CNC carving a transparent seahorse - with the Shapeoko

CNC carving a large transparent seahorse with the Shapeoko XXL
By Dennis Van Hoof, from Top o' Arts (topoarts.com).
This video shows the process of carving a large, transparent seahorse out of maple and epoxy resin, with with a small seahorse made out of blue epoxy resin inside, using the Shapeoko XXL.
Software used:
- Meshmixer to modify all the individual bones and pieces
- Vectric VCarve to generate the tool paths
- UGS Platform to send the Gcode to the CNC
Materials used:
- Maple wood
- Crystal Clear epoxy resin (from the Epoxy Resin Store)
- Duo Blue-Green Mica powder (from PearlEx)
- 1/4 upcut end mill: Amana Tool #46577-K
- 1/4 downcut end mill: Whiteside #RD2100
- 1/8 tapered ball nose bit: Amana Tool #46286
- 1/16 tapered ball nose bit: Amana Tool #46281
- 1 1/8 surfacing bit: Amana Tool #45525

[@Batendor]

The most underrated channel in the CNC world. Beautiful and inspiring work as always. Thank you for sharing

[@TrevorVonSeggern]

You have such talent with the cnc, I've been missing new videos from you.

[@bacon_sammich2845]

This video almost more than any of your others shows just how powerful your multi step CNC carving and epoxy workflow is, those wooden highlights on the seahorse are just amazing! Thanks for sharing this exquisite project with us all

[@brandonrobinson1603]

I agree with someone else's comment- this channel is WAY underrated. I literally said wow outloud 4 times! The thin maple details over the epoxy is seriously breath taking. And I'd be lying if I said the spongebob didn't get a chuckle out of me haha

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@GGGG_3333]

The legend strikes again.

[@andy-in-indy]

I would offer that SpongeBob is the most UN-natural that a sponge can get. Still, I love the humor and skill you put into your projects and their videos. Well done!

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

;)

[@brooklyn5754]

Awesome piece as always

[@MarcinKryszak]

Wow just wow. Such a good project. Sea horse looks amazing

[@JoeEthington]

Your work is truly inspiring. In fact I recently purchased a CNC machine largely because of what you have shown to be possible with them. I hope that we don't have much longer until we get to see your next creation

[@TheOttacat]

Thanks for the early x-mas gift!

[@craigmelvin4889]

I aways learn new techniques by watching your videos. Keep it up.

[@DrPandemonium]

Beyond beautiful! Dennis you’re a true artist… and your explanation of the process is very interesting and helps me appreciate your creations even more. Great work 👏🏻👍🏻.

[@donochetti2177]

Thank you! I made this, it was such a fun project and looks amazing!!!

[@markushamm8762]

the only what i can say is: WOW. Merry Christmas

[@harshabugatti]

Nice work Dennis. Good craftsmanship

[@Atlantismonkey40]

Magic, just plain magic. Well done.

[@frankswd]

You Sir inspire me!

[@qizang1320]

so beautiful! you're gorgeous!

[@woodworkingvangioi4996]

So beautiful

[@wongowonga]

I've just picked my jaw up off the floor. Wow. Simply amazing.

[@arcadeartist3211]

So impressive! CNC magic

[@mrSanders.]

great job Denis, I saw one person, he is engaged in the manufacture of tables from epoxy resin. he makes a so-called ceramic coating for the car. it is non-toxic, very durable, protects against ultraviolet radiation and imparts color and depth. he used a coating from the manufacturer Mipa. polishing will probably be required after application

[@jarheadvet2950]

Bro, you do some ridiculous work. i mean that in a good way. Keep inspiring.

[@seelenschlucht]

The idea with the smoothing to get an offset contour is good.

[@madebym.e.]

awesome work, keep it on!

[@FamilyRoots]

Really great job 👍

[@robinfulton9057]

Another great project.

[@henrybellavontejr.6729]

Altough I subscribed to this channel, only now I get notified !!! What an experience, what an inspiration. Keep up this first class content.

[@angelasprayberry65]

That is beautiful!

[@Bianchi77]

Vote it up, nice video clip, thank you for sharing it :)

[@cutekidstories]

I figure your goal is to push home CNC machining as far as it can go... Your projects both inspire and intimidate me!!!

