At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Storebought or Homemade: Tell Us!
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Just FYI. I've increased the spindle speed to 6000 rpm, and feed to 4 ipm. I cut 2 more sets of letters out of the ablam today, still using the 1/32" bit. No broken bit and the letters look great.

Bonus: took only 1/2 the time.
20211124_111257.jpg
20211124_113804.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

My next experiment is using epoxy resin to emulate mother of pearl. I already know my cnc will cut the resin. I want to make blanks of "mop" resin, hopefully so convincing, that after cutting and inlaying, it'll be hard to tell the difference.

Although epoxy resin can be poured into an inlay pocket, in order for it to really look like mop, you need to use 3-4 colors of the epoxy, colored with interference powder, then cast and swirled. This is pretty hard to do in very small inlay pockets. So the best way is to make thin blanks, like shell, then cut it. I've already cut experimental pieces, by hand, and by cnc, so I know it'll work. Now I'm learning to make convincing mop. After I figure this out, I'll make resin "abalone".

At first, I tried pouring very thin 2mm deep blanks. While kind of pretty, they weren't the right color, because I used mica powders. I couldn't really swirl it right, because it's too thin.. Then I learned about interference powders.

Interference powders are pearly powders that color shift. They can be mixed in the resin, poured alternately, and swirled. They look wonderful in thicker applications, but I need need thin. When pouring thin blanks with thin viscosity, the colors just run together, whereas a thicker resin doesn't distribute the colors right.

So, my solutions to the above problems are 2 fold:

I cast blocks of mop resin, to resaw later into thin slices. I know I can cut the resin by hand, with cnc, and with the bandsaw. So I'm using soap making molds. The blocks are 3.75" x 2.5" x 1".

Secondly, I'm experimenting with the interference properties.
I think they'll work best, when cast in resin containing an opaque dye, so that light doesn't completely penetrate. The light hits the dye, making it bounce back through the interference color, intensifying the effect...at least, that's my theory. This will become more important when I saw the blocks into thin blanks.

I've cast 2 blocks, block 1 with nothing but red, green, and blue, interference powders. In block 2, I colored the base resin with a miniscule amount of opaque white dye, before mixing with each of the same interference colors. The amount of white dye was so small, it wasn't even 1 drop. The blocks will need to cure for several days before unmolding.
20210430_122815.jpg
20211124_151256.jpg
20211124_151343.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I'll also be experimenting with shell veneer. There are a variety of veneers available, and they're out of this world gorgeous and inexpensive. But. They're too thin. They don't withstand any sanding, and they're fragile. I have an idea that might make veneers useful.

I'm going to use the resin, mixed with interference powder, plus any background colors, then I'm stacking 2 veneers on top of and with the Epoxy. I think, done right, it'll provide a multitude of shell inlay types and colors, that will withstand a small amount of sanding.

Stay tuned...
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
Posts: 7011
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
Contact:

Re: At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Post by tippie53 »

if you cut mop you can do it but have water dripping on it to keep the tool cool your experiment is interesting and I will be watching
note feed rate and rpm thanks for posting
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

tippie53 wrote: Thu Nov 25, 2021 7:16 am if you cut mop you can do it but have water dripping on it to keep the tool cool your experiment is interesting and I will be watching
note feed rate and rpm thanks for posting
I've been cutting without water, but just small amounts. I'll do as you suggest. It'll keep the dust down a bit too.

I've started keeping a log of rpm vs feed rate. I'm trying to stay within the ratio of the 6000/4. So, I think I'll ramp it up to 10,000 @ 6-7 ipm. I'll report back.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: At the risk of being laughed out of the forum...

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Well, I'm extending my wee little CNC. She'll now just be a little cnc. They had her y-axis extension as well as her table on sale on Cyber Monday and I would have been an idiot not to go ahead and do the upgrade. I have it done, except I made a booboo when I installed the copper nut on the nut seat. Like an idiot, I put it on backwards, then wondered why my table was hitting the back of the frame instead of the limit switch.

So now it's a 3040 instead of a 3018. I've also temporarily taken the limit switches out of the z-axis. They were limiting the travel distance too much. My problem has always been on the x and y-axis', which definitely need limits.

To extend the table, you first install the original aluminum table and extension onto an mdf board that's 1cm thick, raising the table by 1cm. So, I'm losing 1cm in travel. The z-axis only has around 1 7/8" of z-axis travel to begin with. I'm losing 3/8" with the mdf, I have more than enough travel to do everything that I want with it. This machine was never going to carve necks.

After I correct my faux pas today. I'll take some pictures.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Post Reply