Engraved Lake Maps

I kept seeing wooden lake maps pop up in ads on social media. I then looked at the price. 400 Dollars! So I decided that I would make on myself. All said and done it cost me less than 20 dollars and turned out great! I will teach you how to do the same.

• selected size of hardwood, MDF, or a cutting board
• Paint or resin
• If using paint oramask(Optional)
• CNC Router
• V Bit( 60 degree preferred but 90 will work)
• 1/4or 1/8 in down-cut bit(Optional)

• To cave anything you need a vector.
• You can buy one off Etsy or you can get your own.
• To get your own you can use https://snazzymaps.com this website will allow you to edit Google Maps to only show what information you want to. I created a style that is black and white and has only major waterways here https://snazzymaps.com/style/502438/lake.
• You can edit this to add roads and landmarks if you wish.
• After finding the lake you wish to carve you can save it as a jpeg.
• Do not be afraid to use multiple files you can add them together later.
• After you have the image you need to convert it to a vector There are online image-to-vector convertors, but I did not like the quality I got so I downloaded a free trial of correl draw There you can fine-tune the settings to get the desired quality.
• If you are using multiple images it is best to convert them to vectors overlay them on top of each other convert back to bitmap to convert back to one vector. once you get done with this you need to export it as a vector(SVG or DXF).

V-carve

• set martial size(this can be changed later)
• import vector
• add name and description
• Set the toolpath as a v carve for the lake and words.
• make a profile if you are going to cut it out of a larger piece of stock and if you wish to add a chamfer with the CNC

Fusion 360

• make a model the same size as your stock
• insert your vector as an SVG or DXF
• extrude that sketch
• on the manufacturing tab set a 2d pocket or engraving toolpath

I have made these in three ways with MDF and paint, oak and resin, and a cutting board and resin

• the hardwood and resin are more expensive but look a lot better in my opinion
• the cutting boards are also expensive but offer a utilitarian purpose also
• If using MDF you just need to cut into size
• I made the MDF and oak ones mine 18/24 but the best measurements should be determined by the shape of the lake
• I recommend between a half and an inch think three-quarters is probably ideal

• Once you have your g code and material it is time to carve.
• The oak I used was a little bowed so I made a couple of surfacing passes before I started.
• I secured the piece to the spoil board using some double-sided tape but you can use whatever your preferred method is.
• If you are using paint you will need to apply the oramask so that it makes the sanding process easier.
• After that, all you need to do is push the cycle start button.

Resin

• I used the Total Boat high-performance and black diamond pigments cobalt blue.
• you can estimate how much you need by using the measure vector future in v carve or the properties tab in fusion.
• try to just overflow the pocket after about ten minutes use a torch to pop any bubbles that appear.
• I used the medium hardener and waited overnight for the resin to cure.
• after it cured I put it back on the CNC I made one surfacing pass at zero and another at -.005.

Paint

• Paint is petty simple just make sure to cover the entire area with a paint brush.
• do not worry about painting the top surface you can sand that off later.
• let dry for several hours.

I finished both with sanding 80 to 150 to 220 sanding. If you used paint congratulations you are done.

Resin

• After sanding 220 grit you need to wipe the piece with water or isopropyl alcohol after this the rein will pop.
• You can stain before or after I stained after and it did not bleed into the resin.
• I liked the look of the matte resin so I did not add any finish but if you want it to shine you can use any finish

I hope you love yours to.!

I am a student at Lenoir City High School in Lenoir City Tennessee and through our engineering department, we are selling lake cutting boards that I design and make.

If you wish to order one you can here

https://forms.gle/mH8JbTRYVWMKJ43V7