The VCarve Inlay Technique

[@joaquimpacer]

Shawn, this is astounding. Extremely well put together production and explanation of one of the more complicated aspects of CNCing. CAD, CAM, & machining was shown, and you even threw in the bonus of the coaster holder! This is beyond excellent. From the voice over, edits, soft music--I have yet to find a tutorial that's as detailed and thoughtful as this one. Thank you so much for giving us this gem.

[@shawngano]

Thank you; I really appreciate it! I had originally made parts of the video as a reminder to my future self how to make the inlays (since I got fairly good at it after making that large batch of coasters); then I thought others may benefit as well so I tried to add a little more explanation up front. Take care!

[@garrydye2394]

I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video so many years ago....to this day I still go back to it and re- visit. I often get busy doing other things and forget the basics but this video has always been a great reminder of how it is done. Thanks Shawn.

[@shawngano]

Thanks Garry! Your comment made my day. It is funny you mention that but I originally started making this video so I could refer back to it myself as I had finally gotten to the point where the process made sense to me after a good deal of reading and trial and error. Then I thought others might find it useful as well and I am glad to hear that it has! Take care!

[@StevePotter]

This is still the best resource I have found for doing Vcarve inlays! So well filmed and explained. Thanks for balancing the sound volumes, much improved!

[@shawngano]

Thank you and glad the video was helpful!

[@markpowell9645]

This is an excellent instructional demo. As a former teacher, I can honestly say that you have some serious skills.

[@shawngano]

Thanks Mark - I really appreciate that!

[@ut123lc]

What a great job you did in explaining your techniques. Very much appreciated. Thanks Shawn

[@shawngano]

You are welcome! Glad the video was hopeful and thanks for the comment!

[@ydoucare55]

This is great. I haven't done an inlay yet, but I imagined in my head that this is how it would work and you laid it all out perfectly. Thanks!

[@shawngano]

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).

[@ydoucare55]

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

[@MrTapanes]

Thanks for the great explanation of the clearance pass for the male inlay.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome; glad the video was helpful!

[@todds4101]

I finally got a chance to subscribe. I apologize I didn't do it earlier. Really like your vids. Much like Garry below, I find myself going back to this video quite often. I think anyone who has any V-carve experience, or CNC inlay for that matter, regardless of the software, will say that it's easy to "forget crossing a T or dotting an I" and then all hell breaks loose. :)

[@shawngano]

Thanks Todd I appreciate the comment and fully agree that the details matter and can be easy to overlook at times :) But I guess those are also good learning moments!

[@barry584]

Hi Shawn, thanks for a very informative video, I'm sure I'll reference it many times when my CNC router finally gets here. I commend you on your dedication to answering nearly all the comments people make after so long, I'm sure they appreciate it, I know I picked up many useful bits of information in your replies. My only criticism is the music in the video should not be so intrusive, sorry. Thank you for taking the time to make such a well constructed and detailed video.

[@shawngano]

You're welcome Barry and thanks for the feedback! You are right, I definitely learned from this video to cut back on the volume of the music especially while talking. When editing I found it awkward to hear myself and the music helped cover some of the background noise so I turned it up way too much. -- Enjoy your CNC router!

[@pr00009]

dude. yours is the coolest homemade cnc i have ever seen

[@shawngano]

Thanks; though as much as I would love to take credit for it, it isn't homemade (it was built by Probotix) -- but I have made a number of modifications.

[@pr00009]

@@shawngano duly noted

[@cliffphillips9952]

I'm looking at doing my first inlay and found this to be the best video out there. Brilliantly explained thank you so much for such a detailed explanation video.

[@shawngano]

Thank you Cliff; I appreciate it and glad the video was helpful! Have fun!

[@tomthomas9050]

I have watched quite a few videos on this process. Yours is BY FAR the best! Well paced, easy to understand you pain talk. Great. Thank You

[@shawngano]

Thank you Tom I really appreciate that! I originally captured the the videos as a way to remind myself how to make the inlays and I am glad it has helped others!

