I have been using the Vortex for a few months. I tried to create a Harry Potter wand, which is thin and long.
It worked and I was able to run the jobs to completion with concerns. The wood was an old 2x4, squared up, then rounded to just above the size of the wand. The wood was 19mm by 575mm (I think). I’m using a 1/4 inch tapered v-bit with a rounded end. The router is set to the lowest rotation speed.
In Vcarve it was set to raster at 270 degrees, step over was 15%. About the first half of the job runs fine but near the middle, chatter starts where the whole part and bit vibrates. The chatter only happens in one direction of the cut.
I had previously tried it on a purple heart dowel I had purchased a while ago but the chatter was so much worse on the hardwood to the point of destroying the job.
Any suggestions on how to eliminate or minimize the chatter? I have a video if interested but too big to add it here.
@Norm258 When doing thin spindles on a lathe, we use steady rests. It would be a bit more difficult to come up with one for the Vortex, but likely possible with some thought.
I did look briefly at supporting the piece but it’s a fine balance of course.
What about getting the gcode to only go in one direction as opposed to back and forth? Is that possible?
@Norm258 It is a fine balance for sure. It’s easy on a lathe, not so much on the Vortex.
It is possible to carve in only one direction, using the spiral gadget in VCarve. Before going into this, can you confirm if you are using VCarve Pro or Desktop? Gadgets are not available in Desktop.
@Norm258 Take a look at this post on the Vectric forum. Use the link to Milo Scott’s instructive document. I’ve had excellent results using his method - after some failures, of course.
