CNCs are sometimes smarter than the operator. As the raised text was being V carved on this sign I noticed it looked strange. Some of the letters were thinner than they should be and others were misshapen. Hmmm. Time to pause the machine and see what’s going on.
Opps! I was using a 90º V bit instead of the 60º I had planned, and the machine thought I was using. Those pesky red Freud bits sure look a lot alike … and maybe I should put on my glasses when I read the labels I have for each bit.
Since I had combined multiple tools paths using this bit it was time to stop and change bits before continuing or the whole thing would be scrap. Meantime, let’s think about fixing this mess.
I went back into my Vectric V Carve file and created a 1/2” deep pocket to cut away the area that had been machined wrong. Then I created a new file where I could cut the text (correctly this time) on a 1/2” thick blank that I could then glue into the pocket.
As you can see the fix worked well and only I will know it was ever a problem. Well actually now we both know since I just told you. But you can keep a secret, right? Mums the word. I’m happy with how it turned out, although it would have been nice if I had done right the first time.
To make the sign look like cast iron I gave the mdf a coat of red primer before applying Sculpt Nouveau’s Iron B coating and then a final patina was applied to rust the iron particles in the paint.
Opps! I was using a 90º V bit instead of the 60º I had planned, and the machine thought I was using. Those pesky red Freud bits sure look a lot alike … and maybe I should put on my glasses when I read the labels I have for each bit.
Since I had combined multiple tools paths using this bit it was time to stop and change bits before continuing or the whole thing would be scrap. Meantime, let’s think about fixing this mess.
I went back into my Vectric V Carve file and created a 1/2” deep pocket to cut away the area that had been machined wrong. Then I created a new file where I could cut the text (correctly this time) on a 1/2” thick blank that I could then glue into the pocket.
As you can see the fix worked well and only I will know it was ever a problem. Well actually now we both know since I just told you. But you can keep a secret, right? Mums the word. I’m happy with how it turned out, although it would have been nice if I had done right the first time.
To make the sign look like cast iron I gave the mdf a coat of red primer before applying Sculpt Nouveau’s Iron B coating and then a final patina was applied to rust the iron particles in the paint.
