help creating a ridge around a shape

[bk3132]

Hi,

I am still relatively new to Vcarve Pro, doing lots of online tutorials, YouTubes etc. I plan to design furniture.

I'm getting comfortable with the basics, but a slightly more advanced design idea has me totally stumped. In a nutshell, I want to design a table top in the profile/outline of a particular lake, but I want the outline of the lake to be, say, 0.15" higher than the table top so that there's a ridge along the profile (in other words, if you rolled a marble on the table top, it wouldn't roll off the table due to the small ridge). I also want that 0.15" rise to be rounded and graceful rather than just pocketing it out and leaving a 90 degree angle, which I could do with a simple offset.

I already vectorized the outline of the lake, and I know from testing that it cuts simple profiles and pockets well. How do I make the rounded ridge that I described? Is this actually 3D stuff and therefore requires Aspire? FWIW, I am trying to do this with other software too, but to no avail...

Alternatively, could I solve this problem with a specialty bit that would essentially create an internal roundover and then pocket out the rest normally? If so, any ideas where I find something like that?

Thank you!!
Brian

[sharkcutup]

Have you tried using the Moulding Toolpath?

[Rcnewcomb]

A point cutting round over bit will work. They are available at magnate.net

[martin54]

The moulding toolpath will do what you want & it's an easy profile shape to draw but a simple pocket with a radiused corner endmill will also do the job if it is an internal radius you are looking for
The point round that Randall has mentioned will then round the external top edge

[bk3132]

Have you tried using the Moulding Toolpath?

table top rounded edge.jpg

table top rounded edge2.jpg

Well that looks like a great solution! Duh! Thanks so much. So....to make sure I have this correctly, I would draw the rounded vector with the radius and height that I want and run it along the lake's outline, and then create a second pocket toolpath that is offset to the inside? Or would I draw an offset vector and pocket normally? Or either?

For the point cutting round over bit that Randall suggested, I am assuming you would run one toolpath to create the roundover and then a second with a larger clear out tool since, as a table top, it would be a lot of surface area? So in this case I would need two vectors of the lake's outline.

[tomgardiner]

Maybe better, a bowl bit I think they are called. Essentially a flat bottomed bit with a 1/4" radius shoulder would allow you to hog out the table center area leaving a fillet to the lake border.

[sharkcutup]

Well that looks like a great solution! Duh! Thanks so much. So....to make sure I have this correctly, I would draw the rounded vector with the radius and height that I want and run it along the lake's outline, and then create a second pocket toolpath that is offset to the inside? Or would I draw an offset vector and pocket normally? Or either?

Here is a copy of the .crv file (VCarve Pro 8.5) I used to create table top rolled edge for your review.

table top rounded edge.crv

(755 KiB) Downloaded 100 times

I created the moulding edge first then pocketed inside to the mouldings edge depth.

Sharkcutup

[bk3132]

Here is a copy of the .crv file (VCarve Pro 8.5) I used to create table top rolled edge for your review.

I created the moulding edge first then pocketed inside to the mouldings edge depth.

Sharkcutup

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it and look forward to checking it out.

Re the bowl bit option, I can't find any that would actually create a roundover on the top edge and/or that don't have bearings. But in addition to the point plunge bit already recommended, I found something called an Ovolo router bit https://www.infinitytools.com/ovolo-router-bits-4511. Couldn't I just plunge this bit only 1/4" to achieve the effect I want and then pocket out the rest? A 1/4" pass might be too deep for some hardwoods, but I guess I could do it in two passes...

[bk3132]

So I am making progress using sharkcutup's file as a guide. The CRV file is too large to attach, so I am posting a dropbox link to it. Here's the 3d preview.

I see two problems:

1. I think my vector of the lake outline is too complex and won't machine cleanly. I am just beginning with node editing. Any suggestions on how to streamline the outline so that it doesn't have thousands of little vectors and require a lot of tricky sanding? I need to maintain the general shape of the lake, but I can certainly get rid of much of the fine detail.

2. Given the shape of the lake, there are some tight spots to pocket out, and the toolpaths are leaving a few bits in both of the tight cove areas.

Any ideas are much appreciated. Thanks.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yubglzmbok6oj ... 2.crv?dl=0

[dwilli9013]

Go into all of your vectors and node edit. Hit the curve fit icon and smooth the vectors you can preview this and get it to your liking. Many of your nodes can be eliminated but there are still quite a few there.

[Makingtoothpicks]

You might also look at fit curve to selected vectors. Choose bezier and preview to see how many nodes it eliminates and what the new curves look like. Save your work before trying any of these methods.

Don

[bk3132]

Go into all of your vectors and node edit. Hit the curve fit icon and smooth the vectors you can preview this and get it to your liking. Many of your nodes can be eliminated but there are still quite a few there.

Thanks Dwayne. The fit curves function did the trick, especially when I pushed the tolerance higher. Much smoother now and a fraction of the vectors!

Now I need to figure out how to chamfer or fillet the BOTTOM of the tabletop without routing it by hand. The project is set up to be cut out of 4' x 4' stock to become a coffee table, so I have plenty of room to use some dowels to align the panel for 2 sided routing (which would be great to help me pocket out an area to countersink the plates for the metal legs too). But that's about as much as I know at this point. Back to the tutorial videos!

[highpockets]

Check out the tutorial on double sided machining.

[sharkcutup]

Looking as if you are making progress with your project. Glad I was able to help!

Be sure to post a photo of your completed project here as many forum users here would appreciate seeing it especially those who might have contributed to its success.

Sharkcutup

[dealguy11]

Out of curiosity, why not route the chamfer by hand? It should be pretty trivial compared to trying to set this up as a 2-sided project and getting everything aligned.