V-Carving Artwork & Letters with a CNC Router

V-carving on a CNC wood router creates an amazing hand carved look. The letters or artwork you V-carve will stand in relief of the background. This may look complicated, but it’s pretty straight forward, with a little instruction. We’re here to provide the instruction. We’ll show you how to create the design on VCarve software, and how to set up the cuts on a Laguna CNC machine.

Importing artwork

Amazingly, you can grab virtually any clip art from the web and import it into VCarve to work with. The clip art will need to be changed to vectors so it can be CNC cut, and we’ll show you how to do that, and how to refine the design so it looks good after it’s been cut.

Lettering

VCarve software includes a wide variety of fonts. Once the font has been chosen, you’ll learn how to locate the lettering on the project, and change its size as needed.

V-Carve on the CNC wood router

Setting up the design to create the v-carve includes correctly selecting the artwork and lettering, and choosing the right router bits. You’ll learn how to use a clearance tool to remove most of the waste, and what type of cutter makes the v-carve pop.

Set up the CNC machine

Next you’ll learn to correctly install router bits on the CNC machine, and how to zero the X, Y, and Z axes. You’ll also learn to how to secure your work to the table.

Want to know more?

If you’re wondering if a CNC is a worthwhile investment for your shop, check out our video that provides an overview of what a CNC machine can do for you. If you’re looking for help using VCarve software, check out our video about CNC machine programming tips.