CNC Chip Carving

[Bob]

I watched a show about chip carving and saw a chance to try the Shark on a project like this.
This is how it turned out:
Bob

[Consultingwoodworker]

That's pretty amazing Bob, how did you upload the design?

Ralph

[Bob]

Ralph
I loaded the jpg into vectric then tried two methods:
1. I let the program trace the design. I thought the results were good but not accurate enough. This led to step 2.
2. I traced the drawing manually. One different small portion at a time, then copied it around the circle as needed. I like this method because it gives a cleaner looking result.
Bob

[Consultingwoodworker]

A lot of work, but obviously worth it.

Ralph

[RhB_HJ]

Hey Bob,

What's the diameter of this piece?

[Bob]

Hey Bob,

What's the diameter of this piece?

It's about 6 inches. But, the size and shape can easily be changed.
Bob

[Bob]

A lot of work, but obviously worth it.

Ralph

Actually Ralph,
I feel a little guilty doing a project like this because it would take many hours for a skilled worker to carve by hand, but it only took one to two hours to trace the few parts that were used. There were only about 7 segments of the design that were needed. These were then mirrored using the mirror tool, and copied around the circle using the array tool.
Guilty, but happy...
Bob

[Consultingwoodworker]

Bob,

I used to sell CNCs that could carve. At a trade show, I had a guy complain that the machine was going to take food out of the mouths of a lot of skilled carvers. I asked him how many skilled carvers he actually knew!

There used to be a lot of skilled wagon wheel makers too.

Enjoy expanding your own skills and capabilities, and leave the guilt to others!

Ralph

[acxsasx]

Wow, very nice. How did you clamp this piece down?

[Bob]

Wow, very nice. How did you clamp this piece down?

I like to use double sided stickytape for a project like this. Since I needed to cut all the way through, I stuck it to some scrappy panel. I use two different kinds of tape: Indoor carpet tape for light cutting or outdoor tape for heavyduty cutting. On this project, I didn't want to take any chances with shifting so I used the outdoor tape.
Bob