[@christianprice2524]

Thank you for explaining the theory. I've been trying to understand the meaning of the start and flat depth. Now I get it. Thanks again

[@shawngano]

You're welcome; glad to hear the video has been helpful!

[@philipbyrnes7501]

Brilliant Shawn, thank you so very much. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the knowledge gained and the inspiration received by watching your video. I have been recently learning Fusion 360 to use for designing bits for my recent 3d printer, an Ender 3, also a brilliant tool and am just in the final stages of building an MPCNC LowRider2 CNC machine that I found on thingiverse. What perfect timing it was to not be able to sleep tonight and to find your very clever video in my feed, brilliant. I saw something like this a few years ago and dreamed of how wonderful it would be to have the tools to do this sort of inlay work but it was only a dream. Now tho, having been retired early because of serious health issues and finding my hands also failing and thus not capable of the fine carving work I’d like to do, well, this has been a Godsend for me and I’d like to thank you both, Thank You!! I am so pleased and inspired by your hard work and so very, very grateful. Please keep up the great work mate, it has been worth every bit of effort that you have put in and it is extremely and truly appreciated, even if only by one little old Aussie down here down under, thank you

[@shawngano]

Hi Philip! Thank you for the kind words and I am very glad the video was helpful! After getting over the initial learning curve of Fusion 360 - it is amazing what that program can do and it works so nicely with 3D printers (that is cool you are building/printing a LowRider2 CNC! Enjoy and have fun!

[@philipbyrnes7501]

Thanks Shawn, it’s a wonderful journey made possible only by the fantastic assistance of people like yourself, thank you so very much mate, brilliant 😎👌

[@rcrazee5077]

Now I am really craving for CNC routers that can do this. It is so much fun, you can design anything and produce outstanding result. Yes!!! CNC routers are so damn expensive and hoping for prices drop in the future. Thank you so much for the well explained tutorials of Vcarve.

[@shawngano]

You are right CNC routers can do quite a lot and are fun! But they are definitely expensive initially (they can earn their keep though). They seem to be slowly decreasing in price overtime as the competition increases; hopefully that trend continues. Take care!

[@BrianIrwin]

Great video, very well explained and simple to follow. You did a great job on what we do to leave the glue-gap, but I didn't quite get why we did our offsets for the inlay carve at 0.08 and then another 0.1. I blindly stole the settings and it worked great, but if you revisit the topic or write an explanation and pin the comment it would be great. So many videos on this topic, this one is beautifully clear.

[@shawngano]

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!

[@BrianIrwin]

@@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?

[@shawngano]

@@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.

[@elpipetuanis]

I used your technique this weekend and it worked perfectly. Can't wait to do more.

[@shawngano]

Excellent! Glad it went well and have fun!

[@StevePotter]

Excellent, detailed tutorial. Good work, Shawn! You did a great job of covering everything, and good photography on the carving, too. My only suggestion for next time is to leave out the music when you are talking, because it is very distracting. It is fine during carving. Thanks!

[@shawngano]

Thanks Steve! I appreciate the feedback and that is a good point, next time I will suppress the music when talking.

[@ericnichols8995]

@@shawngano Great work - And, I agree with everything Steve Potter said. I'm going to subscribe now.

[@skysurferuk]

@@shawngano Kill the music completely, please. Great tutorial. BTW, try axeeez... :) Like your spoilboard design, it's given me something to think about.

[@grumpysteelman]

I actually liked the music but just -6db or so would be nice so that it doesn’t compete with the dialogue

[@oscarstone8493]

I liked the music. Metalica would be better.

[@lewisway6811]

Super explanation of making V-carved inlays, now if only I could afford to buy a CNC.

[@shawngano]

Thanks! CNC routers are slowly getting more reasonable but I agree they aren't there yet; but if they continue to become more popular then they hopefully will also get more affordable. The other trick is they tend to take up a lot of space - but they sure are a lot of fun and open up a lot of interesting possibilities. Take care!

