Very unsatisfactory carving effort. What did I do wrong?

[nlalston]

 This is the project that I was doing for one of our daughters (a pet groomer) who wanted to give something to one of her favorite customers - who has a dog named Penny.



 Here, can be seen evidence of a pocketed floor, which was nowhere near as clean as it should have been.


 These ridges, on the outer ends of the wooden bone, leaves me totally exasperated as to what they would be due to.


 Here, is a closer shot of those ridges (for lack of a more appropriate term.

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The pocketing was done with a 1/8" End Mill, and the profile was cut with a 1/4" End Mill.  The stock was securely set/held in place with blue tape, and super glue.  And I, honestly, have NO CLUE as to what caused these issues.  Any help, here, will (as always) be extremely appreciated.  Advanced thanks.

[gerry]

It looks like the outer vector it not completely rounded. If you're using Vectric, then try smoothing curves with Bezier curves (curve fit vectors). The pocket lines can be from wood movement; movement, swelling, change in humidity. You usually see it when you clear with a larger bit, and hit the small spots with a very small bit. Always pick THE SAME SPOT to set your Z. Some place that doesn't get cut away. I usually pick a flat spot near a clamp. Make sure your stepover is less than 10%.

You can always post your crv file here for analysis.

[nlalston]

Mar 11, 2021 0:14:54 GMT -5 gerry said:

It looks like the outer vector it not completely rounded. If you're using Vectric, then try smoothing curves with Bezier curves (curve fit vectors). The pocket lines can be from wood movement; movement, swelling, change in humidity. You usually see it when you clear with a larger bit, and hit the small spots with a very small bit. Always pick THE SAME SPOT to set your Z. Some place that doesn't get cut away. I usually pick a flat spot near a clamp. Make sure your stepover is less than 10%.

You can always post your crv file here for analysis.

Thank you, gerry.

Yes, I am using Vectric Software (VCarve Pro 10), and I have heard about that 'smoothing curves with bezier curves', before.  But, you know what?  I'd always assumed that this was an action to take when there were known issues with curved elements.  I, however, was (apparently) under the wrong assumption, by thinking that the clipart I traced from was without blemish - owing to my not having had vision of same.  Now, I know better.  I am going to start checking future, traced elements out with a fine-toothed-comb.  

Also, I have attached the Crv file, for that project.  Maybe it will reveal something, else, that I shouldn't have done - or, maybe, something that I should have done.

Penny Dogbone.crv (64 KB)

[gerry]

You didn't show your toolpaths, but it looks OK. For simple drawings I import the file to be traced, then draw the object with Vcarve. Watch how Beki draws in some of the tutorials. She roughs out the object, then smooths out the drawing with Bezier. Once you get the hang of it, it is really quick. I only trace very complicated drawings that I am going vcarve. Most art you get from the internet is not good quality. You will be much happier with your own tracing.

Hint: If it is symmetrical, then only draw part of it and copy the rest. Circular copy, mirror, array copy, etc.

On the dog bone... only draw one vector for the left half. Flip that horizontal and merge to one vector. Copy that vector with Offset (in or out) for the second line, then add text. You are done.

[nlalston]

Mar 11, 2021 15:05:05 GMT -5 gerry said:

You didn't show your toolpaths, but it looks OK. For simple drawings I import the file to be traced, then draw the object with Vcarve. Watch how Beki draws in some of the tutorials. She roughs out the object, then smooths out the drawing with Bezier. Once you get the hang of it, it is really quick. I only trace very complicated drawings that I am going vcarve. Most art you get from the internet is not good quality. You will be much happier with your own tracing.

Hint: If it is symmetrical, then only draw part of it and copy the rest. Circular copy, mirror, array copy, etc.

On the dog bone... only draw one vector for the left half. Flip that horizontal and merge to one vector. Copy that vector with Offset (in or out) for the second line, then add text. You are done.

Wow, gerry - Thank you.

I can make the present project work, with quite a bit of sanding.  But, your suggestions WILL be put into action with all future tracings.  Again, many thanks.

[redwood]

To see what is wrong, all you need to do is select that outer perimeter with the node edit tool. It's all straight lines and way to many nodes. Use the curve fit tool and either convert to circles or Bezier curves. Sometimes one works better then others. You might need to node edit at intersections a little bit.

Another thing, many fonts have way more nodes then needed. Each node will slow things down just a very little bit. Be careful though, sometimes using the curve fit tool will throw the look off. Always study the preview.

[nlalston]

Mar 15, 2021 12:51:35 GMT -5 redwood said:

To see what is wrong, all you need to do is select that outer perimeter with the node edit tool. It's all straight lines and way to many nodes. Use the curve fit tool and either convert to circles or Bezier curves. Sometimes one works better then others. You might need to node edit at intersections a little bit.

Another thing, many fonts have way more nodes then needed. Each node will slow things down just a very little bit. Be careful though, sometimes using the curve fit tool will throw the look off. Always study the preview.

Thanks, Redwood.  I will keep this info in mind.

[justlearnin]

I am having the same problem with pocket floor cuts and have tried many different things to remedy this with no luck! Does anyone have any tips,tricks,or suggestions?

[jrg]

Make sure your machine is leveled properly, make sure your spindle and bit are completely squared to the table, and or surface your table to make sure it's parallel to your spindle and bit. If your End Mill is not square to the table you'll see those steps. Even a thousandth of a inch can cause this effect.