Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)
Hi fellow Jocks,I build a CNC router on the outfeed table of my table saw a few years ago and always wanted to try my hands at carving (sort of speak since it's the spindle doing the work)For a long time I got stuck because I didn't want to invest in the expensive software like VCarve.As it turns out, with Fusion 360 (free for hobbyists) and a bit of learning, you can take most of existing stl files from sites like Thingiverse and stlfinder and carve beautiful designs in wood.All these carvings can be done with one or 2 bits (roughing and finishing)The lion head took 3 hrs (1 hr roughing and 2hr for the ballnose 2mm endmill final pass), the cross took about half that. They required very minimal sanding afterward – the lion is pretty much straight form the machine and 2 coats of Shellac.If you guys are interested I can post a blog entry with the method and tools I use.Fusion 360 is a fantastic piece of software and for the longest time I limited myself to parametric modeling/machining, the ability to process stl files into CAM is opening for me new horizons.Thanks for watching.