Help with cut out

[fwharris]

The "out of registration" cut is do to a tracking issue. CarveWright recommends doing the cut outs as a single pass using the 3/16" cutting bit but a lot of carvers shy away from doing single pass cuts for fear of breaking the cutting bit. Especially if cutting the full thickness of the board.

On yours it sounds like you are cutting out a pattern carve. You can cut down on some of the carve time with a pierced carve by making the outer pierce area smaller (closer to the pattern). When I am setting up cutouts for a patterned carve I use the feather tool around the pattern to remove the material around the pattern and then do a single pass cut out.

[DickB]

If the cutting bit passes close to the brass roller it may induce vibrations causing the optical disc to be misread and subsequently ignored. This can lead to problems such as you described. I had this happen in the distant past, but since I started using sleds I have not had this issue. My sled has a 3/4" plywood base, 1" rails on the sides, and 4" end caps. I believe that the mass of the sled dampens vibrations. The sled keeps the cutting bit away from the brass roller. I highly recommend using a sled on virtually every project.