Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

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Rubiconlwb
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Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

I designed a cribbage board and made it on my new CNC router today. It was my first complete project so I was pretty nervous. I set it up to peck the holes to a depth of 3/8" and since the peck depth of the bit showed as .125, I assumed it would make 3 passes per hole. When it did the drilling, it drilled each hole only once and although I did not measure, I believe it was less then 3/8" since the pegs bottom out in the hole. Am I missing something? Also, I created a border around the lanes of the cribbage board which was to be cut with a V bit set at a depth of cut of .03". When it cut this border, it looks to be about 1/8" or more deep, thus making this border cut way too wide. The board is usable but any ideas why it cut it so much deeper than I had planned?

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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rcnewcomb »

Can you post the file?
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

Rcnewcomb wrote:Can you post the file?
The .crv file? Here it is.
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by IslaWW »

Any chance you selected peck drilling, retract above previous pass depth and then left the retract amount at zero?
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

IslaWW wrote:Any chance you selected peck drilling, retract above previous pass depth and then left the retract amount at zero?
That is a definite possibility. I'll go check that out.

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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by highpockets »

You setting look OK. And the Toolpath preview reflects the setting.

I'd recheck Z zero setting on your machine when you run the drill bit.
Image 081.png
Image 082.png
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by MarkJohnston »

One way for you to see how deep it's cutting is check the preview depth of the cut by placing your cursor over the area (like one of the holes) and look at the Z value on the bottom right of the screen. It is reading like .48 to .50 depth of the holes so it looks ok to what you have in the file. You can bring the holes closer to look at them better by zeroing in with the mouse and also check the vcarving depth as well. Generally I don’t set a flat bottom on the vcarve when the vectors are normal. I let the software determine the depth of cut by the width of the vectors for that type of toolpath. This is not a problem just something to think about.

I agree with highpockets I think the Z Zero may not be set correctly.

Just a comment I see that you are setting your X,Y position to the top left corner which seems funny to me. I always use the bottom left corner or many times the middle. I realize this is a personal choice and will not negatively hurt anything. Just curious as to why you chose that.

The file looks good.
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by scottp55 »

Have you skimmed your spoilboard flat?
Is Material flat?
VERY easy to Z-zero at a high/low spot on the material, and the variables add up.
Especially easy to get a funky cut on the lines if your wood isn't completely flat in relation your router/spindle.
I always skim my material, and sand to finish before cutting the crib side...easy to sand .03" lines/countersink/font un-uniformly and throw the appearance off, or sand through details.
"Flat is King" as one of my mentors says:)
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

highpockets wrote:You setting look OK. And the Toolpath preview reflects the setting.

I'd recheck Z zero setting on your machine when you run the drill bit.
Image 081.png
Image 082.png
Z zero is the setting where I place the bit on top of the material? I thought I took great care to place it right on top of the material and I assured the wood was flat by running it though my thickness planer. In the screenshot you showed, I had already change the depth of cut to .5 instead of .375 in an attempt to get the holes to drill deep enough. I set the start depth at .0 which to me means the cut will begin at the material surface and go to a depth of .5", is that correct?

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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

scottp55 wrote:Have you skimmed your spoilboard flat?
Is Material flat?
VERY easy to Z-zero at a high/low spot on the material, and the variables add up.
Especially easy to get a funky cut on the lines if your wood isn't completely flat in relation your router/spindle.
I always skim my material, and sand to finish before cutting the crib side...easy to sand .03" lines/countersink/font un-uniformly and throw the appearance off, or sand through details.
"Flat is King" as one of my mentors says:)
scott
I'm not sure what you mean by 'skimmed' or 'spoilboard' but assume skimmed means planing the piece flat but what is a spoilboard? I did run the board through my thickness planer to assure it was flat and a uniform thickness. Thanks for the response.

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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

highpockets wrote:You setting look OK. And the Toolpath preview reflects the setting.

I'd recheck Z zero setting on your machine when you run the drill bit.
Image 081.png
Image 082.png
Just a quick question. If the Z zero setting was off, it would reflect in all cuts being too shallow would it not? The v cut that I am using as a border around the lanes is actually cutting deeper than I anticipated yet the drilling is shallower. Any correlation there? Thanks for the suggestions, I am learning as I go.

