CNC Drag Bit Project

[Keith Westfall]

First Diamond Drag Bit project. I am happy with it!

10 x 16 x 1/4 " acrylic carved with a 90 deg Diamond bit at .07 cutting depth. Spring loaded Drag bit.

Base is walnut, top with a .26 " slot for the acrylic and a hole and recess for a small toggle switch.

Bottom part has a 3/8 LED strip light and a carved recess (from the bottom) to hold the batteries. I used 2 -9 volt batteries, and will have to see what kind of life I get out of them.

1st one light off, 2nd one with light on.

So much fun...

Darth Vader Edge Lit.jpgDarth Vader Edge Lit Sign.jpg

[ed vitanovec]

Very nice. Post more details on led light install.

[Bruce Page]

Looks great Keith. Aren't diamond drag bits spring loaded? How do you control depth?
.070 is deep!

[Keith Westfall]

On the bottom part of the base, (lower piece), I routed a 3/8 x 1/8 pocket the length of the top slot that I put the LED strip in, and then used the sticky back on the LED Strip to stick it down.

The top piece (1/4" slot) fits over it to help hold in place if needed.

Then I routed another channel from the end of the LED strip, probably 3/8 - 1/2" deep around toward the battery compartment, for the wiring to the switch and battery which sits in the open pocket.

On the top piece is where the switch sets (small recessed hole).

Two small alignment pins between top and bottom and then screwed together from the back.

It was a bit of an experiment to see if I could do it, and how it would work. Seemed to do both!

It IS a spring loaded drag bit, so what I did was zero it out to top of surface, zero it, and then lowered it to -.07 Z Height. This seemed to load it enough to scratch the surface enough. You can barely feel the engraved marks, but they show well.