strategies and techniques for 3d carving

[jlroch]

i am looking for ADVANCED strategies and techniques for 3d carving. all i seem to find on the internet is BEGINNERS information. is there anything available out there, books, videos, forums, etc?

jacques
bois-exotique.com

[gkas]

This is the only place I've found...

[Rcnewcomb]

For more advanced work you will blur the lines between what is done by the CNC and what is enhanced by hand. You can add undercuts and fine details after the carving comes off the machine. A simple example is adding the details on an acorn using a razor blade.

You can carve pieces separately and then combine them in a way that could not be done on a 3-axis CNC.

For inspiration look at the work of:
Scott McNeill who also has a few videos on YouTube
Jerry Mifflin

The late David Esterly
The works of Grinling Gibbons

[adze_cnc]

Everything depends on what you feel is advanced.

I just finished a double-sided bowl project that had the following "features":

• inside had 9 "stair steps" with a tread of 15mm and riser (to continue the analogy) requiring 9 separate 2D pocket toopaths to effect (no 3D Finishing toolpath needed)
• outside I needed to use a 3D Roughing toolpath
• outside finishing I used a Moulding toolpath using the cross-section of the bowl extracted from the original Rhino 3D model

Why a moulding toolpath and not a 3D Finishing toolpath? Because the profile of the bowl became quite steep and the moulding toolpath has varying stepover feature.

The 3D roughing toolpath was needed because the depth of cut for the ball-end cutter in the moulding toolpath exceeded the bit's cutting edge length. Plus the moulding toopath, with this form wouldn't produce a roughing toolpath of it's own—it said it did but it cut nothing that I could see.

All of the above are quite within the reach of a beginner. It's just thinking about the nature of the model and the tools available that led me to that plan of cutting 3D model with only one "3D" toolpath and that was a z-level roughing.

[Adrian]

What is advanced to one person is bread and butter to the next. You'd need to provide more info on what you feel advanced 3D work is.

[mtylerfl]

i am looking for ADVANCED strategies and techniques for 3d carving. all i seem to find on the internet is BEGINNERS information. is there anything available out there, books, videos, forums, etc?

jacques
bois-exotique.com

Here is a nice CNC video you might enjoy seeing…

[mtylerfl]

Here’s another video showing how to make a lock and key jig for carving a decorative column on all four sides…

[TReischl]

The key to ADVANCED carving techniques is to MASTER the beginner level.

MASTERING anything is nothing more than understanding the basics and then becoming creative.

[Leo]

I don't know what "advanced" means.

The way I started out was to make simple things. As a beginner, I made whatever I liked by on a simpler side. I would try something a little more ?advanced? a little at a time. The stuff I tried was something that looked cool to me. A little at a time I would look at what others did and I would try it if it looked good to me. As time went on I would try more and more. I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Much of what I did went into the wood stove to heat my house. Some of what I did made money for me.

I don't know what advanced is. I know a lot more now than when I started. I also know that I really don't know much and that I have a LONG LONG way to go before I finally get there.

I guess the best I can offer up as far as strategy goes is this.

1) Start small and simple and learn small and simple really good.
2) Try something new
3) Do not learn on expensive material.
4) Try it in cheap material first.
5) READ and STUDY, internet, books, video tutorials.
6) Participate in forums
7) Ask questions

BIG MISTAKE is to try to build the Empire State Building when one is a freshman in the trade.
Don't start with a 4' x 6' x 4" chunk of Bubinga and try to carve a complex scene
Pine is cheap, poplar is inexpensive.

Many many years ago when I had opportunity to learn CAD on my job I would bring the manual home every day. I read the manual and studied it every night. The next day I would try something new. I did that every day for a long long time. I can say, I got really good at CAD and eventually tutored other employees.

[dealguy11]

Leo - I agree with everything you said, although I didn't follow that path at all. It's what I should have done, not what I did. When my son and I started out to create a business using the CNC back in 2008, I got a copy of Aspire before I even got the machine. Watched all the videos, designed some fairly complicated stuff from scratch (my first 3d design was a pretty realistic French horn model, with all the pipes), then got the machine and started cutting things. I had 3 or 4 months of cutting little projects...everything I could think of and stuff I saw others doing on the forum. Then my son got us our first project - cutting fairly complicated 3d artwork on a double-curved mahogany vanity for a large custom cabinet shop. Started with Design&Carve designs, but had to modify them to make it work. It was pretty nerve-wracking. But...it was successful and we went on from there.

Early on, if someone asked me if we could cut something on the CNC and it seemed doable on the machine, I generally said "yes". Being under the gun to deliver was a huge incentive to find or invent "advanced" techniques. A lot of these jobs were not profitable, but I learned a lot and built up the confidence to do more. For me these projects were like puzzles to solve, and I like puzzles. Also, this forum was extremely valuable - I follow it daily and continue to learn from others on the forum even after nearly 14 years using the software. I'm not sure there is an encyclopedia of "advanced" techniques anywhere, but if you pay close attention to what people are doing, and learn to refine your search terms for what people have discussed in the past (nearly everything at least 5 times!!) there's a lot of hidden knowledge right here.

[AboveCreations]

i am looking for ADVANCED strategies and techniques for 3d carving. all i seem to find on the internet is BEGINNERS information. is there anything available out there, books, videos, forums, etc?

jacques
bois-exotique.com

I agree with everyone... what do YOU consider advanced? Are you referring to the carving of 3D models or creating the actual 3D model for carving?

[Leo]

Nobody does it all the same way. There needs to be flexibility in how we learn.

What I suggested is a basic guide, not a cookbook for success.

Steve,

As I read your post on how you got there you still basically followed along the same guide I posted, but modified to suit your needs. Some people move faster than others do.

Personally, I do much like you do. I want complex challenges that put me under the gun. My motivation is to solve complex problems.