crowie I saw the concentration game photo and wow, that’s a good puzzle; but reading/skimming I found Alex is attempting to gain Timbermate sponsorship...
They wont even offer me a spoonful of water to soften up some hardened stock.
SplinterGroup commented 42 minutes ago new That pore filling can be a real bugger. Haven't tried it yet (the TM looks like a winner choice), but what about taping over the surface before etching? Might be a way to easily mask off the area and at least reduce the grief.
TM or any brand will do the job. f you chose to colour, I found food colouring from the major food stores to be better than formal colour stains. Did get some raw paint pigment/concentrate, but the lid wasn't put on tight enough and by the time I got around to test it, it had dried.
I have some dedicated laser masking tape, mainly use on acrylic as sanding mars the clear surface... for timber, just a quick pass with the ROS will do the trick. I found that the unevenness of the filler usually requires more than hand sanding... That is another reason to get that little extra depth. I usually find I need at least two layers of filler (sometimes three) with sanding in between, to get that flat finish.
Depending on the detail of the engraving, the bits of tape left over that then needs to be manually removed (using a sharp blade) is more effort than it's worth... at least on timber... and if you're gonna sand, why use it.... though for specialty engraving, I might bend that rule.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
