I am super duper new to this…I have set up a design and I have selected a 1/8 bit to do the bulk of the carve and a 1/32 to do the finish carve. Well the smaller bit continues to break. Am I just using the wrong bit? I am using the1/32 to cut the small letters and do the detail work on the images… I am assuming I need to adjust the depth that the bit is cutting on each pass in order to prevent breaking? or is there something else that I should check? I did increase the depth of each pass in order to decrease the cutting time (it was 18 hours)… Thanks for any help
Your best bet is to use a vbit or tell the machine you are using a 1/32 and use a 1/16. You will loose a bit of detail with the 1/16 but it will take a lot more then a 1/32. My opinion of a 1/32 is don’t waste your money on them if you look at them funny they will break they are just to fragile. You can get very good detail work with a 60 or 90 degree vbit.
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OMG…thanks so much. I was just playing with that idea…I have to admit I did not realize how involved this process is…I love it but just a big learning curve…thanks for the help!
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Agreed, I am sure it serves it’s purpose. But for me 1/32 is just for breaking.
1/32" are fragile and require a rather rigid machine in order not to chew over too much (breaking due to chatter).
The RPM/feed rate envelope is also rather small and dont give much playroom.
I have used 1/32" carving brass without breaking bits but that was not with Xcarve.
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A tapered angle ball tip is a good bit for finish detail. It has the 1/32" ball for detail, but its conical shape resists the snapping that straight 1/32" bits are prone to. Hopefully it would be able to reach down into your carve without its conical sides bumping into anything you want to keep.