cleaning up after a 3d carve

[STEVEFREDERICKS]

im a newb at all this but i have designed my first 3d carving and have ran it i used a peice of pine wood the carving turned out nice but left a lot of little fibers of wood that i need to clean up my problem is i dont know what to use that wont damage the detail of the carving i dont have a sander that will get in all the little nooks and cracks without messing up the detail any help would be much appreciated

[Savannahdan]

If you look at the pdf file on one of Michael Tyler's monthly free projects you'll find a list of tools that he uses and these include 3m radial bristle discs. I love them for getting into the v grooves and cleaning up. You use them with a dremel/rotary tool mandrel and stack 3 on. Make sure to get the direction correct. I use 80 and 120 grit. Also, I purchased a punch tool at one of the hobby craft stores which punches a small disc out of sandpaper and I use those for larger v grooves and I purchased a set of the small sanding pencils from the same store for less than $10 using a 40% off coupon. You can call me cheap but I'm still handsome! Good luck.

[gkas]

Here's a great suggestion from Michael Tyler. viewtopic.php?p=252633#p252633
The 3M Bristle Disks look expensive, but not after they save you hours of work.

https://www.riogrande.com/product/3m-ra ... t/332581gp You also need a mandrel.

[chemstock]

Maybe this is already too far in the past. Sanding removes detail. I use small carving tools I.e. flexcut or Taylor palm tools instead.
If you do use sandpaper, consider using sanding sealer or stabilizer to freeze the fuzzies. It will make it easier to sand them off without removing detail. Be aware that sealer may impact how you finish the project.
Pine is a softwood, more important here to have sharp tools than with hardwoods. The fuzzies are woodfiber that are flexing rather than being cut by the bit. This can be affected by moisture content. Kiln dried hardwood for furniture should be dried to no more than 8% moisture content. Softwood, especially from big box stores is dried to about 15% moisture content and need to be seasoned further if you plan on carving or making furniture. Higher moisture content makes the fiber more flexible.
This is why I think a carving tool is better, you can cut the fiber rather than trying to grind it with sand paper. The flexcut tools have an incredibly sharp blade that can be honed easily to keep the tool sharp. This can be time consuming, on a model that takes 2 hours to machine, I budget about an hour to clean up.
You may also find that the 'climb cut' may give a different finish than a 'conventional cut'. You may see one side of the model cuts cleaner than the other. In 3D carving, the tool will cut in both directions, I haven't found a way to force the toolpath generator to only cut in one direction. Where I can, I try to orient the grain to minimize the tear out.

[chemstock]

Maybe this is already too far in the past. Sanding removes detail. I use small carving tools I.e. flexcut or Taylor palm tools instead.
If you do use sandpaper, consider using sanding sealer or stabilizer to freeze the fuzzies. It will make it easier to sand them off without removing detail. Be aware that sealer may impact how you finish the project.
Pine is a softwood, more important here to have sharp tools than with hardwoods. The fuzzies are woodfiber that are flexing rather than being cut by the bit. This can be affected by moisture content. Kiln dried hardwood for furniture should be dried to no more than 8% moisture content. Softwood, especially from big box stores is dried to about 15% moisture content and need to be seasoned further if you plan on carving or making furniture. Higher moisture content makes the fiber more flexible.
This is why I think a carving tool is better, you can cut the fiber rather than trying to grind it with sand paper. The flexcut tools have an incredibly sharp blade that can be honed easily to keep the tool sharp. This can be time consuming, on a model that takes 2 hours to machine, I budget about an hour to clean up.
You may also find that the 'climb cut' may give a different finish than a 'conventional cut'. You may see one side of the model cuts cleaner than the other. In 3D carving, the tool will cut in both directions, I haven't found a way to force the toolpath generator to only cut in one direction. Where I can, I try to orient the grain to minimize the tear out.

[Rcnewcomb]

Sanding sealer really does help with cleanup.

For future projects hard maple carves much cleaner -- fewer fuzzies and better detail. The reduced cleanup time and better results more than make up for the extra cost of the material.