Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all, does anyone know where I can get some help (will be paying ofcause) in cutting some shell for my logo I will need about 10 - 15 pc of my logo.
Most seem only willing CNC´ing larger orders.

This is the way it looks. ( only the "LS" not the name under)

Lars.

Lars...It's my understanding that Don Williams is seriously considering doing contract CNC work. I've used his services for a few years now for logos as well as other CNC needs. He has recently done some special and unique fretboard work for me that is outstanding. Stay tuned for a formal announcement.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Hello fellow Swede!
I just got some logos from Bob Garrish (http://www.saintlutherie.com). They are really high quality. My logo is very thin and delicate, maybe he will shime in and correct me if im wrong, but i think he used a 0,4 mm(1/64") (!) router bit to cut it. Your logo looks like it has some delicate parts as well, so that might be something for you. Only thing is, the smaller the bit, the more expensive because of slower cuts. Well send him an email and see if you can get a quote. I ordered 25 pieces.

Allt gott!!

Lars' logo is a 1/2mm (0.02") line thickness, and had to be cut with a 1/64". It's the most delicate line of any stock logo I make, though there are a couple special logos that are even thinner. The finished logos crush like potato chips if you squeeze them! I should have gotten Lars to send a Krona for the scale photo, as it's bigger than a Canadian quarter by a bit more than a mm.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Beautiful work, Bob. Might I ask what kind of feed rate and depth of cut one uses for a 1/64" bit? The smallest bit I've used to cut shell is 1/32" at 20ipm and .018" depth of cut.

Thanks

Nice work Bob! It's not hard to cut stuff that small, but it sure is hard to hold it...! (c:

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Shell sucks like that: when it's easy to hold it, it's hard to release it. If it's easy to release, then it probably doesn't hold very well! If you're coming to ASIA, I'll bring something special in shell to make you really scratch your head. Looks like a 4H drive or better according to Google?

As for feeds and speeds, Precisebits has a good feeds and speeds chart http://www.precisebits.com/materials/ivory_shell/natural_shell.htm. Depending, I use 65K or 90K spindles to keep feeds reasonable with the tiny cutters and to get the edge speed up. I use down to 0.010", but very rarely as the cost is pretty much quadratic-- 0.01" takes 2.5X as long as cutting with a 1/64" plus surcharge for how fast the cutters wear out, which is over 10X the cost of using a 1/32"!!

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services