Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

This forum is for general discussion regarding VCarve Pro
User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

About halfway through this project;
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=32000&start=15
I discovered I'd be getting 1/8 of Dad's ashes(7 kids and wife)....and decided to use a Maine Sugar Maple burl BobtailFarm had gifted me.
Burl has a Large recess in it that with pocketing, will be large enough for ash volume.
2019-05-08 DAD'S ASH POCKET 6.jpg
Got my vectors for the recess, and then offset out, and node edited so .25"downcut would fit all the profile.
Burl will have a .2" deep rabbet for the lid to inlay into.

Decided I DID want to cap it with a Topo of Dad's very favorite mountain....Katahdin was kind of a coming of age for him and all the kids at age 8 to climb.
In pic, I was about 14 and I'm the Geek writing in the register....Little guy in front is an 8 yr old brother on first climb.
Katahdin 1969.jpg
We climbed every 2 years as the kids reach 8.

Went through all my wood 2+", and finally cut a 2' section of some 20yr old Birdseye that was so twisted/cupped/warped that Atlantic Hardwood who sold it to me..refused to run it through their planer:)
Surfaced on the Desktop, and got 2 parallel surfaces, that sanded to 600G was 1.88" thick.
Piece I decided on had a funky Heartwood intrusion with a grain pattern I could use almost as Treeline after I cut to 8.5X8.25X1.88" :)
5.11.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN BIRDSEYE 1.jpg
5.11.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN BIRDSEYE 2.jpg
Grabbed Topo file from tpsully I've used twice before;
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:581629
And proceed to do 7 iterations of twisting the .stl to match the Heartwood to the main mountain ridges/max it out on the wood to focus on Katahdin/and to maintain the organic vector boundary.

2 days ago pocketed off the waste .25", and roughed it with .25"shank 1mm Tapered Ball Nose...........
Using an Offset toolpath, as it got deeper into lowlands...got VERY nervous about running out of CEL..so Paused the cut...Nudged my Z up a total of 4 times.
THEN Nudged my Z-Zero down the .2"...and PROMPTLY learned that Nudging during a Pause in Shopbot is TEMPORARY(Unlike Move/Nudging when at rest which is permanent until next tool change)
DUG a NICE .2" hole in the Plateau :oops:
5.11.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN BIRDSEYE ROUGHING 1.jpg
5.11.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN BIRDSEYE ROUGHING 5.jpg
Oops..spindle just shut down, and a deadline of cutting time today.
to be continued.....(Wait till you here my other beginner mistake!)
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Couple more.
Attachments
5.11.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN BIRDSEYE ROUGHING 3 HOLE.jpg
5.11.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN BIRDSEYE ROUGHING 4.jpg
2019-05-11 07_07_18-VCarve Pro - ShopBot Edition 9.517 {Aloka LLC} - 5.10.19 DAD'S 8.5 inch BIRDSEYE.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
sharkcutup
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 2878
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2016 3:48 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shark HD3 Pro Extended Bed with Spindle
Location: U.S.A.

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by sharkcutup »

AWESOME Project there Scott!!!

Always enjoy seeing your creative projects!!!

Sharkcutup
V-Carve Pro Tips, Gadget Tips & Videos
YouTube Channel - Sharkcutup CNC
V-Carve Pro 11.554

User avatar
WNC_Ed
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:56 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shark HD4 AXYZ 4010
Location: Western North Carolina - Heart of the Smokies

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by WNC_Ed »

Scott,
Amazing work.
I am on the edge of my seat awaiting your next post.
Maker of sawdust

User avatar
mezalick
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 2967
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:07 am
Model of CNC Machine: Camaster Cobra
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
Contact:

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by mezalick »

Excellent !
You have all the talent needed...

Michael
Michael Mezalick
https://www.youtube.com/user/mezalick
mm@mezalick.com

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Thanks for the comments!
Nobody hold their breath though....cut till 2:30 and just need to do the .25mmTBN toolpath...9+hours (Again :oops: )

BUT just discovered a skin breakdown that will keep me in bed for a few days. :x

WILL get to the stupid mistake that is making me cut it all over again, but .22" model height deeper.
WISH I could "Cookie Cut" an .stl...would have saved me on this one.
This 1mmTBN cut came out looking just as good as the pics from last time.
Pics and story when I can.
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

Coogara
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:58 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot Desktop
Location: Strathfieldsaye, Australia

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by Coogara »

Rest up, Scott. We have all the patience in the world... maybe that's not what I say in private :D

It's looking terrific. Can't wait to see the finished product. As always, fine, artistic work from you, Scott.