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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by ger21 »

A thickness planer does not make boards flat. It makes them a consistent thickness, but the board still may be bowed, or warped.
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by scottp55 »

I quickly looked for a short vid,but my browser is messed up:(
Possible you don't even have a spoilboard, and are just clamping to your machine bed?
Spoilboard(sacrificial board) is attached to the machine bed usually, and then skimmed flat by your machine, so the surface is flat in relation to your router/spindle.
Beds/extrusions can be off true.
Also good as, most through cuts you want to make sure you're all the way through the material, but don't want to be hitting your deck. Also good for screwing down wood/clamps/fences/etc.

Sorry if confusing you(I'm good at that:)

Oh, even though you've put it through a planer, that just gives a uniform thickness between the rollers for the cutter head. If an 8' board has 1/2" warp in it..it'll have a 1/2" warp coming out afterwards. Even good clamp downs have a hard time making the board lie flat on the bed on 3/4" stock in shorter lengths like a crib board.
Personally found it best to flatten my blanks on my machine, if it doesn't sit perfectly flat on my granite or cast iron just before I cut.

Try to Z-zero at the same exact spot after you change bits to eliminate variables. If you didn't, that may explain why one toolpath cut deeper than the other.

It would have cut exactly .5" at the spot you Z-zeroed.
Clear as mud? :)

Just including a couple pics of a basic spoilboard from when I first started.
scott
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by highpockets »

Rubiconlwb wrote:
Z zero is the setting where I place the bit on top of the material? I thought I took great care to place it right on top of the material and I assured the wood was flat by running it though my thickness planer. In the screenshot you showed, I had already change the depth of cut to .5 instead of .375 in an attempt to get the holes to drill deep enough. I set the start depth at .0 which to me means the cut will begin at the material surface and go to a depth of .5", is that correct?
Here's a couple more thoughts..... It's possible that your drill bit slipped in the collect, make sure it well tightened. This may sound like a stupid question, but you do know you have to reset Z zero with each tool change?

Something else to think about, finishing the board? Your cribbage v groove border is a bit shallow, it wouldn't take much sanding to start to loose the v groove. Just a thought....
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Re: Problems drilling holes in cribbage board

Post by Rubiconlwb »

scottp55 wrote:I quickly looked for a short vid,but my browser is messed up:(
Possible you don't even have a spoilboard, and are just clamping to your machine bed?
Spoilboard(sacrificial board) is attached to the machine bed usually, and then skimmed flat by your machine, so the surface is flat in relation to your router/spindle.
Beds/extrusions can be off true.
Also good as, most through cuts you want to make sure you're all the way through the material, but don't want to be hitting your deck. Also good for screwing down wood/clamps/fences/etc.

Sorry if confusing you(I'm good at that:)

Oh, even though you've put it through a planer, that just gives a uniform thickness between the rollers for the cutter head. If an 8' board has 1/2" warp in it..it'll have a 1/2" warp coming out afterwards. Even good clamp downs have a hard time making the board lie flat on the bed on 3/4" stock in shorter lengths like a crib board.
Personally found it best to flatten my blanks on my machine, if it doesn't sit perfectly flat on my granite or cast iron just before I cut.

Try to Z-zero at the same exact spot after you change bits to eliminate variables. If you didn't, that may explain why one toolpath cut deeper than the other.

It would have cut exactly .5" at the spot you Z-zeroed.
Clear as mud? :)

Just including a couple pics of a basic spoilboard from when I first started.
scott
I do understand what a sacrificial board is, it was the term spoilboard that I did not understand. I didn't think that would be necessary unless one was cutting through the board you are working on at the time. I do understand the idea that a thickness planer will not take all the warp out of a board but it will certainly do that across the width of the board. I have been doing woodworking for about 50 years and don't know of a way to perfectly flatten a board. How is that accomplished with common woodworking equipment that most hobbyists might have? I did zero the bit before each toolpath. Thanks for the response.

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