I did some test carving on my xcarve using a 60 degree bit. I seem to do pretty good on regular text but there’s always a screw up with cursive text especially the little circle at the top of e’s or the circle in the middle of o’s. Any bit recommendations, feed rates, speed, etc.?
I would use a v-bit; a 60-deg v-bit should be great for cursive letters.
From the images shown, it looks like the Z-Zero might not have been set correctly due to what appears to be dog-bone edges on some of the letters. The dog-bone corners can also be caused if the tip of the v-bit is not a true point and the V-Bit Detail Step Over is not set accordingly.
What software are you using?
{:0)
Brandon Parker
I ran in to the same issue and ended up doing a clean-up pass to handle minor tear out.
I’m using Easel and the bit is 60 degree. I forgot to mention that there is oramask covering the surface and the material is MDF.
What bit did you use?
Here’s what I do:
Paint (or Stain)
Apply a thin coat of Wipe On Water Based Polyurethane (or polyacrylic) Allow to dry fully, typically takes 1-2 hours (gloss or semigloss seems to work better than flat/matte sheens for this part)
Apply Oramask813
THIS IS THE KEY STEP TO GETTING CRISP CUT EDGE ON THE MASKING!!! 
Carve a Kiss-Cut (Inside perimeter of the text aka Inside the Path in Easel) to only about 0.2mm depth (make sure it slices the whole design, if parts are missed, then your board is not parallel across the top, this is usually OK, just increase the depth of the design a little bit (another 0.1-0.2mm) in Easel and Re-Run, you can set a 0 depth box atop the areas that did carve properly, no need to re-carve them that would just waste time…)
once the entire design has been kiss-cut THEN run the normal pocket carve.
This added step of the Kiss-Cut will prevent the scredding and the bunching around the edges…
I then apply a few thin coats of spray on water based poly from multiple angles
then paint with acrylic via a brush… or basic spray paint from a few angles, in 3-4 light coats.
then remove the oramask. IF there was any bleed of the paint, then because the surface was clear coated b4 the oramask, the paint will scrape right off with a hard item (fingernail works)… then I apply a thin coat of spray on water based poly in the desired sheen.
4 Likes
I use the “Solid Carbide Single Flute Engraving Bit” for cursive.
((https://www.inventables.com/technologies/solid-carbide-single-flute-engraving-bit--2))
3 Likes
Impressive look!
2 Likes