For my carving, I used a .25 three flange down bit. It provides a smooth finish to the top, which is what I like to achieve. Reducing the tap size is also helpful when trying to remove it from the board. My tab settings are .2 x .15. I use a good marking knife to remove the pieces while still on the machine.
Michael suggested using a stain or glaze to bring out the carving feature, and I was going to use this technique until my daughter came over, and while we were talking, she suggested it might look good with gold in the carving and a black finish. With so much detail, I did not think I would be able to do this until the next morning an Idea came to me from my bit’s vendor, ToolsToday. I had watched one of their videos showing me masking a sign with Oramask to use different colors. I had used the film and knew it was good for carving through with a sharp v-carve bit but worried this was a little more than the Oramask could handle. I sanded the board down to 600, I know, a little excessive, but I was worried the paint might come off with the film and wanted the smoothest surface possible. I sprayed the board with a satin finish black and, after drying overnight, applied the Oramask and rolled it smooth the put it on my CNC bed.
After cutting all my v-carve with an Amana 90-degree bit with a replaceable blade, I sprayed the board with gold. I then finished up my profile cut and went about weeding the Oramask. The picture gives you a good idea of how well this worked.
