Hello all, There are many suppliers of metal working endmills but I've only found two for wood; Vortex and Precisebit. Are there others to choose from? I'm interested in both flat and ball nose.
As an aside, is there a specific bit type for routing phenolic?

Thanks, Chris Baird

In what ways do end mills for wood differ from those designed for metal?

In what ways do end mills for wood differ from those designed for metal?

The geometry can be very different. Spiral bits for wood are designed to cut very fast at much higher rpm.

Try http://www.onsrud.com
http://eagleamerica.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1128278722

Onsrud should have bits for phenolic.

Yes, the geometry for metal working bits is more compact and aids in giving the tool the rigidity required for metal working. That compact geometry, however, burns and otherwise gives poor cut quality in wood.

Thanks for the links

Onsrud bits are very good but expensive from the local machine tool distributor. Rockler stocks a few sizes of sprials. I mostly use Whiteside bits from routerbits.com or woodpecker.com; one of them usually has them on sale. Woodcraft stocks these if you are in a pinch and have a local store. They make some straight bits that they market for CNC use only. They work well but so do their regular bits so I'm not sure they are worth the extra $. Freud bits (amazon) seem fine too. If you want spirals, I've had good luck with the american-carbide (was an advertiser here) woodworking spirals and they are less $ than any of the others.

www.activemachine.com guys great company

My family owns Uhrichsville Carbide Inc. We sell Whiteside / WKW / FS Tool / Amana which all sell diffrent spirals. We also resharpen the spirals. Nothing smaller than 1/4" though. So if you guys need any spirals let me know in a pm or call UCI at 18002258362.

BTW we also sell profile router bits. We also make custom profile router bits.

What I need is an 8th inch collet for a trimrouter or an 8th inch bullend bit with a quarter inch shank. Actually need a bunch of them;) Will probalby need a lot of 1/ inch straights too.
It's too bad my router can't handle half-inch bits.
Maybe I need to use a bigger router? My machine's awfully small.
Do they make drill chucks for routers?;)

What I need is an 8th inch collet for a trimrouter or an 8th inch bullend bit with a quarter inch shank.

http://eagleamerica.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_130-0202

And thanks, Ger;)
Any thoughts on how I can use a 3/32nd drillbit in it, or shoudl I just dismount the head and mount a cordles drill?;)

I'd say get some 3/32 router bits or endmills and use a peck drilling cycle, or mill the hole with maybe a 1/16" bit. Don't put a drill bit in a router unless you want bad things to happen :eek:

I recognize the potential disaster in spinning a drill bit at 20K rpm.;)
Do the 3/32nd end mills have 1/4 inch shafts? Dont they just snap off a lot?
Can't say I've ever seen a 3/32 router bit.
I'll look around.

http://stores.ebay.com/Attitude-Carbide-Cutting-Tools

1/8" shank, but you can get 1/4 to 1/8 adapter sleeves. http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/adapbush.html

Oh very nice! I'll have to save that link.

Go to www.americanprecisionrouting.com and fill out the tooling quote form and they will quote your needed tooling. APR is a dealer for Onsrud, Amana, Whiteside & Southeast Tool. They also have collets and accessories from Rego-Fix.

Constant speed wood routers generally run at about 20K rpm, much too fast for most metal machining . Bits for metalworking generally run much slower and in addition there are considerable differences in the geometry of each.

Some suppliers of woodworking router bits are as follows ..Freud, Whiteside, Amana, MCLS, Bosch, Grizzley and porter cable. My local supplier is Highland hardware who are also on line,they have a knowlegable and helpful staff.

Most cutters nowadays are carbide tipped and I personally find the 1/2" shanks to be preferable to the 1/4" variety

How about sources for a flycutter I could use with CNC to skim a spoil board? I would need 1/2 inch shank about 1.5 inch diameter.

How about sources for flycutters for skimming a spoilboard? something like 1.5 inch dia with a 1/2 shank? anyone have source?