Carving cedar

[grahamshere]

I am in the need of some help, iv,e been carving some intarsia using cedar, well my problem is the router is taking out big chunks every so often, it can be fixed but its a pain. wondering if any one has experience with western red cedar. Its mostly when doing the ruff cut.My cutting speeds are 50 imp at 35% step over and a step down of .175 in and I'm using a 1/4 end mill with 3 flutes. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Graham

[grahamshere]

Sorry I think the bit is a downward spiral bit, don't know where I got 3 flute. how do you tell between downward an upward bits? graham

[ger21]

Look at the pictures here of an upcut and downcut.

http://www.vortextool.com/index.cfm?...category_id=13
http://www.vortextool.com/index.cfm?...category_id=14

As for the chipping, you could try climb cutting. If that doesn't help, try reducing the cutting depth.

[grahamshere]

I was hoping you'd come to the rescue. Thanks. I,m sure I have the downcut. Which would you use? or is there a better bit for cedar I could use? Too bad cedar is so dam soft.Also whats climb cut. sorry for all the questions. Graham

[harryn]

I have done quite a bit of manual router work with western red cedar. I built a fairly large arbor for our house, and lots of pieces are routered on the ends, and the posts edges were all rounded out.

The wood has a couple of interesting characteristics:
- The grain is very large
- It has a lot of sand in it, which tends to dull blades
- It is soft
- It likes to splinter off big chunks
- It has very little strength

The main reason people use w r c, is its bug resistance. If you bury it, it will rot, but if you keep it reasonably above ground and seal it up, it holds up nicely. For detailed carving, it is quite a pain. This stuff is very different then the cedar I grew up with in the midwest - no idea what that was.

I just used white side straight bits.


Good luck

[ger21]

Originally Posted by grahamshere Also whats climb cut.

Cutting so that the bit is climbing into the wood. Image cutting around the perimeter of a part, in the clockwise direction. That's climb cutting. You usually don't climb cut when hand routing, as the bit will grab the wood and pull itself into it.

[grahamshere]

Hi Harryn, I had no idea cedar had sand in it, cant see any any way. one of the reasons I use cedar is for its large grain and the different shades from dark chocolate to almost white. But from what I hear cedar is only 20% less stronger than oak, so it's a rather strong wood, just soft. I know about the big chunks coming off, I was wondering if there is a bit that is a rasp type, wonder if that works, When I did intarsia by hand I'd use sanders,Guess I should check that out some more.

Hey Ger, I don't think cut 3d has a climb cut. Wonder if they can do that, Should ask.

Thanks for the replys guys. Graham

[ger21]

Originally Posted by grahamshere Hey Ger, I don't think cut 3d has a climb cut. Wonder if they can do that, Should ask. Graham

It should be an option for roughing. Not sure though.

[Switcher]

You already have the option to climb cut, it's on "Tab 5"


.

[Switcher]

Then again I just noticed, thats on the "Cut out Toolpath" page.

Send them an email?


.

[grahamshere]

Hey Switcher, cut 3d only has either along the x or y axis or both but not the climb. Ill have to ask them if it will be on the next version. Graham

[harryn]

I did a quick dogpile search for wood strength, and this link came up.

http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood/strength_table.htm

It seems to indicate that there is more than a 20 % difference in strength properties from WRC to oak, but it may note matter for your project - I don't know. The WRC I used was Western Canadian old growth, which might be different in how it behaves to your wood.

WRC can grow to amazing heights - which means it is really good at transporting water (and dirt) up the trunk. The particles are small, so I don't think you can see them with the eye, but the stuff is just heck on blades - sort of like carving cardboard and paper.

What I can tell you, is that it just destroyed normal steel router bits, and it wore out more than an expected number of carbide ones - but - it was my first project with a router (hand held) and I was still very much learning how to use it.

I think of WRC as a construction / fence / outdoor use wood, not a furniture oriented wood.

Make sure to use stainless steel fasteners. The very nice tanin that protects the wood from insects, also makes even galvenized fasteners rust. Guess how I know.