Fail of the Week

Projects
21

I had mentioned another project that I have been working on. My wife has asked me to come up with some Christmas projects, so here I go.

I have done a few test carves of this particular project in order to figure out what depth works best, and what bit works best. The 1/8 30 degree seems to give me the best results, but man does it take a long time. Like, 15+ hours! I still had the 1/4-1/2 Heentech 60 degree installed, so I thought I would see what it would be like. A detailed preview and simulation told me that carving the job with this bit would take significantly less time, like 3-1/2 hours. I did notice that the bit didn’t look right, so I swapped it out for a similar Freud bit, and ran the job. I had to slow it down a bit, but it did reduce the carve time to about 5-1/2 hours.

SantaTray1
SantaTray11920×1440 401 KB

I was happy that this carve took much less time, but I wasn’t happy with the outcome. At a basic glance, it looks pretty good, but if you look closer, it is rough, and the finer lines in the lettering are just not there. I may try again with a brand-new bit (which is on order already), but I don’t think that it will improve things because of the shoulder on the larger bit.

So I went back to what I know. I put a brand-new FA 1/8 30 degree bit in the machine and loaded a new board. I think this came in at around 15-1/2 hours, but it looks great. So, maybe not a fail!

SantaTray3
SantaTray31920×1440 340 KB

I guess it is just a reminder that quality takes time. I think my most valuable tools in CNC work are patience and perseverence.

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22

Nice work!

I’ve been trying to get this detail for a while. I’ve made improvements but nothing this good.

What speeds and feeds did you use for your 30 degree (assuming one flute?)

23

I did not do this carve on a Maslow. It was done on a FoxAlien Masuter 4040 (gantry) machine, which is a lot different of a machine. That’s not to say that the Maslow can’t do it, because it sure can, but the feed and speed could be very different.

I settled in at about 300mm/m and depth at 0.6mm.

Once I get a couple other projects off the frame, perhaps I will set up this carve to run on the Maslow just to see how it works out. I have done some fine detailed carves with the M2, so it can definitely do it.

Have a look at My Maslow Adventures to see some of the things I have done with the M2.

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