Fly Cutting a CNC Spoil Board

The spoil board on a CNC router is considered a consumable commodity. Whether you’re screwing material down to the spoilboard, or doing through cuts that slightly cut into it, eventually you’re going to have to fly cut or level your spoil board. This video walks you through the process, helping your understand how to set this up on machine.

Other considerations

One reason for fly cutting your spoil board is because fasteners and through cuts have made it irregular. But here’s something to consider: Before using your CNC the first time, you should fly cut the spoil board. What? Why level the board when it’s a perfectly smooth piece of mdf? The reason for leveling the board on a brand new machine is to make certain it’s dead flat, and that the top of the board is perfectly parallel to the travel of the spindle or router. This is a very important step, and can have a huge affect on the accuracy you get from your CNC router.

Router bit selection

While nearly any router bit could be used for leveling a spoil board, there are distinct characteristics to look for when it comes to choosing the best one. In this video we show you three different router bits, and talk about which one is best for this cut.