Tapered Ball Nose End Mill, if precesion and detail are what you are after then the ball nose is a good one. Size will depend on you and what you are making, but I have found the ball nose to be a great place to start. There is nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation as well, play around with end mills in the smaller sizes, I have found they are great for the roughing, but for me the ball nose is for the finishing. I am sure someone with more expierence can break it out for you a better than I can, I have only been working with my CNC for about two years now while learning 3D printing and trying to wrap my head around the laser etching and cutting, (complete fail by the way with the laser) but I have some great sucess with the ball nose bits.

 

I think i expected more form my laser.i lost interest fast

 

Had a vision of a new Pinocchio. I believe the original was hand carved, at least in the fictional story. As for cutting one on a CNC an end mill is recommended for the roughing cut to take away most of the wood before a finish cut to the final surface with a small ball nosed bit. Tapered version if there are no vertical surfaces or curve transitions.

 

As the others have said, a tapered ball nose is the go-to for fine finishing work. The end diameter depends somewhat on how large your model is and how much time you are willing to take to do the toolpath. Another key factor is the stepover percentage. When I do 3D models, using a tapered ball nose with a 1/16" tip diameter, I keep the stepover to no more than 8%. That adds significantly the time that it takes to do the carve, but it almost eliminates sanding.

 

Thats huge information.thanks

 

Great information there. This is why I like this forum.

 

Hmm, with AI being all the rage and you're making wooden humans?

Should we be worried?

 

I want to turn memorable carvings from family pictures.Like my grandparents.
Pictures that mean something.my daughters wedding.Her baby
I want to learn to do the best job that can be done.
I have seen others.I think i want to try to do better.cheers

 

No evil people.anti evil

 

I am signing up for carveco today..I've been looking at all software sites.for what ever reason I can't open easil once I downloaded it..i need to get out in the shop to start this.do you think easil is comparative to carvco.fir cnc newbies?.

 

As far as carving, like mentioned for your machine you would use a square end end mill to clear out all the unwanted wood while leaving some material for the finish cutting with a tapered ball nose or just regular ball nose bit.

You might want to look into Vectric software also for creating you projects. You can download free trial versions of any of their software to try out.

Home〡Vectric

Vectric CNC software is designed to make cutting parts on a CNC an enjoyable and productive experience, with the combination of power and simplicity.

www.vectric.com

As far as the software to design your project, you did not mention if you want to do the 3D modeling or will you be using models you buy or download. If you want to design your own models you can use Blender for free to create the model then import it into your project design software.

Download — Blender

Blender is free and open source. Forever.

www.blender.org

 

is vetric equal or better or really much easier to use then carveco? thank you
not sold on carveco just yet.the monthly payment was the draw