Depth issues with v bit

So, I’m trying to engrave candle lids made of wood. No matter how shallow I set the depth, the v-bit still cuts too deep

Only the image on the bottom right cuts at the correct depth.

Thanks for the help.

hi, am i right in thinking that v carving automatically adjusts depth of carve in order to obtain the correct width? Therefore wider cuts will result in more depth than narrower cuts. is this what is happening with your carve?

… but then if you are getting different depths across the range of lids you are carving could be settings issue? Perhaps wasteboard or axis are out of tram?

I thought about the waste board being off. I took a blank piece of mdf and cut a straight diagonal line and it seemed to be consistent across the board. This image was a Jpeg converted online to an SVG file, so I wondered if that had anything to do with it.

I looked at the file real quick. What I noticed was that the first workpiece where you only have one logo carving you have the depth set to .091". The fourth tile you have multiple logos set up with a cut depth of .0275".

Just to make sure and not to be insulting, are you carving or adjusting the depth on the correct workpiece?

Joe - That’s a good question. I’m new to all of this. I run a nonprofit and we have refugees making candles and these are the lids. I did a select all and set the cut depth and I thought it was changing the depth for all 12 lids. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I think the select all only applies to all in the work piece you have active.

it is a puzzle…

i exploded the image and all the cut looked set to 3/4 of an inch to me. Like i said before though v carving I think v carving will set the depth according to width of cut so at least the depth should be consistent across all the lids.

The diagonal cut you made seems like a good test of the setup… if the board you did that on is even thickness and held down evenly?

i wonder, it looks like you have the lids set in something, a board with round cut outs to hold them while they are cut? if that’s the case is the holder you are using true?

The holder was cut out of MDF using the x-carve. I added furniture inserts on the back just like the x-carve waste board. The straps have compressible foam under them to keep the coasters from moving.

The height of each lid is the same so I’m not sure how that is effecting the depth as it moves from left to right and bottom to top.

Thanks!

Hi,

it’s hard to tell from pictures so could be barking up the wrong tree but might be worth checking…

is there any play in the holders? could the lids be set at different heights or could some lids be pushed down by the pressure of the cut. Could the holder be warped or the pressure of the clamps causing it to bow so that some areas are higher than others even if the wast board is level?

have you tried any other test cuts? I think your diagonal cut was top left to bottom right have you tried the opposite?

Antoinette, I’m about to try it again. I had expandable foam under each one because the height of each lid is not consistent. I removed the foam and I’m trying thin rubber this time to raise each lid to the correct height. I will let you know. Thanks for your help!

Sounds like a plan. hopefully it will help. let us know how it works out

Not sure what dia vbit you are using but by using a bigger dia vbit it does not have to cut as deep to fill in between the lines. You might want to test this on some waste wood .
Start with one of the words with the bit you are using then do the same word with a larger dia vbit if you have different sixes and see what a difference it will make.
Jeff

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Thanks everyone for your help! I’m making some good progress by adjusting the depths for each individual piece. I have carved about 160 lids so far and almost every run of 12 gets better. I think I may have it figured out finally!

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really glad to hear your making progress :slight_smile: sounds like your going great. good luck with it all :slight_smile: