I am making a cutting board inlay for my daughter for college and could really use some advise. I am using Easel Pro and I did a different inlay project before and did not get a super tight fit between make and female piece and want to correct that for this project. I am planning on using a 1/8" 2 flute downcut spiral bit for roughing pass and a 15 degree V Bit for detail. I am trying to determine the best way to do the carve for both male and female pieces and would appreciate any advise.
- For the 2 stage carve, when switching bits from roughing to detail, do you use last XY zero or manually reset the position?
- I have read from a different post to do a standard vcarve on the male and then redo it setting the Z Axis a little lower than zero so how do I set the Z axis below zero and is this a recommended best practice?
Any advice is greatly appreciated, I would love any detailed instructions on the best way to carve this out for a tight fit so I don’t get gaps between male and female fit. If Vcarve is not the best way, I am all ears.
See below for screenshots of the design:
Have you used this application?
Yes, I have tried the Inlay Generator but my detail pass is with a V bit and it was my understanding that the app doesn’t support V bits and for a V Carve you would need to do the inlay work outside the generator.
I guess I’d substitute a straight bit with the same diameter as the depth of the V bit you plan to use to generate the gcode…try it on scrap.
So I understand, are you saying calculate the diameter of the bit at max carve depth and enter that in the app or use the .25 max diameter of the bit itself?
If you have access to CAD and know the taper angle, you could figure out the diameter from the point up and use that number in your app substituting a straight bit with that diameter in the App… Try it in scrap first as this is only theoretical…LOL.
Ok, no access to CAD/CAM software but I can utilize my high school trig/geometry knowledge. That being said, how would it work as it relates to depth per pass? In theory diameter would change with each pass right?
That would be my guess. Another approach would be to use a straight bit for the inlay and then the V bit to follow the on the line toolpath to achieve the V effect. All my inlays are done with straight bits.
I don’t necessarily care about the V effect, I was trying to get the sharp detail in the design to come through and the preview with the 15 degree V bit looked good. Smallest straight bit I have is 1/8" (doesn’t mean I won’t buy smaller) but I tried sticking a 1/16" as the detail bit and it still didn’t look as good as with the Vbit.