[@edskerke9933]

Thanks this is the best explanation of creating V-carved inlays I have seen. The graphics explaining the start depth and flat depth is very well conceived. Well thought out educational process that is presented very nicely. You should do training videos professionally.

[@shawngano]

Thanks Ed - I truly appreciate the kind words and glad to hear the video was helpful!

[@annansong7492]

Thank you so much - this is about the most helpful video I've seen on Vcarve inlay technique!

[@shawngano]

You're welcome! Glad to hear the video was helpful!

[@alanbarnhill930]

Thank you Shawn! Have been struggling with doing inlays. Bought VCarve and with your instructions and its been clear sailing. Last job the inlay was .2" thick so I added a clearing path with an End Mill prior to running the VBit as most of the inlays are walnut. Great instructions.

[@shawngano]

Thank you! That is great to hear you were successfully (and I am a big fan of walnut!)

[@Beak-man]

So the JSC author of the TLE-reading JSatTrak uses his F310 to control his wood-carving CNC! Greetings from a fan!

[@shawngano]

Ha! Yes, I think more people should use a game controller for their CNC router. They make it so much easier and were built to be rugged and with ergonomics in mind! (Plus they are much cheaper than a CNC pendant controller). Take care!

[@JkCanvas]

Great video. Easy to follow and you took the time to actually explain the rhyme to to the reason. Thank you.

[@shawngano]

Thank you! Glad it was useful!

[@jamesboston3767]

Really fantastic video. I so appreciate the work and care that went into each aspect of the woodworking, instructional, and production/editing of the video. That might be the most epic garage I've ever seen. Saluting you from Ann Arbor!

[@shawngano]

Thanks for the kind words James! I am glad the video has been helpful (it also use it as a good way to remind myself of some of the details). Go Blue! (You can see my UM sweatshirt around the 33:06 mark)

[@skokie1]

Thanks so much for your clear and detailed explanation of not just how how to do this, but how it works. Using this technique, I was able to pull off some ornate text on my first try. Great work!

[@shawngano]

You are welcome; glad it was helpful and great to hear you got it to work the first time! It took me a few tries the first time around :)

[@gottabighit1]

Shawn, by the time I graduated from college in 1985, I had taken and near mastered algebra, trig, calculus l & ll, & statistics, physics in high school, then college, physics l & ll, and both labs, chemistry l & ll, and medicinal chemistry, where we trained our minds to be able to invert and rotate the 3-D chemical structure of over 100 drugs. Dude, my hat is off to you. I was lost during most of the vid. Granted my learning was 40 years ago … but seriously. How long did it take you to master just the machine alone? I would LOVE to be able to do what you do. How the hell do I get my feet wet?

[@shawngano]

Thanks and I am glad you found the video inspiring! It is hard to say how long it took since I had a a good deal of woodworking experience before getting a CNC router (and I did have some CNC exposure in school). This particular video on inlays was the result of quite a bit of trial and error until I got a process down for me that seemed to give reliable results (as I needed to make quite a few for gifts); so I only showed my final results. I made this video initially just to document and remind my future self how to do it in case I wanted to make more later -- then I thought others might find it useful so I made it a little nicer to post here. ---As for steps to get to this point; my advice generally is to set a series of goals that build off each other. Such as learning basic CNC router setup usage, experimenting and cutting out simpler more 2D shapes, then maybe some V-carved signs. This will teach you not only how to run the machine but also how to make your own designs, use the different pieces of software (design software and the software to control the machine), as well as a bit of a feel for how fast the bits should spin and also move around when cutting (called speeds and feeds). Then just work on more complex projects until you feel comfortable enough to make what you originally were interested in making. Have Fun!

