VCarve Inlay help

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urbansickness
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VCarve Inlay help

Post by urbansickness »

Hi,

Just need a bit of help with vcarve inlay with wood.
Ive done it successfully with corian but i think its easier with corian as the coloured glue fills any discrepancies and you get a nice finish even on fine detail
Corian Sign
Corian Sign
With a wood sign i tried the fine detail just wouldnt work. This is the picture i was trying
Wood Inlay
Wood Inlay
The main problem is the fine grass detail.
Ive followed the tutorials and read lots of discussion on the vcarve inlay. I dont think the tutorial helps with the start depth issue which people seem to think is to allow a glue space when it is actually to manipulate the toolpath to make your inlay smaller to fit which i think is bad practice in forcing the cutter through material it doesnt know is there.
Wouldnt it be better to try a scale adjustment between the male and female parts?

Also on the female with a flat depth of 3mm the finer details could be between 3mm and 0mm where the vbit raises for small detail, but on the male the depth will always be 3mm so when gluing you are trying to bend the male part in.

Any advice on how people are achieving good detailed vcarve inlays.

Thanks

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FixitMike
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by FixitMike »

You have some misconceptions about how the VCarve inlay works. Possibly this will help.
VCarve Inlay.png
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Paul Z
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by Paul Z »

Since you have had success with other materials, the problem with the fine detail is likely to be due to the detail in the male or female part being chipped out by the V cutter.

Five suggestions:
1. Try a sharper (new?) V bit.
2. Reinforce the material before cutting it. Use thin superglue to saturate the male inlay before you cut it. Minwax wood hardener might work even better. Let either sit for a day to be sure the glue is set. (Super glue is "activated" by humidity. If your shop is dry, take the coated material where it is more humid for a day before cutting.) I would not use accelerator on the superglue as it may make the material look milky.
3. Rotate the inlay material so the points of the fine detail follow the grain.
4. Try a tighter grain wood.
5. Try a 60 degree bit or even 30 degree V bit.

Note that a v bit typically has little or no rake(?) angle. It just whacks away at the material it is cutting. I wish there was a spiral V bit that would shear away the material instead of whacking it. I was told by a cutter designer that a spiral V bit would be very difficult to produce. I don't know why. I had enough trouble just inventing the inlay process.

The bottom gap is to provide room for the parts to be forced together (clamp, clamp, and then clamp some more). The heavy clamping is an attempt to deform the parts to minimize any gaps. The bottom gap is also there to provide a space for the male part to be forced into the female part and be a glue pocket. It is an intentional element of the process.

Paul Z

PS Cutting both parts twice will enhance accuracy and help to minimize any fuzzies that would interfere with a tight fit.

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scottp55
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by scottp55 »

To add to Paul's expertise, I'd also try to complete the entire project the same day, as the Male will respond to humidity/temp/stress relief much faster than the female.
I do beg to differ on using squeegee'd on CA though if it has very fine details....I only did it once, BUT on super tiny font the CA adhered to the wood TOO well, and was stronger than the wood fibers themselves, and ripped off the tops of the letters completely:( Larger font shown in pic cut ok.
I had MUCH better luck using an extremely thinned brushing laquer, which penetrated Deep, and seemed to give a good stiffness for cutting within an hour on softer pithed hardwoods. Denser woods seem better for use in the Male.
In Tree/Zebra/Vulture board, I used a 60* engraving with good results, BUT I'll probably try a 30* for fine details in the future as it will cut deeper, and less likely to sand through the finer details than with the 60*.
Ya gotta love the process though! :)

(Don't watch the news Paul! The "S" word is in the forecast :D )
2 cents:)
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Attachments
CA'd tearout shopbot meca board 0.jpg
ZEBRA TREE DAD 2.jpg
ZEBRA TREE CONT 1.jpg
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gqdoll
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by gqdoll »

Scott,

I am curious (as a bit of a newbie) about those Shop Fox Cam clamps you show in your picture. I can easily find them designed for use in t-slots but how are you using them on your spoilboard? Did you modify them to work in the holes on the board?

Thanks!

Greg

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scottp55
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by scottp55 »

Hey Greg:)
I modded Shopbot's Bill Young's "Wedging Spoilboard" a bit, and inserted 300+ 1/4X20 "EZ" threaded/flanged zinc inserts to the back side.
No mods to the Shopfoxes except changing bolt length when my glued on spoilboard gets thin, or I glue on a new one.
Makes it a LOT more versatile:)
I did 2 of them, and only have 3 bad inserts after 4 years....I even endmilled through one in a drill type mode...bit was undamaged :)
Dowel holes for quick jig alignment, and then fastenal connector bolts to suck it down so thing DON'T move.
Love the Shopfoxs, and once I figured I could clamp on a wedge...AND things stayed Put...and shimming because of their short throw became way less common.
scott
Attachments
threaded inserts in BillYs wedging jig.jpg
Outside cutting area pocketed1.jpg
quilted shelf t1and 2.jpg
SW7.jpg
WALNUT 3 SIDE1 SHIMMED.jpg
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gqdoll
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by gqdoll »

Thanks Scott,

So what I am gathering is that you remove the ShopFox clamp's t-track clamp from the bottom and simply screw the clamp's allen bolt directly into your threaded inserts on the bottom of the spoilboard. Is that right?

Greg

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scottp55
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by scottp55 »

Correct Greg.
I also picked up a selection of lengths in Allen head bolts at the local hardware store, not only for the Shopfoxs, but for all the various jigging options threaded insert give you...also some nylon bolts for those "iffy" jigging situations where they might get hit by the cutter.
scott
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R.N.

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martin54
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Re: VCarve Inlay help

Post by martin54 »

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is feedrate, if you are cutting fine detail with a risk of chipping or splitting then as well as using a new sharp bit it also helps to slow things down :lol: :lol: :lol:

The other thing worth mentioning is the actual vectors you start with, if you have used an auto trace of a bitmap then you may find there are stray nodes which aren't needed & some time spent cleaning the vectors before you start can make a big difference :lol:

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