Young Aspiring Noobie Shopbotter's Wood Questions

[SamG]

Hello, I am brand new to the TalkShopbot forums and to CNC/Woodworking so please forgive me (and possibly help me) if I'm doing something wrong.

I am in the business of working with the woods commonly used to make various types of doors, and carving either PhotoVcarve or Aspire 3D based artwork onto them. I may be working with species such as Bamboo, Cherry, Birch, Pine, Douglas Fir, Hickory, Alder, Mahogany, Poplar, Oak, Walnut and Maple. (I am simply taking these from a list of common woods used to make doors.)

My question is, are there any woods I should be weary of putting on a Shopbot? Perhaps because carving will not produce a good result, or for any other reason?

I am also in the process of learning about woodworking, and may end up needing to craft the entire doors myself. This is far beyond my current capabilities, so I'm looking everywhere for advice people may be willing to give me. Thank you!

[Brady Watson]

Sam,
Welcome to the SBF. Don't worry...we all had/have to start somewhere.

The Bot will cut any wood, but soft woods are the most challenging to cut cleanly. This includes pine and sometimes Eastern cedar. Hardwoods for the most part, cut beautifully - but as you will find, cut quality is highly dependent on the actual piece of wood & grain.

-B

[Ajcoholic]

Hello, I am brand new to the TalkShopbot forums and to CNC/Woodworking so please forgive me (and possibly help me) if I'm doing something wrong.

I am in the business of working with the woods commonly used to make various types of doors, and carving either PhotoVcarve or Aspire 3D based artwork onto them. I may be working with species such as Bamboo, Cherry, Birch, Pine, Douglas Fir, Hickory, Alder, Mahogany, Poplar, Oak, Walnut and Maple. (I am simply taking these from a list of common woods used to make doors.)

My question is, are there any woods I should be weary of putting on a Shopbot? Perhaps because carving will not produce a good result, or for any other reason?

I am also in the process of learning about woodworking, and may end up needing to craft the entire doors myself. This is far beyond my current capabilities, so I'm looking everywhere for advice people may be willing to give me. Thank you!

In my experience, woods that are close grained like cherry, walnut, maple etc carve quite well. Alder, butternut, birch, polar and most of what's sold these days as mahogany etc also.

Grainy woods with a lot of variance between the early & late wood - like red oak, ash, fir, possibly hickory and pecan - have more tendency for splintering.

But as stated it does depend upon the individual plank and dryness as well as your cutter.

[khaos]

I have cut bamboo and it does a nice job with a sharp bit. It also dulls the bits faster than other woods in my opinion. :) I would not shy away from it.

hth,

[SamG]

Thank you very much for the info. I'm super busy and just wanted to leave a quick response giving my thanks. This gives me lots of info to work with!