gnome sized Gibson LP top w/video :)

[margni74]

Just messing around with my router... this is the second time I've let the chips fly.

This is a gnome-sized Gibson LP ripped out of some scrap wood I had laying around. not sure if the coarseness is my cnc, the feedrate, or the crappy ryobi 1/4 slotting it I used. seemed to clean up OK after I hit it with some 220 grit.

YouTube - CNC Routing Gibson LP 'scrap wood' top

YouTube - CNC Routing Gibson LP 'scrap wood' top

[zigmart]

Looks good, might want to try a ball and bit for the carving, with a low step over (10% of the bit diameter) you wouldn.t get the stairstepping. If you dont mind me asking, where did you get the file you used for the machining, i have been looking for a les paul file myself. I am probably gonna chip into the Les Paul digitizing effort, but really would like to see a sample of the scans before committing.

[CarveOne]

Use a harder wood with finer grain (like hard maple) and you will see much cleaner cuts. Pine and spruce are soft and it's hard to get clean edges.

CarveOne

[margni74]

Originally Posted by zigmart Looks good, might want to try a ball and bit for the carving, with a low step over (10% of the bit diameter) you wouldn.t get the stairstepping. If you dont mind me asking, where did you get the file you used for the machining, i have been looking for a les paul file myself. I am probably gonna chip into the Les Paul digitizing effort, but really would like to see a sample of the scans before committing.

Im going to be ordering a bunch of bits this week....
i have a full LP body .3dm file. PM me....

Originally Posted by CarveOne Use a harder wood with finer grain (like hard maple) and you will see much cleaner cuts. Pine and spruce are soft and it's hard to get clean edges. CarveOne

Thanks, I figured that. this was just a scrap i had laying around... i just hit it with some 220 grit and knocked the edges down and it looks good. One thing i noticed is that down one side everything is great, then as the bit travels up the other side there is some tear out. this is literally like a $3 router bit tho.

[CarveOne]

Originally Posted by margni74 Thanks, I figured that. this was just a scrap i had laying around... i just hit it with some 220 grit and knocked the edges down and it looks good. One thing i noticed is that down one side everything is great, then as the bit travels up the other side there is some tear out. this is literally like a $3 router bit tho.

That's a normal effect. The grain structure is effecting how the cutter is digging into the wood. Resin rings are harder than the softer rings in pine and the woods with less pronounced hardness changes will machine more consistently. The harder the wood the less tear out you will see. It takes higher rpms and really sharp edges with ideal flute pitch angle to cut soft woods with minimal tear out. Feed rate is more critical also.

CarveOne

[harryn]

Nice work. I am just wondering if you mean that you are sometimes cutting - to the right and then other times - to the left. Routers cut best in one direction - the direction of the arrow.

If you "climb mill", at least manually, it tends to make a different sort of cut finish, at least for me.

[CarveOne]

Originally Posted by harryn Nice work. I am just wondering if you mean that you are sometimes cutting - to the right and then other times - to the left. Routers cut best in one direction - the direction of the arrow. If you "climb mill", at least manually, it tends to make a different sort of cut finish, at least for me.

Yes, that's a big part of it. In wood it's compounded by the wood grain structure that metals don't have. Also, when the cutter edges gets loaded with wood resin it increases the tear out by grabbing the softer fibers and pulling it out. Once the resin burns onto the cutter edges it starts wearing its way through the wood more than cutting it.

CarveOne