[@laflippin]

Hi Shawn, This video has been very helpful for my recent experiments with wood inlay projects using a CNC router. That said, I'd like to add some background to the information presented here. The "VCarve technique" is a somewhat ambiguous name for the methods that Paul Zank discovered in 2006 and generously disclosed to the public on the Vectric Forum. Zank's original white paper on his method can still be found at the Vectric Forum, along with ~24 pages of dedicated discussion over the past 12 years. While there were several half-hearted attempts to name the new technique in the early days, no one thought (least of all Paul himself, who is quite modest) to simply name it the "Zank V-Inlay Procedure". Unfortunately, people very often confuse the Zank V-Inlay Procedure (or Zank VIP, which embeds a certain amount of poetic justice to the name) for Vectric's canned Inlay function. The fact that one of Vectric's best-selling products is "VCarve", all versions of which feature an "Inlay" function, has led to further unnecessary confusion. It will readily be appreciated by those familiar with both methods that Zank VIP uses a custom set of toolpaths from Vectric software that is completely distinct from those found in Vectric's canned Inlay procedure. Over the ensuing years, a number of forum contributors have made important refinements to Zank's technique, but the essential elements have remained unchanged since his discovery and it is certainly no exaggeration to say that Zank's method is far more versatile and elegant than the Vectric Inlay function.

[@shawngano]

Thank you very much for the additional background; very informative! I did include a link to Zank and Durrant's white paper in the full description; but this context helps put the pieces together better. The naming did give me troubles too as I wasn't quite sure what to call it as VCarve seemed to be a bit overloaded (but you do use a v-bit!). I totally agree this method is much better than the inlay functions within the software and is quite versatile and quite tolerant of machining and glue-up errors. Thanks again!

[@mikecampione2909]

outstanding! I am new to CNC and Vcarve, your video helped explain several things, much appreciated!

[@shawngano]

You are welcome and thank you; I am glad to hear it was helpful!

[@brianrajala7671]

Interesting, from a very good instructor with the detailed information needed. Thanks.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome Brian! Glad it was helpful!

[@jarethhsms]

Great video! Not only am I inspired to make some cool inlays but also to figure out how to control my cnc with an nes controller!

[@shawngano]

Thank you! Ha ha - yeah the gamepad turns out to be a really nice and natural way to control the CNC machine manually. I highly recommend it (and they are much cheaper than traditional CNC pendants and allow motion in multiple directions at once.) If you want to learn more some good keywords to search for are "gamepad" and then your control software like Mach3 or LinuxCNC, etc. Have fun!

[@bellalu4792]

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[@chuckott4347]

I have watched your video 5 times. It's awesome. Thanks. Just broke 2 bits on the male version of my inlay and watching again I figured it out. Needed that pocket toolpath for clear out. Again, great job on this. I consider your video the bible on inlay. haha

[@shawngano]

Thank you Chuck! I am very glad this video has been helpful! I reference it myself when I go back to make an inlay after not doing one for a while :). Have fun!

[@donochetti2177]

Best tutorial hands down! Thank you.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome Don! I am glad it was helpful!

[@strikebr]

Very good work, I love the Aspire / Vcarve software. The only tip I have to you is to machine the male part first. Because in the case to make any fix on the female part, it will be much easier if the plate is fixed in the machine.

[@shawngano]

Great idea thanks Geraldo! I hadn't thought of swapping the order of making those parts before; I will give it a try next time!

[@richardmcinnis6626]

Great job explaining the process! I want to try this so bad because I have people who want to have coasters made and doing the inlay would be a great addition. Out of my scope of skills right now but I am getting there....with this video I have hope. Thank you

[@shawngano]

Thank you and you are welcome! Have fun and you will get there soon!

[@andymccoy2007]

This is incredible. Love what you did here. I've always wondered how people get such great inlays using aspire. I'm going to try this out asap

[@shawngano]

Thanks and hope your inlays turn out well!

[@juanpabloramirez6565]

Thank's to share your technique

[@3DPrintFarm]

Outstanding job sir!

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@AlbertoMartinez-rk2lf]

I wish I could give you 2 likes. One for the explanation and the other one for the result.

