Clean carving on plywood

[kostas1]

Hi guys, I have used a chinese 30 degrees V carve bit in order to quick engrave some 1.2mm grooves to a 4mm plywood in one pass but the result is not clean so I need to make a 2nd pass 0.1mm deep in order to clean it from the hair edges and filled grooves. Is there any better V carve bit out there? What do you guys use ? The time is doubled when doing the extra shallow 0.1mm pass

Thanks in advance.

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[awerby]

Most plywood just won't engrave very well, as you've noticed. The cheaper grades are especially bad in this regard. If you need to use plywood in this project, find one with a fine-grained hardwood top veneer. In the US, that would be cherry or maple. In Greece, maybe Baltic Birch or something else - you might have to experiment to find something that works. Get the best and sharpest V-carving bit you can find. It doesn't have to be carbide; usually a HSS or cobalt steel bit will be sharper (although it won't last as long). But it's unlikely to be Chinese.

[ger21]

Try putting a coat of sealer or finish on before cutting.

[kostas1]

Most plywood just won't engrave very well, as you've noticed. The cheaper grades are especially bad in this regard. If you need to use plywood in this project, find one with a fine-grained hardwood top veneer. In the US, that would be cherry or maple. In Greece, maybe Baltic Birch or something else - you might have to experiment to find something that works. Get the best and sharpest V-carving bit you can find. It doesn't have to be carbide; usually a HSS or cobalt steel bit will be sharper (although it won't last as long). But it's unlikely to be Chinese.

Thank you for your suggestions, the plywood is birch

[kostas1]

Try putting a coat of sealer or finish on before cutting.

Hi Gerry, what is the sealer? And what is its job?

[victorofga]

birch, the Baltic birch a relatively soft material..
best result comes with halfround engraving bits..

mightbe gerrys suggestion works.. some sanding sealer what makes a little stiffer the wood.. otherwise need to cut twice as you made..
either way I think need to count ont double cut or using different wood..

mightbe sanding sealer makes another issue.. anyway an extra step..

check in google zinnser sanding sealer.. but this is an extra step, so might simpler just deal with cutting twice..

[ger21]

A "sealer" seals the wood to provide a better base for the actual finish.
Depending on the finish, different products can be used for a sealer.
Shellac is a good general purpose sealer. Or just a thinned version of the top coat.

If you plan on staining the plywood, a sealer may cause problems.

As Viktor said, the sealer will hold the fibers together and give you a cleaner cut.

[kostas1]

Hi guys, I am back to this thread in order to suggest/ask for another solution:

What if just use a downcut bit 1.5mm in order to carve the plywood? It would not be a 'V' carve but a U groove.
Did anyone try this?

Thanks.