ryan_slaback
09-11-2006, 11:06 PM
I had a big problem today. I was scheduled to present the new Shopbot to my school board and was going to make a desk plaque out of oak for them in front of their very eyes. Problem is... the contact paper I got to use as a mask peeled off when I practiced. So here is what I did...
I planed my blanks an extra 1/32" thick. Then after putting my block in place I zeroed the bit and then lied to the shopbot by adjusting the current Z position from 2.000 after the Z zero to 2.03125 This caused the V carving to be an extra 1/32" deeper than it normally would be. After I engraved the name and Title I spray painted the block and engraving (no mask). When it dried I sent it through the planer engraving side up and it took off the extra paint and material and left the engraving at the right depth and appearance. It worked great and in the future I plan to make this my SOP.
One note, this past summer I installed a shelic cutterhead in our planer which is an index type cutterhead with helical insert placement. This allows for a super smooth cut which is actually a shear. It did not break out an "islands" like this insides of e's and d's. I do not know if this would be as successful with a straight bladed cutterhead.
I planed my blanks an extra 1/32" thick. Then after putting my block in place I zeroed the bit and then lied to the shopbot by adjusting the current Z position from 2.000 after the Z zero to 2.03125 This caused the V carving to be an extra 1/32" deeper than it normally would be. After I engraved the name and Title I spray painted the block and engraving (no mask). When it dried I sent it through the planer engraving side up and it took off the extra paint and material and left the engraving at the right depth and appearance. It worked great and in the future I plan to make this my SOP.
One note, this past summer I installed a shelic cutterhead in our planer which is an index type cutterhead with helical insert placement. This allows for a super smooth cut which is actually a shear. It did not break out an "islands" like this insides of e's and d's. I do not know if this would be as successful with a straight bladed cutterhead.