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Rock Art => Carvings and Sculptures => Topic started by: Jt89 on June 19, 2022, 06:47:50 PM

Title: Questions about bits to carve Jade
Post by: Jt89 on June 19, 2022, 06:47:50 PM

Hello,
So I bought a Jade Cnc machine a few years ago. I was wondering if anyone that carves Jade knows what kind of bits are used to successful carve with a Cnc machine? It looks similar to doing it by hand with lots of water coolant.
https://youtu.be/GHWgbTV1vQc

Thank you
-Jimmy

Title: Re: Questions about bits to carve Jade
Post by: vitzitziltecpatl on June 20, 2022, 06:29:53 AM

There was really good info on carving in the "old" forum, which has been preserved by the current owners here:

https://lapidaryforum.net/gemstone/index.php?board=19.0

You might find info on that board. There were what I'd call master carvers among the membership at that time.

Title: Re: Questions about bits to carve Jade
Post by: lithicbeads on June 20, 2022, 11:59:36 AM

You would only want sintered bits and remember that they need to be gently reshaped after a lot of use.

Title: Re: Questions about bits to carve Jade
Post by: R.U. Sirius on June 20, 2022, 03:21:46 PM

Interesting! You'll want high-quality, sintered diamond burrs, not the electroplated ones. Make sure they are milling burrs, that can sustain lateral force, and not drill bits.

My guess is that your success will depend on the software as much as it will depend on the mechanics: you should be able to optimize the number of passes (thickness of "layers") for the particular material hardness and for particular x-y velocity.

You'll probably break a few burrs in the process.

Have fun, and please show us all the successes and failures!