My hobby is flying radio controlled airplanes. I am currently president of our local flying club, and with our first banquet dinner coming up, it was brought up by our VP that perhaps we should get back into giving out awards, most improved, best crash, etc.
So this is the process of me figuring out how to make some ‘awards’ using my CNC router.
I started with our club logo….
Then thinking about slimming it down a bit to make it easier to cut, I modified it a bit…
I then proceeded to load the image into my CAD software as a background image, and sort of trace over where I wanted stuff to be cut out…
-- Paul, http://www.coriannslithos.com
6 comments so far
Arbo
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75 posts in 987 days
#1 posted 932 days ago
I imported the CAD file into my CAM software and set up my tool and material and generated a tool path to carve it out.
Once I did the first test carving, I cut the piece out, then based on previous experience doing carvings, I pulled out a little paintbrush and black paint, and proceeded to paint in the carved lines.
One that dries, I’ll hit the piece with the orbital sander with some 220 paper and sand the paint off the top to clean it up.
-- Paul, http://www.coriannslithos.com
Jamie Speirs
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3671 posts in 1024 days
#2 posted 932 days ago
Would look good cut out in a heavy vinyl then put on a piece of live edge then sand blasted. You could then cut some of the more important parts of the log on a lighter wood to contrast.
Only a thought.
Jamie
-- Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Arbo
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75 posts in 987 days
#3 posted 932 days ago
Jamie, thanks, but I don’t follow. I mean, I understand cutting a vinyl template, but am not familiar with ‘live edge’. Are there examples of projects on here done with this method?
-- Paul, http://www.coriannslithos.com
Arbo
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75 posts in 987 days
#4 posted 930 days ago
Ok, I set up another test piece, this time I set the z zero at -.01 into the piece, cut it. Painted the cut parts, then when dry surfaced down 0.01 to remove overpaint and such. Paint seeps into wood, so edges are ragged looking. I guess I should seal the carved parts after cutting them, before painting?
-- Paul, http://www.coriannslithos.com
Arbo
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75 posts in 987 days
#5 posted 930 days ago
forgot photo..
-- Paul, http://www.coriannslithos.com
Arbo
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75 posts in 987 days
#6 posted 912 days ago
Well… got it down better. After carving it out, I apply 3 coats of varnish to seal it. Then hand paint the lettering/logo. When that’s dry, a light sanding takes the black paint off the edges where I get outside the letters. Then the normal varnish, sand varnish.
These two are sitting with the first finish coat of varnish drying.
-- Paul, http://www.coriannslithos.com
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