…you weren’t using a Jakobs.

For this project, I took inspiration from one of my favorite video games, Borderlands 2. Jakobs is a weapons manufacturer in Borderlands 2 known for its old-timey aesthetic, so I figured it would make a good fit for a wooden plaque. So, the noun I am using is a proper noun, the name “Jakobs”. Or, you could argue that the noun is “logo”. Whatever floats your boat.

I started off by finding an image of the Jakobs logo online, and used my Pro Illustrator skills to convert it to a vector file using image trace. This was pretty easy.

Then, I exported the file as a SVG file so that I could import it into Easel.

Once I imported the file to Easel, I adjusted the board size to be the size of the red oak piece I intended to use. Then, I centered the logo on the wooden block. However, I realized that the bottom of the logo was interfering with the Carvey’s clamp.

My solution for this was to delete the bottom part of the decal. Even without it, the image looked very nice. So, I began to prepare for my cut. I decided to use a 1/16 inch downcut bit for the lettering, which can be seen below.

After I placed the bit in the router, I began to clamp down my piece. However, when adding one of the clamps, the bottom of the Carvey gave out with the screw.

So I had to anchor my piece from another spot. After my piece was setup, I set the Carvey to perform a cut of the lettering that was .1 inches deep. This cut came out relatively well, aside from a little bit of splintering on the edges of the letters.

Next, for the top part of the logo, I used an engraving bit. This bit would allow for the Carvey to get the thin details of the decal that I desired. I just had to make a custom bit in the Carvey settings that was V shaped with an angle of 30 degrees.

The engraving bit did its job well, but I wasn’t extremely satisfied with the original lettering after I removed the part and inspected it. So, I got another piece of wood and followed the same steps, except this time I cut the lettering twice. I simply redid the same cut again without moving the part. This helped clean up the edges significantly, and I am more proud of this cut.

Finally, I took both of my pieces and rubbed them with tung oil to give them a darkened finish. Then I was done!

I learned that the CNC mill can produce cleaner cuts by performing the same path twice, even with the same exact bit. Additionally, I learned that the Easel program automatically adjusts the tool path for a v-bit, making passes much closer together in order to cut all of the material.