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! I like to do what is considered "impossible" - combining technology, ingenuity and art to make things that challenge me at all levels. I mean, why repeat what has already been done, right? I merely hope to inspire and make everyone realize that your imagination is the only limitation to what you can achieve. :)

[@martinburdge350]

What a fantastic piece of CBC carving and resin I was blown away watching this one once again thanks for making another outstanding video.

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for your kid words! :)

[@StephenNesbit]

Such an absolutely beautiful piece of art! You make things in ways a lot of people do not consider! :)

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Happy to inspire! :)

[@forecaster182]

Perfect mix of technology and art! As always :)

[@Jontium1]

Another utterly astonishing process and piece of art, thank you for taking the time to share your process and the results! I find your videos to be some of the most inspirational for pushing the boundaries of what I thought possible on a 3 axis machine!

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for your kind words! :)

[@stonebayrocker]

So nice project, edit and communication! 👍

[@FabriceCHERRIER]

So amazing work !

[@michaelchesney3785]

It's been awhile since you've posted a video! Like others, I've been impressed with your work and the detailed explanations of your process. Hope we'll see some more some time soon! Hope all is well!

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! All is well. Unfortunately, my current job plus family obligations do not leave any time for me to create new videos. I hardly get any woodworking done at all. Only very small projects, and those not even with the CNC. I hope to get back to it one day.

[@allanhaddad]

@@dennisvanhoof9958 good to hear all is well with you.l and would like to second that your videos are greatly missed! They are such an inspiration for all of us beginner CNCers

[@marc6003]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

[@chriskoppenaal5503]

Incredible as always

[@toteu00000]

Great work as usual!

[@MakeSomething]

My goodness this is incredible! ❤️

[@billbaggins9961]

Very creative! Nothing like completely understanding your proper procedures to keep this entire project heading forward. I would not be able to do this. Great work!

[@markfromwestcoastwoodcraft7633]

Awesome Denis, thanks for sharing 😁

[@MarkTomey]

Another masterpiece! Always enjoy seeing your creations.

[@davidanderson961]

Very creative!

[@MrSim0n]

Truly amazing thanks for sharing

[@drbelt87]

Just wow!! Beautiful it is. Great work. Cant wait to see what you do next

[@1252PFC]

Masterpiece!

[@thanhnhanhuynhnguyen3652]

another mind-blowing video! pure respect to you

[@CNCPRINTBLOGSPOT]

Very nice dennis, have never seen such a technique before. :-)

[@jonm189]

Absolutley superb Dennis as always! I really love your creativity, you're a real inspiration. Keep them coming!!!

[@elmakcnc5960]

this is art, amazing!!!!!!!

[@terrariumhuis]

Leonardo Da Vincie, Alexandros van Antiochië en Dennis van Hoof!

[@RenaudBauerCreateur]

Very good job 👍👍

[@McQueenPaul]

Very nice. Your work is very impressive.

[@dangoras9152]

That's pretty awesome... Im gonna try and learn how to 3d carve on my cnc ..... Keep it up brother

[@llefurge1]

What you do with your machine is masterful, really smart and creative.

[@blueroseyt]

Wow, I am thoroughly impressed ! I may use this technique on some project. This was totally not what i expected, it was way Better !

[@thanhnhanhuynhnguyen3652]

Looking forward to see more vid :D. still waiting :D

[@EduardoTorresDeMadera]

Extremely awesome piece which belongs to a high class aquarium. I am really impressed how you are taking advantage of the CNC in your projects. Happy holidays.

[@TxStang]

Amazing !

[@builtbybittle]

Hey Dennis, I just want to say that you inspired me to push myself and develop my CNC skills. Thanks to that push, I just finished a successful Kickstarter with wooden "dice daggers" for people who play Dungeons & Dragons. I love your videos and your projects.

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thanks for sharing your creativity. Happy to inspire! :)

[@EdiCNC]

Obra de arte linda

[@waltergabriel1070]

muy bueno !!!

[@jp-xd2yc]

It's wonderful like all your achievements I hope to be able to do the same thing one day with my cnc. happy Christmas holidays. a subscriber from France

[@janoshkronos1882]

missing your content ... go go bring us some new inspiring arts

[@stevejohnson1685]

Really beautiful work! I had anticipated that your interior registration pegs would be extruded or cast acrylic rods, but you positioned them where the material was opaque.

