs, Bit Op is BEST, Feather is NONE, Draft is NONE.

My concerns:

1. Did I get the tabs right?

2. Is my placement okay?

3. I have the fronts as PIERCED and the backs at .25/100. (Should these be done without PIERCE'ing since I don't have cutting bits?)

4. In addition to efficiently cutting the patterns, is this approach okay for the machine? IOW, will it be hard on the machine to do these types of cuts? Should I feather or draft to get a good finish and make it easier on the machine?

Thanks very much for any input. I really appreciate it. And now I ahve to run out and see how badly I can screw up something using the BergerSled.

Edit: For spelling because I can break that pretty well, too. When I split an infinitive, it stays split.

Another edit: File corrected---thanks normrichards

[normrichards]

Im not the one to answer all your questions but if you look at the back there is 6 spoons instead of 4.

[Ohio]

Im not the one to answer all your questions but if you look at the back there is 6 spoons instead of 4.

Crap.

The original is twice this size. I changed the board size but forgot to look at the reverse to make sure they models are set up correctly. File corrected above and here as well.

Here it is.

[DickB]

You still have two extra spoons on the back, off the board.

I would think that you would want the front and rear patterns to meet in the middle, so I would set the depth of both to .25". Uncheck Floor Feather (if you have Designer 3). If you add some feather to all the spoon patterns, the bit will ease into the pattern rather than plunge, and even though more material will be removed it will actually carve a few minutes faster.

You don't have enough tabs, and especially with MDF 1/8" tabs are too small I think - the tabs are likely to break. To be honest I'm not sure at what depth to set the tabs. I wonder if set to .5" will they be carved away on the rear? I think I would place tabs on both front and rear in identical locations and set the depth to .25". So I think that tabs would be left both top and bottom.

I think I would also start with one spoon and stand ready at the Stop button.

I assume you're going to jog to position to have enough board space. How do you plan to align front and rear? This is going to be critical.

[Ohio]

I would think that you would want the front and rear patterns to meet in the middle, so I would set the depth of both to .25". Uncheck Floor Feather (if you have Designer 3). If you add some feather to all the spoon patterns, the bit will ease into the pattern rather than plunge, and even though more material will be removed it will actually carve a few minutes faster.

You don't have enough tabs, and especially with MDF 1/8" tabs are too small I think - the tabs are likely to break. To be honest I'm not sure at what depth to set the tabs. I wonder if set to .5" will they be carved away on the rear? I think I would place tabs on both front and rear in identical locations and set the depth to .25". So I think that tabs would be left both top and bottom.

I have Designer BASIC with the STL importer.

I've attached a single spoon set up with .25/999 front and back, with more tabs. As you'll see in the pattern, it doesn't appear that the pattern is completely cut out. Maybe that's just the software, though, and not what will actually happen.

I assume you're going to jog to position to have enough board space. How do you plan to align front and rear? This is going to be critical.

I think i really don't understand how this works. I assumed that JOG TO CENTER meant it would jog to center regardless of the pattern so front and back would align. Are you saying I have to manually set up either a corner or a center drilled hole or some other location on the material so everything aligns?

I've read some tutorials about this and I believe your procedure of drilling a center hole and moving the bit to that location. I've done a two-sided carve using jog to center and it worked perfectly, so are you saying that jog to center won't work for a project with multiple patterns front and back?

[SteveNelson46]

Manual tabs are meant to be used only on "Pierced" carvings and I think that would work here. Zero depth carve regions used as tabs would be cut away. Since it's a two-sided carve, the tabs on the cut-out tool will probably not work either. After the back side is cut there won't be any wood left for tabs. You will have to devise another method to hold it in place while it's carving. Reversing the patterns (front to back) may work also.

[DickB]

As you'll see in the pattern, it doesn't appear that the pattern is completely cut out. Maybe that's just the software, though, and not what will actually happen.

I've done something similar, and in fact it was not completely cut through. The usual method is to place a pierced carve region around the pattern as I have done. This will ensure that the pattern is completely cut out. The feather tool was applied to the cutout region for the reasons I explained before.

I relocated your tabs and used the mirror tool to place some of them so that they are in the identical position when flipped. I deleted all your tabs on the reverse side and copied and pasted all of the tabs from the front to the reverse side, so that all tabs line up perfectly with the ones from the front. Also all tabs were made 3/16". I think this will work, but like I said I have not actually tried this. I think the way that you did it the tabs would be partially undercut.

Jog to center will work to align multiple patterns on the board.

[Ohio]

Okay, I see. You mirrored along the z axis to get the tabs to align front and back.

If I'm understanding, the pierced carve region is an addition you drew in freehand and then selected Carve region. This way you could manually put in tabs and

Could I do this by selecting the main pattern (06test_Front) and then apply Outline > Cut path > Flip cut (so it offsets)? If so, can I do this to just the front and not about the back?

I can freehand all of the patterns but if there's a quicker way to do this, I will.

Also, I think I may layout all of the patterns in Lightwave so it's just one STL

[SteveNelson46]

This should work. You will not need tabs on the back side. After the back is carved there is no wood left for tabs. I outlined the pattern and then used the "Path Offset" tool for the pierced carve region. If you zoom in close on both sides you can see how the tabs will work.

[Ohio]

This should work. You will not need tabs on the back side. After the back is carved there is no wood left for tabs. I outlined the pattern and then used the "Path Offset" tool for the pierced carve region. If you zoom in close on both sides you can see how the tabs will work.

Thanks, but I get an error that this MPC was created in a newer version of this software. I'm running Designer BASIC 1.187, which appears to be the latest version. I do not have Designer PRO.

Perhaps if you have a chance to just clue me in on what you did I could repro it on my side? If you want, of course. I'd appreciate it.