[@shawngano]

Thank you very much!

[@Almost_Baked]

This tutorial was so helpful to me, love that 3D printed jig too! Thanks for taking the time to make this.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome and great to hear it was helpful!! That 3D jig saved my finger tips; I made it after sanding a couple fingers; I just knew there had to be a better way ;)

[@friendbrookmeadows]

well done. your graphics are fantastic.

[@shawngano]

Thank you Tim!

[@oyvindmalkenes9191]

Great explanation. I keep coming back because I can never remember it correctly for some stupid reason 😆

[@shawngano]

Thank you! I have to refer to the video when I make inlays too; it was the original reason I made the video to help me remember how it worked in the future :)

[@alanlove6324]

to save you time on the inlays you could just stain the wood prior to doing your first cuts and it eliminates two steps to your process leaving the inlay cut out to the original color of the wood. Just set your bit depths 1/16 lower than the top layer and it will still give it a flat surface to set cups on but this was a great job man

[@shawngano]

Hi Alan - that sounds like an interesting idea; but I am not quite sure I am following the full process you are describing correctly. The inlay always has a backing in this method (that holds multiple parts of the inlay together and allows for the V-shape) so it will at some-point need to be cutoff then most likely sanded flush (unless you could mill it very accurately after gluing it in); which still means the original surface would most likely still need to get sanded in the end. The inlay wood that ends up on the surface is technically in the middle of the piece of wood used so there is no way to finish that before cutting it that I can think of -- which is why I am not sure if I am understanding your idea correctly.

[@JohnColgan.]

Very concise, good explanation. Hope I can put it into practice ...with success

[@shawngano]

Thanks John and I hope it goes well too!

[@christophegouraud2566]

Many thanks Shawn. I discovered the 2 sided feature and can progress. Regards

[@ArsenioT.F.]

thanks for the video dear friend, I hope one day to be able to do that job, thank you very much greetings from Chile

[@shawngano]

You are welcome! It just takes a little practice and I am sure you will get the hang of it. Take care!

[@bobburnell9309]

SO MANY QUESTIONS ANSWERED! Thank you!!!!!

[@shawngano]

You're welcome; glad it was helpful!

[@billsmith8306]

Hi Shawn, Thanks for the video. I'm sure I've watched it at least 10 times trying to make myself understand . I've seen many, many videos on this subject from many sources, but your's is the best I've seen. Most seem to be relatively similar to yours. However, I've yet to see anyone explain how you can "start" a cut below the surface of the wood. This says to me "just jam the bit into the wood 1/10" deep and then start cutting another 1/10" deep. Your video specifically shows cutting the "waste/flat area" of the inlay first. Many others make the v-bit cut first which looks like my example above is whats going to happen. In trying to understand this whole concept and cement it into my mind, I'm visualizing that if I'm reading you correctly... If all excess material has been removed to the flat depth first, then the v-bit pass with a start depth of 1/10" will only have to be cutting another 1/10" deep around the raised inlay material. Several of the other videos actually say "I don't know why it works, but it works." or "Nobody knows how it works but it does.". Thanks again for your video and thanks in advance for maybe helping let my mind rest. I've always hated following Step 1 then Step 2... I want to understand why and how something works. All the best, Bill

[@shawngano]

Hi Bill - Sorry for taking so long to reply. I am glad to hear the video was helpful! It took me quite a while to figure out how it worked too after watching other videos and experimenting with it and figured others might benefit from what I learned (and to help remind myself later too). Yes - you are exactly right-- the "just jam the bit into the wood"... at double the depth is what really got me. I was cutting some very hard purpleheart and broke an endmill bit I was using as a clearing bit, since you need to start the cut below the surface and then to a depth and in Aspire/Vcarve with a V-carve toolpath it doesn't allow multiple clearing passes automatically-- that deep cut was just too much in a single pass for purpleheart. That all lead to me thinking about how to avoid the single deep pass. Which is why I do the clearance cuts with the endmill first as a separate toolpath; then when you run the v-carve pass that deep most of the surrounding wood is already removed so the bit will be not much more than 1/2 loaded at worst. So the v-bit pass still has to do that deep pass - but at least it is cleared and the clearing paths themselves can have multiple passes as needed. Hope that helps and isn't more confusing. Take care! - Shawn

