carve two half posts

[Kevin Crawford]

Hello Everyone,
I'm a new vcarve user of just s few months. I have job where I need to make a simple post base for table top. I haven't had to do this yet and I'm not sure if Vcarve will do it or it can only be done on aspire. I want to mill two 8"x28"x4" oak blocks and then stick them on the cnc. First route some locating grooves on the backs, flip it over then cut the half rounds out of them. Can Vcarve do this or only aspire and if it can, can someone please give me a little instruction.

[dealguy11]

Yes you can, with caveats.

If you're just doing half rounds with no beads or coves, it would be fairly easy to set up with a moulding toolpath - use a half-round as the profile vector. Would need to use the larger area clearance tool option to avoid breaking your ballnose bit.

HOWEVER - at 4" thickness there is a very good chance that the collet will hit the side of the part when the carving bit is at the bottom of the part unless you're using fairly long bits. It would make sense to measure and draw the collet and bit in advance to see what your side clearances will be next to the half-round. Also remember long bits are more prone to vibration and chatter.

If you do have beads or coves you'll have to get creative with clip art.

Or, you can model it outside of VCarve Pro, save as an STL and import, assuming you have software that will do that. Others can talk to free and paid options.

[adze_cnc]

If you do use moulding toolpath use the "Vary Stepover" option.

Steven