Smiling Sun

Instructions

These are generally the steps I followed. My original intent was to pocket out the bulk of the face, but ultimately it seemed better to leave that uncut. General note: for pocketing narrow regions, it is often simpler to do multiple passes with increasing offsets, possibly combined with the "automatic cut" feature. I strongly recommend looking at the results as you cut and making decisions based on your own aesthetic preferences. My total cut time was close to 8 hours. I went especially slowly with the 1/16" bit since I did not want to stress the bit. Secure the work piece using double sided tape or whatever approach you prefer. The final cuts will leave the interior separated from the perimeter, so it must be secured. **Don't use TOO MUCH tape to secure the work piece, and use less under center. I realized (at the end) that the rays will be fragile, and prying up will stress them. Don't pry up across the grain, and go slow.** (1) Scale to at least 250mm/10". Smaller than that will probably have too many places that not even an engraving bit will cut. (2) Using an engraving bit at a depth of 3mm (1/8") with an offset of 3mm (1/8") cut the entire outermost path. Cut the inside circle path around the face. (3) Using an engraving bit at a depth of 1mm (1/25") and an offset of 0.2mm cut all the other paths. These should be inside cuts for the rays and outside cuts on the face. For narrow features less than 3mm (1/8") repeat the 1mm depth cut immediately with an offset of 1.2 mm and 1.5 mm (or similar). Usually these can be done quickly by making use of the SO automatic cut feature. (4) Using an 1/8" bit and .2mm offset, pocket cut the various interior regions. (5) With the 1/8" bit, and 1.5 mm offset (see below) cut the outside path inside corners to maximum depth (probably 12mm, 1/2") in several passes. (5) Probably, use a 1/16" bit to clean up the thin parts of the rays. Alternately, a small chisel of utility knife could be used. In some places, I also tried using the engraving bit after setting the region to "pocket" cut, and got reasonable results. (6) Using a 1/4" bit, and an offset of 1.5mm, cut outer profile to separate the sun. The offset will maintain the chamfer from the engraving bit. Sand and finish as desired. Note: This is derivative of a PNG from http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-nTXbBRMTB originally. AFAICT, there are no license restrictions, and this is fairly derivative at this point. I used Inkscape to convert the image to SVG using "Trace bitmap", and then simplified the generated paths, modified some of the rays for width issues, and deleted redundant paths and other artifacts from the processing.