[@billsmith8306]

@@shawngano BINGO!!! Can't thank you enough for helping me clear this up. I can let my brain take a breather. I'm gonna hit the shop and make some ships as soon as the cold weather eases a bit. Thanks again Bill

[@2903douglas]

Fantastic tutorial, that's a true masterpiece. Congratulations from Brazil!

[@shawngano]

Thank you Douglas, I appreciate the kind words!

[@createinspain]

Great! I found this very interesting as I use a plotter to cut greeting card designs and a lot of the design elements are similar. I shall have access to a CNC machine soon, looking forward to playing with it! Your presenting style is good, clear and easy to understand.

[@shawngano]

Thanks! That is very interesting, I can see how a cutting using a plotter would be quite similar so I bet you will pick up using a CNC quite quickly. Have fun!

[@createinspain]

@@shawngano I'm hoping to use it for making craft related things, just as I do with a 3D printer - only removing material rather than adding it! I think the design elements will come easily, it's the tools, speed and depth that will be harder for me (and the terminology!)

[@TheGg6422]

Very nice training video and I like all your methods. The only thing i would add is a heat set insert to your 3D printed part holder so you could screw on a real handle. The heat set inset would still let your holder be flat after you removed the handle. Thanks for sharing!

[@shawngano]

Thanks that is a good idea - a real handle would have been much more comfortable and easier to keep flat. But I was trying to be quick to finish them all before Christmas :)

[@barnesbuilt1250]

Excellent explanation! You should use the CNC to cut in your logo or signature on the backs of your pieces 😊

[@shawngano]

Thanks! That is a fun idea; will give that a try sometime.

[@tchamot1855]

Very clear tutorial. Thanks from France ☺

[@shawngano]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful!

[@RickSwartwood]

Excellent Tutorial. I could only wish and hope to be at your skill level someday! Just starting out and have made 3 things so far.

[@shawngano]

Thanks and glad to hear it was helpful! With practice I am sure you can get even better than me at this so keep at it! The best part is the community in general is great at sharing their ideas and helping each other learn. Take care!

[@ScottTurnerformeindustrious]

Great tutorial! Coasters look really nice!

[@shawngano]

Thanks Scott!

[@rob182935]

Thanks so much Shawn. That was a really helpful video tutorial. Can't wait to try out the technique myself. Cheers!

[@shawngano]

You are very welcome; glad it was helpful and have fun!

[@sydvishus]

Excellent craft and tutorial.

[@shawngano]

Thanks! Glad the video was helpful!

[@sawdustwoodchips]

Hi Shawn, Thanks!! this was great. I learned a lot and as a new CNC user it was most helpful. Thanks again!

[@shawngano]

You are very welcome! I am glad to hear it was helpful --- I initially made parts of the video to help me remember how to make these inlays as I sometimes go months (or years) between making them and it is easy to forget the details.

[@rmtoelle]

Great job Shawn, this is exactly what I needed to learn, keep giving us more videos like this.

[@shawngano]

Thanks Robert and glad the view was helpful! Will do - when I get technique mastered it helps me to make a video to remind myself later on of some of the steps as well :)

[@thx1138y]

Great video,Tks..Shawn Gano!!! now i have home work.

[@shawngano]

Your Welcome! Have fun and glad the video was helpful!

[@danielscurlock1480]

Thank you so very, very much for the detailed, informative video. You've been a HUGE help!

[@shawngano]

You are very welcome; I am glad to hear it was helpful!

[@QuinnHale]

Nice work. Smart approach.

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@carlw7063]

Great video - even for a Michigan fan. Thanks for posting this.

