My First Vcarve and hit a road block...

[TheSignStudio]

Hello everyone! I am working on re creating this existing sign that was Vcarved from 1.5 Thick HDU. I have the filed design and am limited on my Vcarving bits. I am trying to make this work with This bit:

Series 37-80
Description 1" CT DE 60° LETTERING BIT
Tool Mat'l: Carbide Tipped Price $30.60
Unit Inch C.E.D. 5/8
Helix None C.E.L. 0.932
Edge finish Semi-Finished SHK 1/2
Flutes 2 O.A.L. 2 11/16

I have attached pictures of the existing sign for reference, any ideas on how to achieve this effect? The sign itself is 52" x 44". The letters for "Fox" are Approx 9" in width and 7.5" in height so that is quite a bit of area that is carved out to get the V look.

I've learned so much from this forum and want to extend a big thanks to everyone in this community!

[t_vandemark]

Hey Josh, the larger letters look to be a 120 degree V-bit. And the smaller letters a 90 degree. It will be very difficult to achieve the same result using only a 60 degree tool. Good luck with your sign. Let us know how it turns out. :)

[steve_g]

Joshua

Looks pretty straight forward... Do you have the correct font? what software are you using? PartWorks will step any size V-bit down to make it work... I can't necessarily tell if it was a 60 degree bit that did the original, but the angle of the bit will only make a difference in how deep the carving will be.

SG

[TheSignStudio]

Thank you guys for the quick responses! I am using VCarve Pro 6.5 and using the 60 degree bit the preview is way off from to original. I would also like to see if you can recommend some bits I can order like the 120 degree bit and even the 90 degree bit as I stated I only have a a very few V bits. I use Onsrud but am not sure of which part numbers I need to be looking at.



Joshua

Looks pretty straight forward... Do you have the correct font? what software are you using? PartWorks will step any size V-bit down to make it work... I can't necessarily tell if it was a 60 degree bit that did the original, but the angle of the bit will only make a difference in how deep the carving will be.

SG

[TheSignStudio]

Here is a 3d sample of what I get using the 60 degree bit I have

[steve_g]

Joshua

Those cuts are done with a pocketing tool path... you need a v-carving toolpath.

[TheSignStudio]

Hey Steve,

I double checked and it is a V Carve Toolpath not a pocket Toolpath.


Joshua

Those cuts are done with a pocketing tool path... you need a v-carving toolpath.

[t_vandemark]

You can order the larger angle Onsrud V bits from fellow boter Gary Beckwith on his website. www.beckwithdecor.com I have ordered bits from him and was very happy with every thing. You can achieve the v-carve look with any angle of v-bit but just remember that the smaller the angle the deeper the carving will go to achieve this. The way I understand it is, if you are doing small letters you can get away with a 60 degree but as the lettering gets larger so should the angle of your V-bit.

[t_vandemark]

Josh uncheck your " flat depth" box and it will create the v-carved look you are after. Try playing around with the different angles to achieve to look and depth you want.

[TheSignStudio]

How can I tell the depth of the Vcarve when I cant set the depth of the cut? I attached a sample of the preview for reference

[Rob Gunn]

Joshua, You dont get to set a depth on a V-Carve. The cutter will go to the maximum depth that it can go but using the distance between lines as the boundary. I hope I explained that correctly. The wider the web on your letter then the deeper the cutter will go. Good luck with your project.:)

[adrianm]

How can I tell the depth of the Vcarve when I cant set the depth of the cut? I attached a sample of the preview for reference

http://support.vectric.com/aspire-questions/item/how-to-tell-how-deep-v-carving-is

[TheSignStudio]

Hey Robb,

Thanks for the quick reply I was actually given an answer for this so I thought I would share!

http://support.vectric.com/aspire-questions/item/how-to-tell-how-deep-v-carving-is

Still working on figuring out a few things to make this project work but thanks for all the help!

[TheSignStudio]

Here is a minor update, got the sign routed and we are working on paint but thanks to advice given here I was able to achieve exactly what we needed. Thank you all for the help and I will post after the sign is complete to display the finished paint job!

[kurt_rose]

Very nice Josh. This sign stuff is a blast isn't it! :D

[TheSignStudio]

Love sign foam.... besides vacuuming up the mess and the millions of shocks I get from the router and my static self :eek:

[TheSignStudio]

Update: First background Coat applied, next will be another layer or two and the hat

[J Colvin]

Hey Josh
You can check to see how deep the V-carve bit will go. Do your toolpath and save your toolpath. Open the shopbot 3 software and go to file up in the top left corner, click on it and scroll down to 'part file [E]dit'. open the toolpath, here you an change the progam feeds etc. Just scroll down and you can see the max depth in the z column. this will give you an idea how deep the cutter will go. I do this to see if I will go deeper than my material thickness. some times I will give a max depth in the v-carve profile so I don't break thru.
You need to get some 90 deg and 120 deg bits if you are going to be carving more often. You can get 140 deg also. Small letters are perfect for the 60 deg.
Hope this helps
Jamie