Thanks for jumping in @Earwigger. As I told Allen, long term I’m hoping to upgrade to a more commercial machine, but I would love to get more out the X-Carve for now.
I think deflection is a definite problem and I have read through the Stiffening Mods threads a few times already. They are fraught with people trying things and offering suggestions and some people doing things and saying why it worked and how it could be better. It would be great if someone just wrapped up the thread at the end saying “this is the best way and this is how you do it.” Maybe it’s in there, and I just get lost. The other side of it for me is I’m hesitant to make a change because I can’t waste time with the machine being down. If I make an adjustment and it upsets my cuts I’m throwing money away and I’m adding to the pressure of how far behind I already am.
But I’m ready to bite the bullet and do the mods, so I will try to find the correct measurements for the thickness of the metal and get it ordered. I already bought some brackets for stiffening up the y rails and I know this will help I just hope I can get it accomplished without mishap.
It’s has been difficult to find a 1/8" bit that will cut through 13/16" material. I have one, but it’s not really for wood, and according to the Amana customer service it’s the only one the carry. Inventables offers one in a straight flute rather than spiral and maybe that’s worth trying. I would use less material and get better defined objects if I were able to use a smaller bit.
I went with an up cut spiral because it’s seemed like a good choice when cutting deep, so that the material was pulled out. With a down spiral don’t you risk heating up your bit as the material is not ejected as effectively? When my bit is sharp, I am actually really impressed with the finish. There is fraying at the top edge which increases as the bit dulls, but we round all of the edges anyways in the finishing process, so that our products are really smooth for young children, so the fraying doesn’t have much effect. We belt sand, orbital sand, and mop sand everything. It’s part of our business model and why we have done so well, our products are a pleasure to hold in your hand.
As far as software, I know I’m going to have to upgrade to V-Carve eventually, but Easel really has been a great introduction to CNC software and I have been pretty happy with it. I would have been totally lost had I started with a commercial level software (5 months ago I didn’t have a clue what tabs were, workpaths, feeds and speeds, and a whole lot more.
What kind of stuff are you cutting and how much do you run your machine?
Thanks a ton for your help.