Need help carving a log/branch

I may not convey my idea as well as it is in my head, but bear with me.

I want to take a log/branch, with a diameter of no more than 4 inches and carve letters into it.
My problem is, I’m not exactly sure if it is possible to do this.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

I’m sure you could mount the branch to the x carve and engrave a line, but I’d bet the depth would be inconsistent unless you measured the height of each position for each letter and had a file for each letter. You could take a hunk of rough lumber and engrave something to see what I mean.

It sounds like you would like to do carving just as you would on a flat surface, but taking into account that the branch is more like a cylinder and that you need to change the height of the bit to match the branch’s curvature.

You can probably get away with this if you are not going too far around the branch’s curvature. To engrave completely around the branch would require a rotary axis.

Programs like V-Carve Pro can handle the 3D tool paths needed for carving on a curve and they can generate the A axis commands needed to control a rotary axis.

If you are using just Easel, that’s a bit trickier. You might be able to make text on the center of the branch shallow and increase the carving depth of the letters in areas where the branch is starting to curve down.

As a knifemaker i have been using a sainsmart 3018 now 3040 to make handle cuts inside for the mechanics on a Itallian Switchblade type of knives , been working great so far but i want to inlet shields into finished handles other than the way i been doing it making a steel template and doing it by hand.
I come up with a way to get the shap cut into a flat surface so far but need to set it to cut on curvature of finished handles ,Anyone point me in the direction i need to be looking into ???