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Yep, I like to think ahead. :)

[@southborders2916]

the idea is amazing, nice job. I think you need a vacuum chamber to disappear the bubbles of epoxy

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! Actually, these bubbles occur due to too fast curing. If you want epoxy that is clear as glass, try the Floral Epoxy. It cures much slower than the usual epoxy, which gives bubbles much more time to float to the top and pop. Check out my video where I carve a dragon battle axe, for which I used Floral Epoxy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYCQfWd6fauhl6s

[@forecaster182]

By the way, have you ever considered embedding some LED lights in your sculptures? That could look amazing :)

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Yes, I've done that for a few projects, such as the violins: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5qzY5Whe7qdb5Y

[@forecaster182]

@@dennisvanhoof9958 aaah, right. I forgot about that one. Great video by the way. I subscribed after watching it :)

[@chuckmoney1688]

Wonderfull........

[@SanchezOKelly]

Just found your channel, your work / methods are interesting. Way better than most peoples very basic, covering the same technique videos. I hope you continue to add more projects. Watching you work has helped me a lot in finding ways to use my CNC for art/sculpture... instead of just pocketing out clip art onto cutting boards.

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@Bart_Depestele]

Mooi weer, tijd voor een nieuwe video.. :O

[@anthonydellinger3016]

Hey Dennis, anymore videos to come? Love your content! Wish you could come to Iowa, couple of days with you would help my CNC skills 100 fold.

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for your nice comments! Unfortunately, it has become too difficult to balance my full-time job with family and friends plus my woodworking passion and other hobbies. I still do some woodworking, but making the videos is very time consuming, so I've had to let that go.

[@knshas]

Excellent job! Use 2d way to make 3d, creative work.

[@gerardmourits8709]

Ziet er weer mooi uit man. Btw bij het woord pedestal ligt de nadruk op de eerste lettergreep.

[@guilhermecosta2742]

Hi Dennis, love you artwork! Could you please do a video on the CAD&CAM process u use for aligning all the different steps on this type of carvings? keep up the good work, you are an inspiration!!

[@cliffart7398]

your creativity and skills give me hope. I still want to try to do the clam shell box. I use vcarve pro so am less convinced I can do 3d properly.

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! Note that I used the VCarve Desktop version for the sea shell box, and found out that VCarve Pro is actually not much different. My main reason to transition from the Desktop version to the Pro version was to be able to handle projects with larger dimensions. Pro does not have any extra 3D features compared to Desktop. The key is getting the right 3D model and then using Meshmixer to modify it for CNC purposes. I already made the design and the CNC files for you, so you only need to download them and then follow the steps in the video. You can do it! :)

[@inevanhoof9251]

waauw, geweldig!

[@ralfjr.]

For your next project please make a mechanical wooden clock.

[@oliviervaujour7736]

What a fantastic work. Wouldn’t you make a video detailing a little more the work under mesh,I ear and carve?

[@TKs3DPrints]

love your work. its given me the bug. just trying to save up for a machine that that is competent to do what i want as a hobby was looking at the Sainsmart Genmitsu PROVerXL 4030 will cost about a grand in the uk. after taxes etc. have a great xmass and new year from north wales.

[@oliviervaujour7736]

What a fantastic work. Wouldn’t you make a video detailing a little more the work under mesh mixer and vcarve? Thanks a lot

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for your kind words! Honestly, I'm not good with 3D modelling at all. I use only the very basic features of Meshmixer, and there are many videos on KZbin that explain these aspects much better than I ever could. VCarve has an excellent series of very detailed, step-by-step tutorial videos on how to use their software on the Vectric website (under the menu Support > Training Videos). I made only 1 video where I go deeper into using VCarve for a V-prism multi-inlay technique: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHSyaomNgc-arMU

[@RobbertvanHaaften]

heel mooi! Als je de epoxy in een hogedrukvat of vacuüm plaatst tijdens het uitharden dan wordt het glashelder zonder bubbeltjes

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Bedankt voor de tip! Voor dit type epoxy werkt dat echter niet. De bubbeltjes ontstaan door de hoge temperatuur als gevolg van de exotherme reactie. Ook heb ik overigens geen vat waarin dit grote blok hout van 1,5 meter lang in zou passen. Als je glasheldere epoxy wilt kun je ook FLoral Epoxy gebruiken. Dat heeft een langere hardingstijd, waardoor bubbeltjes meer tijd hebben om naar boven te borrelen. Ik heb deze epoxy bijvoorbeeld gebruikt voor mijn dragon head battle axe: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYCQfWd6fauhl6s

[@kenzzaroo]

Muy original, si tiene la base para una lampara con luz led, mucho mejor, saludos.

