n00b question about cutting tools

[good-ham]

Hi, all. I've been lurking here for a couple of years trying to come up with a good excuse to add a CNC router to my toolkit. I've done woodworking most of my life, a little metal work and am comfortable with 3D modeling for my 3D printer. When it comes to CNC, though, I'm a complete n00b.

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a PRO4848 kit, plug and play NEMA34 electronics, the proximity limit switches, etc. I'm going with a DeWalt DW618 router for the moment. While shopping online for the router I ended up on an Amazon page and noticed a bunch of cutting tools in the "People who bought this also bought..." section. They are drastically cheaper than the ones at sites I've seen referenced here (Tools Today springs to mind), and the reviews on Amazon are great for some of them. One example from Amazon is the "Yonico 34221-SC CNC Router Bit Ball Nose Solid Carbide with 1/4-Inch X 1-Inch X 1/4-Inch X 2-1/2-Inch 1/4-Inch Shank" for $14.95. There are others in multi-packs that are cheaper still.

My question to the group is this: What is the difference in the cutting tools on Amazon vs the tools costing twice (or more) as much from other sites for the seemingly the same specs? And, assuming there is a quality difference in the end, would these cheaper bits be useful as expendables during the learning curve with my new machine?

Thanks in advance for any info provided, and for all the past info I've silently soaked up from the forums so far.

Greg

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[Elocremarc]

Of course get the cheap ones, as a Noob you are going to break allot of bits! Why overspend on something your gonna trash anyway.

What is your exact plan with this Mill? Is it going to be used for wood or do you wanna mainly use it for AL?

Okay so I dug a little bit. Your Dewalt takes 1/2 collets! that is clutch. That means you can get cutters that are 1/2 shank Larger Cutter -> More Rigid Cutter -> Tighter Tolerances.

Black & Decker 326286-04 Collet & Nut 1/4 Inch - - Amazon.com

[ger21]

Generally, the more expensive tools are better. They last longer, possibly sharper, possibly more accurate.
Having said that, I've used a Yonico spiral bit and was happy enough that I'll buy them again.

[good-ham]

Of course get the cheap ones, as a Noob you are going to break allot of bits! Why overspend on something your gonna trash anyway.

What is your exact plan with this Mill? Is it going to be used for wood or do you wanna mainly use it for AL?

Okay so I dug a little bit. Your Dewalt takes 1/2 collets! that is clutch. That means you can get cutters that are 1/2 shank Larger Cutter -> More Rigid Cutter -> Tighter Tolerances.

Black & Decker 326286-04 Collet & Nut 1/4 Inch - - Amazon.com

Thanks for the reply, and thanks for doing the extra digging! I'm going to be working with both wood and aluminum as well as dense foam, acrylic and carbon fiber sheet; probably wood most often, though. The DW618 is supposed to ship with both a 1/4" and 1/2" collet, so I should be OK for both. I've ordered an assortment of tools in both 1/2" and 1/4" sizes along with a few 1/8" and a collar for them. Now I just have to remain patient while I wait the few weeks for my kit parts to start arriving.

[good-ham]

Generally, the more expensive tools are better. They last longer, possibly sharper, possibly more accurate.
Having said that, I've used a Yonico spiral bit and was happy enough that I'll buy them again.

Thanks, Gerry! Good to know that much at least. I plan on using the cheap ones in my learning curve - sort of the soldiers to take the beachhead - before offering up the more expensive ones.

[ger21]

For 1/8" and smaller tools, buy from Drillman1 on Ebay. You'll pay a fraction of what you'll pay elsewhere.

[dgage]

For 1/8" and smaller tools, buy from Drillman1 on Ebay. You'll pay a fraction of what you'll pay elsewhere.

I currently use 1/4" 2 flute carbide bits in two passes in 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood. Would 1/8" work well or do you think I should stick to 1/4". I'm thinking I might have to slow down and be a little more careful with the 1/8" but I've never used them so that's why I'm asking. Thanks.

[Kosh]

I have a yonico birds mouth bit that supposed to be here TODAY (so far it must be bundled with the Sharks first hockey goal ). Will be for use on the cnc, full report to follow.

[ger21]

I currently use 1/4" 2 flute carbide bits in two passes in 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood. Would 1/8" work well or do you think I should stick to 1/4". I'm thinking I might have to slow down and be a little more careful with the 1/8" but I've never used them so that's why I'm asking. Thanks.

A general rule of thumb is to use the largest bit you can for any given job. The job will get done faster, and the tool will last longer. The downside, is that larger tools cost more, so a lot of people use 1/4" bits due to cost.

1/8" bits often have a cutting length of 1/2", so wouldn't work for cutting 3/4" deep. You can probably find them with longer cutting lengths, but you'll probably find that they are much more fragile, and tend to leave a lot of dust and chips in the cut, which causes the tool to run a lot hotter.

[dgage]

Thanks Gerry.

[Kosh]

@goodham,

here's some pictures of my "unboxing" of the yonico bit. I was quite surprised at how nice it and the package were, given it was LESS than the cost (for both bits) than a single bit of similar pair from Rockler, etc. Also, I've linked to a video of it cutting (just MDF though). It spun very quiet, seems to be well balanced.

[good-ham]

Thanks @kosh ! I went ahead and ordered several of their bots in both 1/2" and 1/4" sizes. It will be a while before I can post results, though, as I'm still a ways out on having my machine working.

@ger21 : Thanks for the drillman1 tip. I'll check him out once I've gotten proficient enough that 1/8" bits would serve as anything other than cannon fodder.

[Gallchobhair]

I am a hobbyist and work mostly in wood. I would and do use lower priced tools. the tolerance is not as critical in wood as it would be for metal.
as has been stated you will be braking some tools. once you are comfortable with your work and machine you can start replacing with better ones.

Don

[Kosh]

Yeah, that first accidental hit of a jog command on the Z-axis, driving a .010 bit into the spoiler board is painful.....

[CYoung]

I have a PRO4848 with the Dewalt 618 router and I mainly use my machine to cut (profile) shapes out of 3/4" thick maple, cherry, oak, etc. I use 1/4" down spiral and combo (up/down) bits from Amazon with decent results. My goal is to get the best possible finish on the edge so I dont push my machine very hard (in my opinion). I run at about 80 ipm, 8k-10K RPM, and a cut depth of about 0.10 - 0.15 per pass. I use bits made by Whiteside and ONSRUD and at first I get very nice cuts, but that doesnt seem to last very long before I start getting marks along the cut edge showing each pass. The trouble is I dont know how long a bit should last and if I want longer lasting bits what I should buy? The bits I use cost around $25each, not sure if this is expensive or not? Reading below, maybe I should try 1/2 shank bits, would 1/2 shank give me a better cut and would it last longer? The problem with all these questions is I don't have any reference to use to understand how well I am performing? Does that make sense?
Thanks, Craig

[Gallchobhair]

If your software has a feature to make a last pass final pass then try using that. I would also up the router speed a little or slow it down to maybe 75 ipm.
Doing profile cuts the last pass is a cleanup feature. It makes a full depth pass at full depth to clean up edges. Look at the manual or go to forums for your
software.

Don