I think you can do this with VCarve Desktop and not the Pro version. The Pro version includes the new "V-carve inlay toolpath" (version 12) which basically automates this process; but this video shows the original (manual) way to do it (before that feature was added). So it seems like it should work -- but I haven't used the non-pro version of the software so I can't be 100% sure.

You're welcome; glad it was helpful!

Try using a 60 degree V-bit (or V-groove bit sometimes they are called) I think you will be amazed at the difference in detail you can get. Tapered ball nose bits are good if you want to have the shape left above the surface, but can't compare to a V-bit for carving out small details.

@@shawngano thank you for the advice. I will try it and I’ll let you know

@shawngano Thank you for your advice. I tried a 30° V-bit. It helped with the sharp lines, but I had to go shallow on the inlay depth. .0250 just to keep the details. I did a sample and used a blank rectangle for the test pocket. I think it is the smallest VCarve with high definition. Thank you again.

@@k9rdog Your welcome! You may want to experiment with some different angles of bits to see which provides the best depth vs detail level.

Thank you; I really appreciate that! I will try to make some more videos; though many times the camera setup and editing takes more work than making the project itself :) I typically make videos when I want to document how I did something so I can remember how to do it in the future (or think enough people would find it interesting). Most of the stuff I am working on now are for work of for small presents so aren't too exciting; but am always on the lookout for trying something new and interesting. Take Care!

I mostly used Vectric VCarve Pro

You're welcome! Have Fun! Also based on the video teasers from the next version of VCarve Pro - they seem to be adding the capability for computing both sides V-carve inlay automatically (version 12) which should be released within the next few weeks (which could make this even easier).

@@shawngano Badass. I may have to upgrade to Pro

Hex is a board game that also goes by the name Nash (popularized by mathematician John Nash). For more details see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(board_game)

Thanks! After a few years I still use it all the time; so I am really glad I added it. If you want more details on it see: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2782511

@@shawngano thanks! I will definitely check that out

You're welcome; hope it was helpful. Take care!

The “pre-hallow” was just for the area where the candle sits at the very top, sorry for that confusion - I hallowed out that area with a forestner bit early as that area is thin and would be harder to clear out later in the process. The twist area actually ends up hallowed naturally during the cuts down the middle. This happens since the depth of cut is to the center (or just a tad more) of the part and the cut runs the length of the entire area (for both twists).

You probably should have used stones to carve this message. And then hand delivered it, with your own 2 feet. Y’know, to make it authentic and pure. You didn’t need to use technology to replace Human ability.. Otherwise, according to your logic, you didn’t really make this comment.

@@dirtbikekid Yeah keep pressing the buttons thinking you actually have skills. What a laugh.

@@hellboundrubber4448 I use mine for making small metal parts. The wood inlays are interesting and challenging (believe it or not) and help to hone the “skills” required to use a Cnc machine. It’s 2024. I’ll use my Cnc machine. You can use your tracing paper and scroll saw. Just make sure you do it in the dark by candlelight. Wouldn’t want to cheat with technology 😉

You're welcome! It is a lot of fun and it is great to be able to learn from each other. Thanks!

Those are called guidelines and you can add as many of them to your drawing as you want (as well as move them around). Click on either the vertical or horizontal ruler then drag out onto the drawing area to create a new guideline. You can then right click on them to create new ones (offset) or change their exact position. I find them quite handy when laying things out. Also if you click on the box where the two rulers meet in the upper left corner - you can hide (or show) all the guidelines at once.

You're welcome! Glad it was helpful.

Fusion 360 updated their software and improved things quite a bit since this video! I am not quite sure about the reduce target or the perserve boundaries (that will take a bit more hunting). For the improvements / changes in general: you no longer need to turn off "Capture Design History" and you also can convert meshes with larger number of vertices/triangles (though be careful as too many will take a long time). Now instead of selecting Mesh to BRep under the Solid tab/modify/Mesh/Mesh to BRep -- you can instead go directly to the "Mesh" tab, select the modify pull down, and select "convert mesh". After that the steps are the same and the history is retained so you can change things later if you need to!

None needed! This model was well designed to allow printing without any supports!

While I do like Fusion 360 and had wrote a post-processor to use on my CNC machine; after they changed their licensing terms and essentially made machining unusable in the non-commercial version I quit using it for machining. I mainly now only use it for creating models to 3D print and use Vectric VCarve for the CNC work. So that is a long way of saying I don't have any machining videos for Fusion 360 :)

The 3D model is for non-commercial uses only; so the 3D prints can't be sold. However, if you know someone with a 3D printer, the amount of plastic required to print one doesn't cost much at all.

Thank you! I added those offsets mainly to allow for clearing tool paths since the v-carving starts below the surface as I didn't want to plunge the v-bit so deeply on the first pass (I had done a inlay in purpleheart wood - and since it was so dense I ran into issues). I believe newer versions of V-carve now have an option for adding clearing paths automatically (with straight bits before the v-carving) which would help a lot and require a little less of using those manual offsets. But thanks for the suggestion for when I update this in the future as you were right I didn't explain that part too well. Take care!

@@shawngano, in the video I think you did a great job explaining why you were clearing. For fun, I did a version on some scrap Sapelle vit the v-bit burying itself without clearing first, and the results were as ugly as you predicted :) Would have been usable if not for all the charred edges :) The piece I was hoping you can clarify in future, is why you came to those dimensions and hence why would a person change them. Using a 0.125" or 0.5" bit I do not think they would change the offset, but the depth of cut is doubled, I guess the offsets would double?

@@BrianIrwin It just dawned on me - you are absolutely right I didn't explain at all where I got those offsets. What I did was: I knew the angle of the v-bit (60 degrees) and the depth of the total cut -- and since the V-bit will end up with a slanted edge, I didn't want to clear away any of the space where the slant would be -- so I did a little trigonometry (and rounded up) to figure out the distance away from the line to be to insure I didn't clear out too much. It should be linear with depth -- so if you make a cut using a 60 degree v-bit that is twice as deep just double the offsets.

Thank you! Are you referring to the offsets on the inlay or the base part? If I am interpreting it right you may not need any offset -- I mainly added the offsets to deal with clearing as well as trying to keep from having the v-bit plunge too deeply the first pass. In the newer versions of V-carve I believe there are options to allow clearing paths automatically on V-carves (which is nice) and if you aren't working on too deep of material (or too dense of wood) you can probably not use an offset at all (just draw a circle or a rectangle around the outside for the inlay itself). Have fun and hope that helps!

The body took about 5h 30mins, and the head took another 5 hours to print. Overall about 130grams of material (PLA plastic) were used; so it probably cost about $3 to make.