Graeme
Graeme Chandler (Australia)
ShopBot Desktop
Aspire 8

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

OK...The Mistake was...I took the theoretical 6'th version from this computer, transferred to control computer,jigged up the actual piece, and with that set up made all the actual cuts shown in the previous pics to get a lowest point on the cut to leave .22".
The problem was I was going by the Material setup;
[5.10.19 DAD'S 8.5 inch BIRDSEYE ASH POCKET 5 C MISTAKEN ASSUMPTION.jpg
5.13.19  KATAHDIN .25TBN FINISHED WRONG HEIGHT.jpg
And NEVER checked the actual toolpath depth :oops:
I had swapped to Z-Zeroing off spoilboard, had taken off .25" waste, and was flying by the seat of my pants to get cutting as soon as possible....WRONG!! :oops:
Material set-up was taking into account ALL the .stl depth that was on my material...NOT the depth only in my vector boundary:(
Lowest point I only noticed on the finish cut was .42"!! (Shows how observant I am while doing other stuff besides cutting :oops: )

Changed Model Height to Material Thickness height Max, and toolpath preview NOW showed lowest point as .20" Yeah!
SOoo, cut the roughing toolpath AGAIN with the 1mm TBN at 10% stepover...with my Z-Zero cheated up .04" as the allowance.
Funny...Peak height was STILL set at top of material, so remained uncut....while as the elevations went down, it got closer to the total .22" cut depth...was interesting to watch :)
5.13.19 KATAHDIN RECUT .22INCH DEEPER 1MM ROUGHING.jpg
Cheated Z-Zero down .025" after that, and ran the 1mmTBN on a 5% stepover, so that final toolpath for the .25mmTBN was only cutting .015...and with heatgun my Linseed/Beeswax mix penetrates that far. BUT noticed the skin breakdown.
CHEATED bedrest rules by 7 minutes on Tuesday morning, and managed to get Maple slathered and machine ready, and started cut at 7:30am :)
Machine is only 50' from bed, and with shop door open...easy to listen for anything funky...and smoke alarm was near machine and fire extinguisher was 10' from machine.
1.6 million lines of code..and DID manage to levitate into wheelchair a couple time when cut paused to load more code(3 times), and checked cut for 2-3 minutes every other hour(10 hours) :)

REALLY not much different than the first pics(except lowest depth went down .22").
5.15.19 KATAHDIN RECUT .22INCH DEEPER .25MMTBN DONE.jpg
5.15.19 KATAHDIN RECUT .22INCH DEEPER .25MMTBN DONE2.jpg
VERY slightly exaggerated things like the Saddle Trail, but unless you really know the Mountain, it still looks great!
Heartwood tree line went Up a hair.

What with all the time spent jigged down, and the changes in temp and humidity in between....Kind of amazing the actual peak, plus the 7' Cairn on top people have been adding rocks to for generations to make the Peak EXACTLY one mile high, is still attached to the Maple! :D
5.15.19 KATAHDIN CAIRN  RECUT .22INCH DEEPER .25MMTBN DONE.jpg
Cut out will leave vertical walls:(
THINKING of running a profile toolpath with the .25mm TBN with a 5+degree angle BEFORE the .25"Downcut bit cutout first. Maybe trick the eye a hair, and not such a harsh transition?
Got a couple more days to think about it.
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
highpockets
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 3667
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:04 pm
Model of CNC Machine: PDJ Pilot Pro

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by highpockets »

Beautiful work Scott!
John
Maker of Chips

User avatar
WNC_Ed
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:56 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shark HD4 AXYZ 4010
Location: Western North Carolina - Heart of the Smokies

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by WNC_Ed »

Scott,
Even more amazing!
The lil 7' "rockpile" is awesome!
Staying on the edge of my seat.
Thank you for sharing this very special project!
Maker of sawdust

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Thanks Guys!

Yep, The "Cairn" is a neat feature, and is constantly changing from before I ever climbed Ktaadn(Thoreau's spelling:).
USGS surveyed it as 5270' way back when, and ever since people started adding:)
Rangers tore it down for a few years as Baxter Park will "Remain forever Wild", but it was shoveling sand against the tide :)
Katahdin Cairn.png
Katahdin Cairn 2.jpg
Every Spring(trails open 22'nd this year?), the first people up repair the Winter damage. And now with every body having a cell phone attached with GPS..
I imagine it's pretty darn close to 5,267'...........some years kinda artistic, some years just sturdy.
Youngest kid climbing for the first time at age 8, was told to pick a pebble up....At the Peak Dad put them on his shoulders and had them place it on top.....
"Now YOUR rock is the highest Rock in Maine" :)

