Happy Tuesday! I’ve been thinking about this for a while and have decided that it’s time to put together a more complete list of materials that your average hobby CNC user might reasonably come to use in their journey of using their CNC machine.
I think this would be advantageous towards not only exposing beginner CNCers to the wide range of materials that an average hobby CNC can work with, but could also potentially turn into a list of places to buy these materials, approaches on how to cut them, and suggestions on conservative feeds and speeds.
So to kick this all off, I’ve put together my initial list of relevant materials. If you think there are materials which should be added (common materials that I’ve missed) or removed (I’ve added materials that are too rare) then voice your opinions below. I’d love to hear what you guys would have to say on all of this and it will ultimately ensure that I can continue to develop resources that will be beneficial towards our ever-growing community
Also, please share any other material-based knowledge that you think could be relevant! (places to purchase, advice / techniques, feeds & speeds, etc.)
Do you want to limit the materials to those that we carve with a router,or do you want to include materials on which we would a laser, a drag knife or a diamond drag?
That’s an interesting question Grant. I’d probably say that I could make those separate categories and try to find another place to provide that information on our site.
I’d probably put most of the work into the cutting materials list first, but then providing that sort of information as well I think would certainly be advantageous. What materials would you recommend for those applications?
A list of places to feed this habit would be wonderful. I know of nothing on the West Coast beyond Reimer Hardwoods, and would love to know some neat places to put on the “explore and play” list.
For the router, I can add: soapstone. Messy but it carves easily Picture matte. Cut with a Vbit, it does a great job for anyone who does not have a matte cutter.
For the laser: ceramic tile, foam.(including foam pumpkins)
@chrismakesstuff With respect to all those sending in wood species ideas, Chris, I think that you will find that, if you try to list all hard and soft woods, you will have an extremely long list. Short of some really crazy stuff, I believe it’s safe to say that any soft or hard wood can be carved/cut with our Mills. Feeds and speeds will vary; maybe even bits, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that there is no impossible wood.
Yes I completely agree Grant. Originally I was compiling a list of over a hundred woods but I realized that I really didn’t make sense to do since there are just so many species out there to consider. I’m happy to hear everyones input though - with that input I can further consider what it and isn’t worth including
Fantastic list of materials. What would be nice to see are some speeds and feeds for 1/8" and 1/4" bits using your recommended router against these materials.
