I might need an intervention

Everything Else
1

Might have bought too much …

stock arrived
stock arrived707×707 146 KB

Lots to experiment with here, I’ll share everything I learn on my blog and here naturally :slight_smile:

32 Likes
2

That’s some tasty looking hardwood you got there. Care to share your source and the shipping manifest? :slight_smile:

4 Likes
3

That’s a good start! :wink:

5 Likes
4

That’s from ocooch hardwoods I think :slight_smile:

I’ll update makerhacks with prices and pews after I’ve tested everything :slight_smile:

1 Like
5

One of us! One of us!

7 Likes
6

Exactly!

2 Likes
7

Some delicious looking stuff there. A first move I did was to create a set of tests that could give me a permanent reference set without eating much of the wood that I needed the references to use. You might find this useful

4 Likes
8

Cool :sunglasses:

1 Like
9

You can NEVER have too much material…:rofl:

2 Likes
10

All here are afflicted, just a matter of degree!

2 Likes
11

To clarify on the test cut - the numbers are both speed and power? Or are you picking a power and running all the different speeds?

I love the off-the-edge of the engrave on this one so I’m thinking it’s gonna be my go-to!

Thanks

2 Likes
12

For cutting…

The technique is generally to pick a power and run your cuts at varying speeds.

You could go the other way, pick a speed and vary the power, up to your needs.

Engraves are such a wild west of settings it’s hard to have a one size fits all solution for testing.

1 Like
13

Ok, that’s what I was presuming - but I wasn’t positive from the description - thanks!

14

It is a basic style.
I set the engrave speed at twice the cut speed, and initially at full power and 340 LPI on the engrave. this becomes the “Standard Candle” and works as well on 1/2 " wood or 1/4" but you might want to do some multiple on thin or flammable materials and then note in ink in the piece so you can keep track of deviation from normal and the species of the wood.

I find myself frequently having to hand saw the piece off, and it is a good idea to sand the face down to see the depth of the cuts as the cut off will burn the saw cut and engrave and throw off the apparent depth of the cuts

15

Yeah… so for me, I’m always trying to get the fastest reliable cut for my hardwoods especially. so 90% of the time, I pin power to full and then find the fastest I can cut reliably using a test pattern.

(Caveat: mostly theoretical discussion follows)

The side effect of this… hard corners tend to have more variance (overburn) as speed increases (acceleration/deceleration effects are more pronounced). You could make the case for more uniform cutting at slower speeds, so the alternate method – where you set the speed to like 100 and then vary the power – to avoid overburn.

The tricky part about powerful slow cuts is that you’re increasing the chances of fires or the dreaded slow smolder that @rbtdanforth has discussed with zebrawood. As with any set of test cuts, I’d definitely watch it carefully – but especially if you’re intentionally setting the speed to be slower.

2 Likes
16

Never!!

(Wait, does this response mean I might need an intervention as well? :scream:)

3 Likes
17

This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.