I want to make an American flag cutting board but don’t know how to make the stars using a V bit with the programs I have downloaded. I grabbed a black and white american flag image off the internet, converted it to a vector image, removed the stripes so that all that was left are the stars evenly spaced. But I don’t know how to go about doing the inlay for the stars. I also can’t get UGS to work on my computer, so I’ll probably be using chillipepper. Basically, how would you do v bit inaly using fusion, chillipepper, easel, or f engrave. I am very new, so sorry for feeling like I am rambling.
I first seen this cutting board while watching this guy. He uses a v bit to do the pocket, and the actuall inlay so that they are all cut at the same angle. But using a v bit gives you pointed corners.
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Guy has some skill.
F-Engrave can do V-Carve inlays. Here is a video walking through the process. Using a good v-bit is important. Some cheaper bits do not cut to a true point. I use a CMT 60 degree Laser Point Bit in the video.
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I have tried using F engrave, but when I import the dxf file, the stars have lines all over the place that the toolpaths follow, even outside of the stars. I’m not exactly sure what is going on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
More than likely the DXF file has small imperfections which result in the lines within the DXF file crossing over each other or two lines on top of each other. F-Engrave does not handle crossing lines well. You can manually find the crossing lines and fix them (in a program like Inkscape) or you can bypass the DXF issue by importing a Bitmap image of the design you want directly into F-Engrave.
Unfortunately if you start with a DXF file with crossing lines it takes a little manipulating to get it to work right.
There is a free inlay app in the Easel App Store that automatically calculates the inlay. You’ll want a small tolerance since you want a snug fit.
I seen the inlay app, but from my understanding, it will not do v bit inlays correct? So I won’t be able to get sharp corner on the inlay.
i created the dxf file FROM inkscape. I can’t find a bitmap image of just the stars in the american flag. I found a jpeg, and converted it to dxf in inkscape. When I uploaded it into f engrave, it had a bunch of lines that the toolpath wanted to follow. So can I create the dxf file in inkscape, go back into inkscape and clean it up? Then load it into f engrave?
Yes, you can go back and edit the DXF in Inkscape.
You might want to consider finding an starting with an SVG of the flag. You can open the SVG in Inkscape edit out the stripes then save it as a DXF. You will probably get cleaner results in the end.
You can bring a JPG into F-Engrave as of the latest version (V1.54). F-Engrave just does the conversion to BMP automatically. All image files brought into F-Engrave should be only black and white (No greys or colors).
That is true, but you can use a small bit to achieve the desired look. For example, a 1/32" bit would only leave a 1/64" radius on the points. Pretty tight. V-Carve also has a V-bit inlay tool, I believe.
BTW, this video is top notch. I’m shocked how well that works. I may be diving into V-bit Inlays soon.
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There is a free download of the stars in DXF format you are looking for on www.mtmwood.com.