Looking for some creative ideas on how to fix this. This is a serving tray, so needs to be loosely “food safe”. I had some issues with my collet slipping and my router slipping in the mount when it got too hot for the PLA. There is the hole that does not quite go all the way through and a groove that runs on the left and bottom of the largest section.
cut more of those weird shaped things and fill them with something. epoxy comes to mind, but idk if i would use epoxy for food grade product…
1 Like
You can mix wood dust of the same colour with titebond and fill the gaps with the mixture.
There are many food safe epoxies. Some are even high temp capable (180 F). My wife uses them with coaster sets she sells.
Mike
Edit: It is EnviroTex Lite: masepoxies.com
2 Likes
For the smaller pocket you could make another toolpath to turn it into a square hole with rounded corners, use the CNC to cut a block the same shape, glue it in place and then re-run the original toolpath or create a new one to cut it back to correct size/depth.
For the channel around the edge you could in theory do the same thing but it might be getting a bit complicated at that point… I like the epoxy idea, could even make it a ‘feature’ and add it to the other pockets, too.
Or if there’s enough thickness below it, just lower the entire Z of the project?
If it’s something where you could get a ‘close enough’ match, you could always glue the entire thing down to another thinner piece, either the same wood or use something else as a decorative contrast, then run the job again. It looks like there’s enough thickness there that the entire top would still be the same material, you’d just have a ~5mm thick piece of something else as a base. Could even be something simple/cheaper and stained/painted or whatever, or edge-banded in the original wood or something that provides a nice contrast.
If it’s for your own use, I like the epoxy idea and make it a feature. Reminder that not everything is perfect, even when made on a CNC!
On a related note, I feel your pain with the bit slipping. I hand-routed a pocket into my workbench top yesterday and then proceeded to cut into it an hour later with a hand saw. Goddamnit.
3 Likes
Thanks for the ideas. I like the thought of making it a feature in all the pockets, but aligning it again would be a challenge. I thing I will try epoxy and maybe an inlay for the deep hole
1 Like
In woodworking. A bowtie or similar patch would be the term. It’s pretty common, but you would need to use a router to trim it down, or use the CNC like you said.
Another name is a dutchman. You should find lots of people showing how to do it with traditional tools. You can use the CNC to make it a bit easier. I would roighly align the grain so the two woods grow together.