CNC engraving in Maple

[barnowl]

Hi,

I'm asking for a friend who is having a shadowbox made, and he wants to do it in maple, if it engraves well.

What says the WoodNet braintrust?

[FS7]

I'm no expert (I defer to jteneyck and others) but I would imagine maple is fine, albeit prone to burning (just like with routing).

[jteneyck]

Hi,

I'm asking for a friend who is having a shadowbox made, and he wants to do it in maple, if it engraves well.

What says the WoodNet braintrust?

You said "engraving" but I suspect you meant having something milled into the maple, like with a V-bit.  Here's a piece of maple that I inlayed a piece of cherry into.  You can see how cleanly the V-bit cut the maple for the inlay to fit so well.  Most hardwoods machine very well on a CNC.  And if the person who programmed it is any good, there is less chance for burning on woods prone to do so because the CNC can safely and precisely cut at much higher speeds than you and I with a handheld router.  This puts the heat into the chips where it gets carried away, instead of burning the workpiece.  





John

[barnowl]

Thanks gents !!!

[paul2004]

Maple is excellent for engraving.. Sharp bits, and don't cut too fast and it comes out wonderful.
IMO, maple, cherry and walnut are all excellent.. Oak is a little tougher, but doable.
Again, all in my opinion, based on my experiences, I'm not an expert.

[barnowl]

Thanks again gents.