10-30-2025 Q&A: Dogbone Joinery Scaling, Cutter Depth, Nesting Tricks, and Magnetic Alignment

Note: You must be a member of the Learn Your CNC Academy Community to watch this replay. Benefits include weekly Q&A Meetups, weekly project lessons, monthly CNC challenges, an active community of Vectric users, past replay lessons & project files, and so much more!

In this Q&A session, Kyle covered practical design and toolpath techniques including how to scale box joints with dogbone fillets without distortion, managing cutter flute limitations on thicker materials, nesting strategies for double-sided parts, and aligning laminated or magnetic assemblies. The discussion also touched on modeling materials in Aspire, creating clip art, and using alignment methods like dowels for precise two-sided cuts.

Key Tips Learned in this Q&A:

• Dogbone Joinery Resizing: Use Node Edit mode to stretch parts without deforming dogbone fillets. Adjust nodes individually or with guidelines for precision.

• Slot Fit Adjustments: Instead of redesigning parts, use the Allowance Offset in profile toolpaths to fine-tune joint tightness (+/- values for looser or tighter fits).

• Cutting Thick Material with Small Bits: You can cut thicker stock with short-fluted bits by using multiple passes—ensure flute and shank diameters match to avoid rubbing.

• Grouping and Nesting: To keep specific parts together during nesting, enclose them in a rectangle before running the Nest Parts tool. Grouping alone doesn’t always preserve layout.

• Magnet Alignment and 3D Previews: Align top and bottom magnet pockets using copied geometry, and preview laminated effects in Aspire by creating components from toolpath previews with realistic wood materials.

Questions Answered in this Q&A:

• 00:08:08 – How to resize boxes or furniture parts with dogbone fillets without distorting the corners?
• 00:21:58 – How to handle thicker stock when your small bits don’t have long enough cutting flutes?
• 00:33:16 – How to keep certain parts together when nesting double-sided projects in Vectric? 
• 00:46:46 – What’s the best way to align magnets and preview multi-wood laminations for CNC projects?

Keywords: