Fuzzies and wobblies

I still have a lot to learn about carving wood. I am using a .75 inch router bit to cut these frames. With poplar, I am getting some fuzzy areas, and wavy surfaces. Also, the bit seems to get dull fairly quickly. I am starting to get scorched marks on the wood surface.

Feed rate 762 mm/min
Plunge rate 228 mm/min
Depth per pass 5.1 mm

Should I just slow it down? How about when I start cutting these in oak?

What speed on the Dewalt?

I have the spindle at full speed.

Why did the scorch marks disappear when I bought a new bit, but then reappeared after I cut a couple more frames?

OK. So up the feed rate, and lower the spindle speed. Seems counterintuitive. But I’ll try it.

You’re burning because you’re rubbing. Your bits are failing because you’re rubbing, generating heat.

You stop rubbing by either moving the bit slower rpm-wise so you don’t rub the same spot as much given your feed rate or you increase your feed rate to move faster or, since you have scorching, you do both.

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…and a side effect of the rubbing creating heat is shortening the life of your bit. It’s a learning process. :sigh:

As far as the fuzzies go, i think i read on here that poplar is naturally a fuzzy wood, even though its a hard wood. Out of my experience, the fuzz is more manageable than when i have used pine.