Instant digital download · Commercial use included · 4.8★ from 776 reviews
Bas-relief wood carving of a whale tail rising from ocean waves with rocky islands in the background
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Coastal Nautical

Whale Tail Rising From the Sea Bas-Relief STL Carving

$5.20 $5.78 10% off

$5.20 here, $6.50 for the same file on Etsy · 3 sold this year · 13 people favourited it

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  • 📦 Instant digital download (STL file)
  • 🛠️ Tested in Aspire, VCarve Pro, Carveco, ArtCAM, Fusion 360
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📐 Design facts
Carving it at your size
Carving size
6 × 8 in (152 × 203 mm)
Relief depth
0.59 in (14.9 mm)
Board thickness
1 in or thicker
Rough with
1/8 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/16 in tapered ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 4 h 35 min (roughing 1 h, finishing 3 h 35 min)
Carving size
9 × 12 in (228 × 305 mm)
Relief depth
0.88 in (22.4 mm)
Board thickness
1.25 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/8 in ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 4 h 55 min (roughing 50 min, finishing 4 h 5 min)
Carving size
13.4 × 18 in (341 × 457 mm)
Relief depth
1.3 in (33.6 mm)
Board thickness
1.75 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/8 in ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 12 h (roughing 2 h 50 min, finishing 9 h 5 min)
Carving size
17.9 × 24 in (455 × 610 mm)
Relief depth
1.8 in (44.7 mm)
Board thickness
2.5 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/4 in ball nose (1/8 in for the finest detail, about twice as long), 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 14 h 55 min (roughing 6 h 45 min, finishing 8 h 5 min)
Carving size
8 × 10.7 in (203 × 272 mm)
Relief depth
0.79 in (20 mm)
Board thickness
1.25 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/8 in ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 3 h 50 min (roughing 35 min, finishing 3 h 15 min)

Estimates for a mid-size hobby machine (Shapeoko, X-Carve, Onefinity class). Scaling all three axes together keeps the depth in proportion; for thinner stock scale Z on its own. Hardwoods with fine grain (cherry, hard maple, walnut, basswood) hold this detail best. Check your exact setup in Will it cut, free, nothing uploaded.

How we estimate carve time

Finishing is one raster pass over the whole carving with the ball nose shown, at 10% stepover and half of a 1,800 mm/min (71 in/min) feed. Roughing assumes about 45% of the block above the base is waste, cleared with the end mill shown at 40% stepover and 3 mm per pass (1.5 mm for the 1/8 in end mill) at the full feed. The model leaves out acceleration, tool changes and moves between passes, so a real job usually takes somewhat longer. Times are rounded to 5 minutes.

File format
STL only decimated high-quality mesh, binary STL
Model size as supplied
202.9 × 271.8 × 19.95 mm
Shape
portrait, 0.747:1
Carve depth
9.8% of the width
Mesh
2,027,734 triangles · 96.7 MB
Base
flat and sitting at zero, ready to machine

Opens directly in Aspire, VCarve Pro, Carveco, ArtCAM and Fusion 360, and in any slicer for 3D printing. For a laser, the relief is first turned into a greyscale depth image, which our Laser Studio app does from this STL. STL only, no OBJ or DXF: the DXF files used in CNC work hold 2D outlines, not the 3D relief surface. Scale it to whatever panel you are cutting. Scaling all three axes together keeps the depth in proportion; scale Z on its own for a shallower carve. How to open it in your software.

759 five-star reviews from carvers
"very good would recommend to others and this thing came out awesome"
— Verified buyer
"A very nice design for both CNC cutting and 3d printing. Very happy with this purchase."
— Verified buyer

About this design

A great fluke breaks the surface and hangs there for a second, water sheeting off the edges before the whole animal disappears. That moment is what this relief captures. The tail rises clean and powerful out of churning waves, with a pair of rocky islands set back on the horizon. Carved into a warm hardwood blank, it reads like a snapshot of the open ocean you can hang on a wall. This is a high-detail bas-relief STL built for clean cutting. The waves carry real depth and movement, the fluke has soft sculpted edges where it tapers, and the background islands sit at the right relief so the tail stays the hero. It is ready for Aspire, VCarve Pro, Carveco, ArtCAM, and Fusion 360, and it runs nicely on a CNC router or a 3D printer. For wood, rough it out with a 6mm end mill at 40 percent stepover, then bring out the detail with a 3mm ball nose at 10 percent stepover. Scale it to whatever blank you have on the bench. Think coastal wall plaques, beach house signs, nautical gifts, and statement pieces for a mantel or entryway. The file downloads the moment you check out, so you can be cutting tonight. Commercial use is included, which means you are free to carve these for your shop, sell them at markets, or make a one-off gift for someone who loves the water. Add it to your library and put it on the table.
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$5.20