Carve set up

What do you consider the best set up for carving out a silhouette using MDF or ply. Can you recommend bit size and speed.

For MDF or Plywood I recommend a downcut bit.
You should be able to pick up a 1/4" downcut bit from your local hardware store, in the router bit section.

I ordered up a 1/8 downcut bit from amazon, but it is only long enough to cut 1/2" thick stock.

Speed wise… I cut both pretty fast and could probably go faster. I usually start at around 80 inches/min as my default.

With MDF you will make a mess so use a dust shoe, with some kind of good filter (I use the dust deputy) and a respirator (I use a painters respirator form the hardware store.)

Also I have found that if I am doing a more complex carve it is a lot faster to lay it out as multiple profile cuts that I glue together after, than doing a lot of pocket cutting.