Refining engravings

[evansd2]

Previously:

on BB limits.

Practical limits of LPI in Baltic Birch

I wondered what the upper limit was to the “resolution” of wood when it comes to engraving, so I tried to test it. Lessons learned: LPI matters. All of these pictures are the same speed and power, but higher LPI definitely yields better detail and darker contrast. 225 LPI: Note the muddy details, “Case” is almost illegible. [image] 370 LPI: Clearer and crisper with darker engraving. [image] Cleaning matters. Cleaning the smoke residue from the surface will make your details much mo…

on settings:

Settings for 1/8 Baltic birch engraving (and cutting)

People want to know about the settings I ended up on here: It was done in Baltic birch non pg ply Speed 600 Power 80 Vary power 225 LPI As a bonus, I cut at 220/Full (pro) (These cut settings really are subjective and only apply to this specific batch of baltic birch. I have long since moved to a test-first method: anytime I get a new batch of BB ply I test a piece to dial that particular batch in. I’ve had some that 220/full wouldn’t have been reliable, so now I always test. For more…

On thin lines failing me:

Engraving failure on mink skull (warning: pictures of a skull)

So if there was ever a topic that deserved to be in “beyond the manual” – I’m pretty sure they aren’t ever going to offer proofgrade skulls. Things I did right: Got the non-crumb-tray height correct with new spacer blocks. Settings were 1000/30/270lpi. Seems good, nice dark engrave… Things I didn’t do right: The design (vector) was way too intricate, the finer lines didn’t even mark. In hindsight, this is a no-brainer, some of these lines were about a kerf thick. Brain took a back seat…