CarveOne's Steel Channel Rebuild

[LouF]

tapered 1/16 wow looks good C1..


Lou

[CarveOne]

tapered 1/16 wow looks good C1..


Lou

Thanks Lou. The ball nose bits look like these at PreciseBits. They have 1/4" shanks. I'll get two or three sizes next month. The 60 degree V-bit will leave a small angle on the basket weave edges. It will also require a 0.002 to 0.004" step-over to leave no ridges on the surfaces. Fortunately, the area to be cut is just 2-3/4" by 10.25". Maybe it won't have to run for a few days. Once I get it to the point of generated gcode I'll test it in MDF to see if it looks acceptable before committing to oak.

The GoPro Hero 2 camera and all the cutters I ordered in the past month drained me for a while. The camera is due to arrive today.

[LouF]

Nice bits C1 I like that style the basket weave looking forward to seeing the box complete. I am rewiring my home switches in a series to free up some space to connect two touch plates like Gerry shows in his video. I know how you feel my account is drained after the VcarvePro upgade and the vet bills on my English Bulldog over $2500.00 there and he passed away..



Lou

[CarveOne]

Nice bits C1 I like that style the basket weave looking forward to seeing the box complete. I am rewiring my home switches in a series to free up some space to connect two touch plates like Gerry shows in his video. I know how you feel my account is drained after the VcarvePro upgade and the vet bills on my English Bulldog over $2500.00 there and he passed away..



Lou

Sorry about the loss of your bulldog Lou. You just do what you can for them.

I spent the day today re-grading part of the yard. One of my neighbors brought his tractor over and corrected a rain water flow issue and it will also be easier to to cut with the riding mower as a side benefit. Got a large dose of redneck out in the sun all day raking dirt also. We couldn't have picked a better day to do it.

The basket weave model was created in Aspire with a feature called "two rail sweep". Gerry's link to a post on the Vectric Forums got me going. It seems simple once you figure out what each of the options do, but it seems that with a lot of imagination just about any weird shape is possible. That basket weave model was created with two vertical lines of 0.55" length, and two other 10.25" lines that are drawn horizontally. One has the shape of one section of the weave, the other is drawn just like the first one, but is staggered. Five of the weave components stacked is the 2.75" height I needed to fill with the basket weave for the front and rear panels of the box. Once the model is built, it can be re-sized to get a better fit, or it can be edited to adjust the parameters as needed.

[LouF]

C1, thanks I did what I could do..

The basket weave was created with Aspire can it be duplicated with Vcare Pro?



Lou

[CarveOne]

C1, thanks I did what I could do..

The basket weave was created with Aspire can it be duplicated with Vcare Pro?



Lou

No, that is a 3D modeling feature that VCP doesn't have. I didn't readily see a way to export it from Aspire and import the 3D model with a VCP compatible format. Not sure VCP could generate the gcode for it anyway.

Maybe the gcode for cutting the basket weave from Aspire could be copy/pasted into the appropriate place in the VCP gcode for the rest of the operations. As long as the same post processor is used it may be a way to get the end result accomplished. Don't know what risks there are from trying this. (other than total calamity?)

[LouF]

C1, oh well maybe there is a way I like the design but I don't plan on getting Aspire
for some time I am happy with VCarve pro for now..


Lou

[CarveOne]

C1, oh well maybe there is a way I like the design but I don't plan on getting Aspire
for some time I am happy with VCarve pro for now..


Lou

VCP is good software. Each upgrade has something new to work with. It will do a lot of stuff for you when you get creative with it. I'll eventually get PhotoVcarve also. At least that one won't break the bank. The downside of 3D projects is that it can take many hours to cut a lot of them.

The two rail sweep feature is what I'll use to model the Ruger Vaquero revolver grips for my gunsmith friend. I know enough about it now that I can be dangerous enough to try it. The dxf file for the grip dimensions is about ready to continue with it. Need to add holes for locator pins so I can cut both sides of each grip slab.

My new GoPro Hero2 camera came this morning. It's all charged up and ready to go skydiving on the 12th. It will be the helmet cam and can record 1080p video for 4 hours with the class 10 32Gb SDHC card I got for it.

[LouF]

I like photoVcarve I would like to get it I am going to try the free program I downloaded it is like PhotoVcarve.
skydiving...
They do a lot of it not to far from me at the Perris airport..


Lou

[CarveOne]

This morning I made my first effort to make the 3D models of the Ruger Vaquero revolver grips for a gunsmith friend. I got this far with it before stopping and saving it. The screw hole and pocket for the escutcheon, and the 65 degree bevel at the bottom of the grip panels need to be added. Then a little sculpting is needed to shape the middle of the grips. The rear sides are going to be 2D operations to drill a locator pocket and cut a pocket in each grip. I may decide to take the easy route and drill the screw hole from the rear and make the escutcheon pockets a manual operation after the carving is all completed. The rear side will be cut first, then the material will be flipped and the carving done last. Making the escutcheon pockets can be done on the drill press using a homemade cutting tool with a pilot tip that aligns with the screw hole.

[LouF]

C1, are going to mill out the inside to allow room for the main spring strut and trigger spring or is there enough clearance.?


Lou

[CarveOne]

C1, are going to mill out the inside to allow room for the main spring strut and trigger spring or is there enough clearance.?


Lou

I have drawn the 0.05" recess and a round pad to match the plastic grips I'm using to make the CNC files. Cutting the back side is a simple pocket operation, two additional pocket operations for the screw hole and locator pin pocket for a 1/8" router bit. I'll do this first, then flip the material over and cut the front side and the final profile. The material is going to be set up for 0.060" thickness. Final grip thickness is 0.055" at the bottom end and 0.030" at the top end. This is 0.050" thicker than the plastic grips by request, and he decided he wanted no 65 degree angle at the bottom. He has a big hand and wants the extra gripping area also. These are for competition purposes.