[Antennas]

Guys , I am cutting up a few things and what comes out is ok but it leaves behind a LOT of fuzzies and tool marks and other undesirable stuff. What I was wondering how do you check to make sure your bit in the router is perpendicular and straight to the table surface?
Is there some patterns you can cut and then look at and tell if it's off??

thanks so much...
Andrew

[alan_3301]

You can get a surface planing bit and surface a board in a raster pattern on the x axis with a stepover between 90-99% of the bit diameter, Look for ridges. adjust if necessary.
Same for Y axis.

or you could do a external profile on a square, with small steps down for depth of cut, look for steps on the perimeter.
It should be clear which way the spindle needs to be adjusted.

Another method is using a bent rod in the spindle, and looking at the height difference between the end of the rod and surfaced spoilboard, while slowly spinning the spindle by hand

[xjdubber]

take a piece of round bar and bend it with a 90 degree bend that will fit in your spindle, attach a dial indicator to the other end. Assuming your table is flat sweep it from left to right front to back and change spindle shimming so that it reads 0 all the way around. Cant get any better than that.

[crazydiamond]

It's called "tramming" if you want to look it up

[Antennas]

Excellent suggestions. Thats what I was looking for. Thank you all. Ill let you know how I make out.

[Antennas]

So I put an allen key in the chuck and it seemed to be fine when I rotated it around. I also put a board across the backnof the y gantry to stiffen it some. So I put in my new 60 deg v bit and cut the HD logo. Here is what it looks like right from the machine. How can I get rid of those tool marks and fuzzy spots? Oh I noticed it cut shallower on the right than the left. The wood wasnt flat.

[planekrazie]

It almost looks like green wood. I noticed it when I used rough cut lumber planks for some of the cuts I make. If the moisture content of the wood is low then Id look at the sharpness of the bit.
Steve

[ger21]

How big is that? It looks really small.
What kind of wood is it?

To minimize toolmarks, try cutting a little slower. Marks like those are usually due to a lack of rigidity.
To get rid of the fuzziness, try a light coat of finish or sealer before carving.

[Antennas]

Ya its only 4" across I think it was. I'll try the sealer and see how it goes. I'll also try doing a slower cut and see what I get. Thanks.