Shame the Dudley Trail has been closed for another year(third year now.."Rock slide" and you can imagine the hand work in LOUSY work conditions) for the "Knife Edge Loop".....SPOOKY trail in high winds, as for .3 miles of the 1.1...it's only 3' wide..and the updrafts can make you think you'll fly away, and then become a Smear on the rocks!
Knife Edge1.jpg
Knife Edge2.jpg
Northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail....SOME are VERY respectful of the Cairn, and place a pebble from Springer Mountain(Southern terminus) they've been carrying for months respectfully on top of the Cairn.....And SOME TRY!! to take the top rock off the Cairn as a Keepsake :evil:
I remember the story of the Ranger who was told of one of those guys ages ago....and Braced the guy pre-Dawn in his lean-to.......
Said "Nice Rock!" and then directed him to 2 Other rocks in Katahdin Stream about the same size...and stuck them in the guys back pack....and said....
"C'mon....You and I are going on a hike! Beautiful day for a stroll...Ain't it? :)"
Yep....right to the Top and added to the Cairn !! :D

Got it Pretty close:)
It'll look better when cut out and finished.
Katahdin Wikipedia.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Oh...CORRECT Attribution to tpsully;
Katahdin tpsully attribution.png
Katahdin tpsully attribution.png (929 Bytes) Viewed 3582 times
Sorry Thomas:(
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Before the cutout yesterday, I ran a Profile cut with the 3" long .25mmTBN down to a depth of .4" to give a 5.26 degree side angle on the wood.
5.17.19  5.26degree cut to .4inch depth.jpg
The lowest part of the model is .20", and there will be a corresponding .20" rabbet around the recess I will cut into the slab to increase volume.
Funny how the lowest portion of the Model matches the placement of the Appalachian Trail start at Katahdin Stream(and even grain pattern kind of like a stream:)
5.18.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN  1 WITH HOLE.jpg
5.18.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN  3 WITH HOLE COVERED.jpg
Wound up not following the grain line as much as I thought:(
Shifting the .stl to match Birdseye grain, and fitting the 8.25"Y material...that wound up taking backseat:(
5.18.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN  5 WITH HOLE COVERED.jpg
5.18.19 DAD'S KATAHDIN  10A.jpg

Edge quality on the angle with the TBN was fantastic! My Centurion .25" FEM Downcut was great on no waterlines, but a hair of roughness at 45degrees to the grain(which is the usual troublespot in hardwoods), even though I did a .2"Offset 1/2" deep for shank clearance, then a .01"Offset, then the final cut of .01".
5 minutes with a honed cabinet scraper pretty much cleaned it up, but still some 400 and 600G work to fair in the 5.26angle to the vertical wall at .4".

NEXT is to put the Maple Burl slab back in the same exact spot!
I went crazy with the Sharpie outlining all the wedges/clamps/and 5 spots on the burl to matching spoilboard marks.
THEN to see how close the Application Data pic is to the ACTUAL location by hovering, and then driving machine to the exact spot.
THEN to start going down very gradually to see exactly where that hole goes :)
Natural hole I can see has a deepest spot that leaves .3" material after I had surfaced both sides....My planned cut leaves .5" material, but will take it down in stages.
5.5.19 MAPLE BURL SLAB TREE SIDE JIGGED.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Yesterday's test cuts tweaking Centurion FEM .25 Downcut, and seeing what was there, Then early am today and got ash volume, and went down1.61"....left .4" of material.
5.19.19 TEST CUT 1INCH.jpg
5.19.19 TEST CUT 1INCH CLOSER.jpg

Natural "Canyon" went down another .125", but had been drying inside surfaced for a year with no cracks on other side...and when I flooded it with 50/50 thinned mix...none came through on other side 3 weeks ago.
Graaduuaaaly snuck up on the female pocket.
5.20.19 CANYON TEST CUT 1.3 INCH DEEP.jpg
Any further sanding of Katahdin, will be with a sheet of sandpaper on granite countertop....she's still moving a bit.
Depth will be lowest section of Katahdin...flush with Burl.
5.20.19 CANYON FINAL 1.61 DEEP WITH INLAY LIP.jpg
VERY heavy coat of Pine Rosen/Linseed/Citrus drying now.

Katahdin inset in burl pics next..pretty happy.....
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

User avatar
scottp55
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4704
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 11:30 am
Model of CNC Machine: ShopbotDesktop 5.5"Z/spindle/VCP11.5
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine, US

Re: Maple Burl as urn, topped with Birdseye Mountain

Post by scottp55 »

Lots of finishing, and still have to sand base of Katahdin so it's flush with Burl.
5.20.19 KATAHDIN IN PLACE 1.jpg
5.20.19 KATAHDIN IN PLACE0.jpg
Only 1 rosen blend coat on now.
Attachments
5.20.19 KATAHDIN IN PLACE9.jpg
5.20.19 KATAHDIN IN PLACE10.jpg
5.20.19 KATAHDIN IN PLACE11.jpg
5.20.19 KATAHDIN IN PLACE11.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

Post Reply