[@shawngano]

Ha! :) Thanks!

[@lundebc]

Great video, i've been trying flat pieces with mixed results, I will try this v-bit method now!

[@shawngano]

Thanks! I hope your experiments with the v-carving inlays go well!

[@kevinha9888]

Thank you so much. Very detailed tutorial. Hope to see more videos from you.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome! Thanks for the kind comment; take care!

[@brianewhiteguy]

Excellent tutorial!

[@shawngano]

Thanks Brian!

[@WiggyB]

Superb tutorial. Thanks.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome; glad it was helpful!

[@iancrossley6637]

Great tutorial, thanks!

[@shawngano]

Thanks Ian!

[@GHOLNG]

Great job , i liked the way you explain everithing thanks for sharing . best regards!

[@shawngano]

Thank you I appreciate that! Glad it was helpful; take care!

[@borisjulich2947]

Very nice - many thanks for this brilliant tutorial!

[@shawngano]

Thank you very much; I am glad it was helpful!

[@philipbyrnes7501]

Exceptional Shawn, as a newcomer to cnc having just built a LowRider2 from thingiverse so as to be able to inlay my signature and wood types into the back of my clock projects, (neat that someone had the same idea in your comment section), I couldn’t have asked for a better video to explain exactly how to do what I want to do. Thank you so much mate, excellent work. I am intrigued by your machine tho. Do you have a video showing how you hooked up your Xbox controller to control your machine and also how you set up the Z base height sensors both on the table and on the surface as being able to do this would be such a time saver and increase my accuracy which after all is what having machines like this is all about. Again, thanks for the amazing work, you should feel very proud of yourself, really well done mate and Happy New Year for you and yours from the burning land down under

[@shawngano]

Thanks Philip; really glad to hear the video was helpful! I hope you are safe it sounds like those fires are pretty terrible. An inlayed signature would really add an additional wow factor to your projects (and someday I hope to try to make a clock!). For the table surface I have a video showing the very simple setup I have: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6G5c4ycibCGerc -- it definitely is a simple way to set the initial height and could be used between bit changes. For the sensor to measure between bits -- that came installed in my machine, here the documentation I could find on it: www.probotix.com/wiki/index.php/Automatic_Tool_Length_Sensor. For the game controller -- my setup is very unique to LinuxCNC (not sure what control software you are using). Here is the page (not written by me) that explains how to set it up: wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Simple_Remote_Pendant (which is a bit of a challenge -- but once it is working it is really nice!). I have also read that people have gotten them to work on Mach 3 as well - in case you are using that software.

[@domarco22]

Beautiful work.

[@shawngano]

Thank you Sergio!

[@richardwright7162]

Great project. thanks for your careful teaching with the VCarve program, I learned a lot!!

[@shawngano]

Thanks and it is great to hear this was useful! [It will be useful for me too in the future to remind myself later how I did this :) ]

[@justaddjeff1988]

I need to know more about your laser guide!!

[@shawngano]

You can find more details here (as well as the models to 3D print your own): www.thingiverse.com/thing:2782511

[@justaddjeff1988]

@@shawngano sweet! My first 3D printer (Ender 5 Pro) arrives tomorrow. Seems appropriate to use it to improve my CNC.

[@greedo-diedforusall]

this is a great tutorial! thank you for making it

[@shawngano]

You are welcome! Glad it was helpful!

[@awesomeconcreteinc.7758]

Very clean work, great job man!!!

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@TomBryan]

Great video!! sure wish i could spring for Vcarv or aspire

[@shawngano]

Thanks! Yeah VCarve/Aspire are pricey but if you can sell a few items you make they can actually pay for themselves fairly quickly based on the time you save.

[@WillardChivers]

This is the best explanation of this technique I’ve seen! Thank you!

[@shawngano]

You are welcome and thank you!

[@nwrasch]

Fantastic video; thank you

[@shawngano]

You're welcome and glad it was helpful!

[@alanwinslow3325]

What an excellent tutorial - thank you very much!