[@ClintonCaraway-CNC]

Dennis once told me via Facebook Messager that it took him months to create a video. I have honestly hoped he was just thinking up, planning, designing, creating, filming and editing his next video. However I am afraid he has given up on this KZbin channel. It is such a shame because he is probably the most talented cnc/maker on KZbin. He is certainly talented in every one of the categories I mentioned above. If hobbyists level cncs were in the Olympics... he would surely win gold metals in multiple events!

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for the praise and kind words. Unfortunately, I'm currently too occupied with my job, family, friends and other obligations to make videos. Those videos do indeed take a lot of time; much more than I have to spare at the moment. I hope to pick it up again...

[@ramiromanicardi9286]

🔥🔥🔥

[@rayeaglenz]

Brilliant Dennis, another very well-thought-out artistic creation. Where are all your creations located? inside your home?

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! I don't make many of my artwork pieces available for sale.

[@rayeaglenz]

@@dennisvanhoof9958 Hi Dennis, I understand, so many hours of creativity goes into each one, your little CNC shed must be constantly buzzing day, and night👍😊

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

@@rayeaglenz you are absolutely right about that. My neighbors must hate me. ;)

[@kenblanch4178]

love your work can you explain why you use different bit for the dowel holes

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

I prefer to use a downcut bit for the dowel holes, as an upcut bit would tear up the edges of the hole, and those ruffled edges would prevent the stock from laying flush on the surfaced bed.

[@kenblanch4178]

thanks for the reply. @@dennisvanhoof9958

[@fuzzyep7103]

You always know how to surprise yet another piece off amazing work! Geweldig werk Dennis, erg mooi eindresultaat! Ik ga deze niet aan mijn dochter laten zien dan kan papa weer aan het werk :-) aan de andere kant wel een erg mooi resultaat, waarschijnlijk wilt zij iets van een baby yoda :-) in deze stijl

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Bedankt voor de lovende woorden! :)

[@samrix5793]

Hay! How's it going? Hope you are keeping well and had a good summer

[@CinemaCakes]

Could you theoretically cut the time in half by milling out both sides at the same time when pouring epoxy?

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Do you mean cut the first half, then pour the epoxy in there, and then cut the other half while the epoxy of the first half is hardening? Sure you can. But not with the size of stock I used, since I needed the dowel holes from the first cut to align the second cut due to the nesting.

Hello, I'm French and I like your work. I've a question.... What is the software you're using to cut the model before using Aspire? Thanks for your answer. Laurent

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! I don't use Aspire, but VCarve (1:13). I use Meshmixer to modify and cut the model (0:37). More details can be found in the description below the video.

@@dennisvanhoof9958 thank you for the answer, I will try to see how this software works. Continue to make us dream with your work...

[@rickcperry]

Friggin bravo man! This turned out great... If you sell things like this, what would the cost be? I'm curious to how much you have in materials as well

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! It's not so much the materials (maybe $150), but the labor, design and uniqueness that would determine the price. This required hours, days, weeks to design, develop, manufacture, assemble, etc. Plus the emotional part that goes into it: how difficult is it to part with a piece of art that you poured all your creativity into?

[@petergrech2582]

What happen Dennis????!!!!!!! You disappeared from planet Earth?????!!!! No more videos?????!!!! Are you upset because channel is underrated???? We still love to watch you videos!!!

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you for your kind words! Unfortunately, I've gotten really busy with a new job and family. I hardly get the chance to do some woodworking anymore these days, let alone creating videos of the process. I hope to get back to it one day...

[@typ1804]

Very nice! What are you doing with these projects? Where do they end up?

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

Thank you! I rarely make my art available for sale. Most of it is at home, or friends and family. I sometimes show it at a wood exhibition, and only recently decided to sell some of my violins on Etsy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5qzY5Whe7qdb5Y

[@tranll1]

❤❤❤

[@jefferycopelin310]

Hey Dennis, I have a hollow copper globe. Was wondering if you could possibly turn it into a world globe like you did with wood and epoxy?

[@dennisvanhoof9958]

I left you a response with your original question about this. :)

[@marcins5584]

Cool! I could make some digital sculptures 4 you, just for fun

[@Bryshnevsky-kevlar]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