Hi there! I’m just starting out making things in wood myself and want some advice on something. I want to cut a rather special puzzle shape out of a thick slab of laminated bamboo wood. See the picture below.
I have used lasercutting, cnc routers and waterjetcutting to make some prototypes but would be a lot happier if I could makte this shape myself. The bamboo is very hard and the grain splits easily when you work it with any kind of tool. I’m thinking of buying a router to copy the prototype but I’m afraid the wood will be too tough to be cutting the shape out with the router.
Any help will be hugely appreciated!
Kind regards from Belgium,
e*
Replies
Bandsaw
It's hard to be sure of the size, but I'd guess it's about 8" (20cm) long. I think you want a fairly thin kerf, and I think you'd have a hard time maintaining a thin kerf and cutting through 30mm plywood with a router bit. If you do use a router, you would need to use some sort of template to follow for the cut.
I think a bandsaw with a narrow blade would be your best bet. A scroll saw would probably be a little underpowered for 30mm stock, but it may work just fine. Of course, use a brad-point or forstner bit for the circles.
By the way, I have no experience working with bamboo, save for eating with chopsticks.
routing jigs
GT,
There's no way that you can cut the pattern and get both parts at once. The only way that you will get a perfect result in the shop is by using router templates for each separate part, with appropriate guide bushings and straight carbide cutters. You should bandsaw or scroll saw by eye to about 2-3 mm outside the final shape, then use the router setup to clean it up accurately. You can make your templates from whatever material you've got around. For a one-off I use masonite, for templates that get used many times I prefer acrylic or other hard plastic. The smaller the diameter of the cutter, the less tearout you will have on the bamboo, but the slower the progress. The smallest radius of the final pattern will determine the maximum radius of cutter.
bandsaw or router
Thanks for the reply guys.It's very helpful to get some views from you. The pieces are about 20 by 30cm in size. The only way to cut them together in one time is the laser or waterjet technology. The cut is less than 1 mm and the line in the middle can be joined. This way the puzzle fits perfectly. But it's expensive and I have to order large quantities on top of that! I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to cut the wood with the router. But currently I don't have acces to a bandsaw. It's usually a big machine isn't it? I'm not sure if I could really cut the exact shape on a bandsaw. But will google these help devices you talk about. My kitchen and garden are my workshop - kindof. I wish the bamboo wasn't so though!
good vibes!
e*
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