[@shawngano]

Your welcome, glad it was useful! (and thanks for watching!)

[@Devorehardware]

You just blew my FREAKING mind jogging your machine with a gamepad

[@shawngano]

Using an Xbox controller is fantastic (and I forget about that not being normal). It is easy to setup and customize in LinuxCNC (and I suspect it is for other control software as well). Here is a picture of how I have the controls setup: www.gano.name/shawn/CNC/files/cnc_joystick_reference.png (though I have added some functions for the laser X-Y zero points as well since I made this diagram).

[@Devorehardware]

Dude you are the best, thank you so much! Will definitely help with my shapeoko journey

[@shawngano]

Glad to help! Have fun!

[@GageRobinson]

haha, I knew someone else would have said what I was thinking, I was already impressed the whole video and then you bust out the controller like a boss.

[@abmtexas]

That is very good explanation !!!! And awesome video!!!! 👍👍👍

[@shawngano]

Thanks; I appreciate it!

[@venriceallman5146]

great video thanks for sharing i will be trying this asap

[@venriceallman5146]

have subbed , going to watch some of your other vids now

[@shawngano]

@@venriceallman5146 Thanks! Hope your inlay project goes well -- after trying it out once or twice I found it was really fun to do!

[@lucasdilascio6490]

Excellent video!!! Regards.-

[@shawngano]

Thank you Lucas!

[@charlesdeshler202]

Very cool. Apparently there is many screen in the VCarve that I'm not aware of yet... LOL

[@IDCWoodcraft]

Get walk-through. I can't wait to try this

[@shawngano]

Glad to hear the video was helpful and hope it goes well for you!

[@massimilianopirani1945]

Impressive and great work!!!

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@gustos247]

thats was greaaaaat. thank you for putting this together.

[@shawngano]

You're welcome; I am glad it was helpful!

[@dronesvisionsaeriennes]

Waouuu Excellent , good idea to create this kind of things....Cool

[@shawngano]

Thanks!

[@ShawnyDsMusic]

Seriously amazing video man great job. I need to do some research to figure out how you are doing your Z axis calibration. That looks slick!

[@shawngano]

Thanks I really appreciate that! Here is some more info on the tool length sensor: www.probotix.com/wiki/index.php/Automatic_Tool_Length_Sensor -- and for the initial z-touch off here is my DIY solution (though I have 3d printed a better version recently - but it still works the same): kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6G5c4ycibCGerc

[@ShawnyDsMusic]

@@shawngano hey thanks for the reply! I really appreciate the info on this.

[@denouch358]

That is a really good tutorial, learned a lot from it, thanks.

[@shawngano]

You are welcome; glad it was helpful!

[@atmm89]

wish you would use metric as well as KZbin is world wide and the rest of the world is mostly metric, thank you, great tutorial vids

[@shawngano]

Yeah it would be nice if we could convert to metric; but it is not easy to find many (if any) standard machines (table saws, drill presses, etc.) or materials here in metric sizes -- those almost always have to be ordered and shipped at higher costs.

[@plte8959]

Thank you a lot.You helped me quite a lot with this video.Keep on the good work!

[@shawngano]

You're welcome! I really appreciate the comment and glad to hear the video was helpful!

[@relaxingmeditationsounds9544]

Great work, really amazing. Happy I found your channel. New friend here!

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@bellalu4792]

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[@paulobigode6813]

Great job.

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@lantechbd]

Great great maaan!!!! Thank you so much!

[@shawngano]

You're welcome; glad it was helpful!

[@nawala321]

Great job. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@shawngano]

You're welcome; thank you!

[@jagoehring]

Great project! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

[@shawngano]

Thank you!

[@pandosky]

Amazing job! thanks for sharing!

[@shawngano]

Thank you for the kind words; glad it was helpful!

[@DCDLaserCNC]

Excellent tips. Thank you for sharing,

[@shawngano]

Your welcome; glad it was helpful!