I also bought a bamboo cutting board which I wanted to test.
It was 0.6" thick so I should have removed the tray, but I was lazy and tried with the tray.
You can see same âlanesâ of darker and lighter engraving. Iâm not sure if this is due to the material or because the board was actually too thick and the camera was out of focus.
I also added small circles in the corners to indicate the location to drill. But the one at the bottom left got on the wrong place. Next version will be without these circles
In a few days I will try to paint the engravings to enhance them even more.
When it is finished Iâll share a new picture.
BTW: If you have a Ross around you, theyâll oft have a variety of bamboo cutting boards in the $1-$5 range! I have made a few wedding presents from 'em.
Very nice And yes, like the others have said, the banding you see is definitely the bamboo. Bamboo is a grass and the fibers donât burn consistently.
For sure the material like others said, mine came out the exact same way except I used 270 line and attempted 2 passes to see if I could get the colors to level out, but it didnât. Heres a link to mine then settings I used and If you didnât wipe down the black areas I would recommend it, it helps blend the two a little bit better for the one I did anyways. https://www.facebook.com/notes/fresh-start-customs/cutting-board-settings/421196298336797/
Oh, and BTW the misplacing of the circular holes is likely because at 0.6 the cameraâs view of where things are (for placing the work on the image) will be seriously off.
I have done a few bamboo cutting boards also. They all have the light and dark difference because of the different pieces of used to make the board. It looks good. I have been wanting to blacken one in before removing the protective tape. Just have not got to it yet. Here is the one I did this morning. 20180510_105230|281x500
It is the material bands. You have to examine the board very carefully for that if you want consistency of outcome. It isnât bad for an engraving like this. It can be murder for photos.
This is the finished result after painting.
Next time I will use masking before engraving and leave it on until after painting because it is very hard to not paint outside the engraving.
So, welcome to the forum! Itâs a bit of a learning curve, but itâs a fun one.
There are lots of methods for avoiding smoke residue on your material. The method you choose will depend somewhat on your materials and the specifics of what youâre trying to do.
They boil down into two broad categories: protection and cleaning.
With protection, youâd use a mask to cover the material first, then engrave and remove the masking later, taking all the residue with the masking.
As for cleaning, there are lots of methods people use, with varying degrees of success and tradeoffs. Some people use water, some use denatured alcohol, some use cleansers like simple green, some use ammonia-based cleaners. There are a lot of techniques out there. Search the forum for âcleaning residueâ and youâll find lots of discussion.
If you want to go the masking route, there is a lot of discussion there too, hereâs one:
Engraving with masking is a feel thing. You will lose some finer details so it tends to work best with bold deep engraves, if youâre going for fine lines or varying power/3d engraving, youâll probably want to avoid masking and stick with a cleaning method.
Anyway. This is a very broad topic, and without some more details about what youâre up to thatâs about as specific as anyone could get to help you here.
Thank you, Evan! I was referring specifically to the project on this thread. The bamboo looks so clean and crisp with no black residue. I do appreciate all of your additional info as well! It is very helpful!
Well hereâs the extra good news, then: With bamboo cutting boards, they are usually prefinished and clean up really nicely. If it were me Iâd engrave directly with no masking and wipe it down afterward with a mild detergent.
Of course this is all theoretical, youâd have to test it out with your own cutting board to be 100% sure, but thatâs why you buy two and test first