Couple of 3D art samples

[CLyon]

Here are a couple of 3d art projects. The horse is done in walnut and is about 10x14. Great gift for a horse crazed 13 year old. The bowl is maple burl, and is about 6 inches in diameter.

It is always an interesting question as to whether such flawed (and pretty) wood will hold together during machining. Small cuts and high speed minimize the stresses and minimize the shrapnel in the shop.

[Tony Mac]

Hi Chris,

Fabulous work!

It's great to see technology being used to create such wonderful pieces of art
that are normally hand-made by highly skilled craftsmen.

Thanks for showing such inspiring work!

Tony

[CLyon]

Tony,
Appreciate the kind words. My dreams for wood working have always made me feel like an errant potter - I want to be able to make wood flow like clay. Sadly, I haven't the patience to do it the traditional way, so I am stuck with cheating - ain't it fun!

One question re 3d tool paths. The horse was cut with an .125 ball at an 8% step. It still left some visible ridges, especially around some of the vertical cuts. I have more machine time than sanding time. Would I do better to use a smaller step over, or has anyone tried a second finishing toolpath at a different angle?

Any thoughts?

[Tony Mac]

Hi Chris,

The CNC machinists dilemma!

Smaller step overs will certainly increase the smoothness of the finished piece
but at the cost of increased time on the machine.

When cutting steep / near vertical walls the stepover becomes more noticeable.
There maybe different machining strategies we can look at to help reduce this
effect, but in the mean time running a toolpath at 90 degrees to the first one
will certainly help.

Afraid there's no magic answer - More time usually = smoother surface finish

Tony

[JamesB]

Chris, very nice work. The horse in the dark wood looks amazing - I think the artist who sculpted it would be very proud of how it came out. Would it be OK to include these images in our new gallery on the new Vector Art 3D website - http://www.vectorart3d.com/gallery/ I would be happy to credit you and also link to your website if you have one. Anyone else who has image to contribute please send them to me - again we are happy to credit and link back to you - jab(at)carve3d(dot)com.

As for the lines in the finish - as Tony said this is one of the challenges of carving by machine. In another thread I think Oscar (AngelicDiablo) http://vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1604 recommended a sanding mop.

I have met a number of people who are traditional carvers who swear by the use of scrapers when finishing carvings. Apparently when prepared and used correctly they will give a finish better than that achieved by sanding (and quicker). I have no practical knowledge of doing this. The scrapers I have seen are thin pieces of straight and curved metal with a burr on it. I googled to try and find some info on them but could find nothing like the ones I had seen, I think most of the guys I met make their own and there is a trick to the preparation of the edge. Sorry not to have better info perhaps someone else has heard of these and can add to this (or perhaps I dreamt the whole thing )

Cheers, James

[GripUs]

I think I have seen scraper sets on the Rockler website and in their catalogs...

Joe

[CLyon]

James,
Feel free to repost the my work.

Scrapers do work very well, and in my shop are usually grabbed before the sandpaper. My goal is clearly to achieve as close to finished as possible before I scrape/sand/curse. Next effort will be two finish passes at different angles.

I do love what happens with your carvings in endgrain, and in burls.

[jister]

Clyton

I use pieces off glass,they work verry well but you have to be careful,for cutting
your fingers. But i like the artwork.

greetings

arjen jister

[JamesB]

Thanks Chris, I will add the images to the site next week. I understand now I did not answer the question you actually asked - as you say try a double pass or closer stepover. I know a guy who uses 8% of the tool diameter on a 1/8 ballnose and seems to get very good results. Cheers, James