Video: CNC’ed Salad Bowl – A Failure?
I had a lot of issues making this bowl, and it took over a month to get it completed. I did a lot of test cuts…and I went through a lot of problems before I made the finished bowl. Unfortunately I had some chip out on the inlay, and it didn’t turn out how I wanted.
The deep inlay was very difficult to figure out. I decided to build up the initial stock piece by layering up 1″ slices. The 1″ depth was easy to machine for a pocket and plug, but I had issues with the plug being too tight, too loose, or just slightly off in some way. Eventually I got it all sorted out, but it took a few hundred dollars worth of wood.
The top of the inlay shouldn’t have the gap and should continue up to the top. This was the area that had some chip out, which I thought I had solved on my test piece by changing some toolpaths. I got a lot of feedback from some fellow CNC’ers on Avid CNC’s forum, and they had some good recommendations. Such as, try a downcut bit instead of an upcut bit, particularly for the roughing operation where the problem happened.
I’m sharing the CAD and CAM for free. Download it here on my workshop page: Salad Bowl Concept #1.
I machined it with my Pro Avid CNC 4×8.
Here’s the finished piece. Cherry wood with a maple inlay. Roughly 12″x12″x4.5″.
