VCarve Cleanup Pass

[M Queen]

Using a smaller cleanup endmill to clean up a vcarved sign. I posted this video about a year ago. I get asked how to do this once in a while...

[M Queen]

I forgot to mention that I show how to use a the smaller diameter end mill to quickly clean out only those tight spots where the larger diameter clearance tool can't reach. No need to spend hours re-milling the entire area just to get those small areas.

Here's another video that shows how/why it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZa3y8NSmS0

[FixitMike]

Very ingenious way to clean up the areas the first tool misses. I like it.

However, it appears to me that the second tool must be exactly half the diameter of the first tool using your method. If it is smaller than that, there will be (small) areas that are not cleaned up.

A variation on the method, if one wants to use a smaller second tool, is to use an offset equal to half of the first tool, and then draw some diameters at the sharp points of the offset to see what is not cleaned up. Then use the scissors tool to make pockets for the smaller diameter clean up tool. It may be necessary to draw radii through the tangent point of the tool and part outlines. The scissors tool doesn't always pick up where those occur.

This method is obviously more time consuming than to draw than yours, but it could permit using a larger tool for the major cleanup and then a smaller one to finish, and thus save machine time.

[M Queen]

Hi Mike, you're right. I've also done them and added a third tool of a smaller diameter. I've also done something similar to what you're talking about.

Thanks and I'm glad you like it.

Did you download my little app? The location is in the description.

[M Queen]

It's been a while since I watched the video and I can't remember if I did this in the video, but I started doing much larger stepover with the v-bit. Since I'm going to be cleaning it out anyway, why waste all that time?