6x6 ceramic

[deadgoodcharlie]

Here are a couple of pics of some ceramic tile that I did.Enjoy.

[John Murphy]

Very nice.

Could you give us a little more info on how you did this?

John

[metalworkz]

Wow, those ceramic tile samples look very good! What did you use to cut them?
Thanks for posting the pictures and info.

[deadgoodcharlie]

John ,Wes, thanks for the kind words. The tiles are 6x6x.25 inches. They are known as bisque tiles meaning that they have been fired once I believe.The surface finish is a matt white with no glazeing.I used a arrow head shaped bit that is used for drilling through most any tile. Carbide tip and about five dollars a bit at Rona.I told the software that it was a .062 ballmill at 7% step. Cut .062 deep, 70 IPM and a plunge of 20 IPM. Took roughly about 30 minutes. This type of milling can cause a lot of fine white dust, so a good dust shoe and a good dust extraction unit will help alot.I tried some dremel diamond coat bits and was a waste of time due to the fact they like to be used more on their side edge than tip.One thing I can say about doing carvings on ceramic is that the image seems to come out very crisp.When holding down the tile do not torque your hold down clamps too hard, you will crack the tile.Alot of doing this on this kind of material is trial and error.I,m sure there is some deffinate speed to feed ratio but how I am running seems to work for me.If you don,t have a dust shoe as added protection, make sure you have vacumm very close and saftey gear,glasses and mask. I plan on going to a depth of .125 but kinda hesitant right now,don,t even know if I need to. I have some tiles that are getting glazed and fired,will post pics when they return.Do a Google search on bisque tiles, prices vary from a buck fifty up to six bucks depending on supplier.Try your local ceramics shop, have fun and respect this material more than wood.

[Phil]

Very nice Charlie.

[John Murphy]

Thanks for taking the time to give us the breakdown. I am defiantly going to try this.

John

[deadgoodcharlie]

Go for it ,show us your samples and your own approuch,cheers.

[mboydraska]

I have to ask about the bit, I purchased a ceramic bit but the shank was a little over 1/4 inch all others seem to be just slightly smaller than 1/2 inch. Did you have problems finding a bit with the correct shank size. I have been looking cannot find any information on the shanks since most are used in drills. Thanks in advance.

Mike

[deadgoodcharlie]

The shank on mine is 1/8,fits into my brass adapter from K2cnc. I,ll Take a pic later and show it.

[mboydraska]

Thanks that will help

[deadgoodcharlie]

Hello Mike,here are a few pics of the bit, some are clearer than others, hope this helps.

[deadgoodcharlie]

Got my samples back after being glazed and fired, they came out great, can,t say much about the photographer. L.O.L The maple leaf is not glazed and was not as good a tile as the others.

[John Murphy]

Great finish.
Thanks for posting the follow up.

John

[deadgoodcharlie]

Thanks John,was exciting to see the final piece.

[deadgoodcharlie]

Thanks John,was exciting to see the final piece.

Seems the bit i am useing is good for about 6-7 tiles then looses it,s cutting edge. I have adjusted my infeed to about 5 and cutting down to around 50 ipm. i,m in the process of finding out what bits work best, from precise bits company. running some more carvings and will post pics soon.