Router Bits and EndMills: Pictures, Descriptions, and Uses

[louieatienza]

I've seen a few people say they pocket out any internal cutouts, to avoid moving material and broken bits.
I wonder what the difference is from wanting to keep the small cut outs, if you were making lots of small parts, for instance ?
Are Tabs the way to go, or the 'onion skin' method of not cutting all the way through , or both ?

Surely pocketing is just making more dust, and creating more wear on the cutters ?

Gerry to note, I snapped a 3/8" bit, which was carbide body with PCD tips!

There are a few thoughts on this. It really depends on what you're doing.

For harder materials, pocketing may be the way to go. Especially if it's a long run with many holes. You might think that you're wearing the bit more but it may not be necessarily true. If you pocket and use a large enough bit, you can take deeper cuts, even through cuts, and take more aggressive rough cuts. You'll generate less heat since you're cuting more on the edge of the tool which is way more efficient than the bottom. The finish pass would then be the full depth profile. You'll actually get better tolerances this way, and it's the way they do it in metals. Some CAM (even Cut2D) have rest machining for pocket clearance as well. If you profile cut the holes, you'd normally have lower doc since you have full width bit engagement. You're climb cutting on one side and conventional on the other, so the bit wants to move toward the conventional side. If your machine is not super-ridgid, you'll have tolerance issues. I understand m machine is not the stiffest, therefore to achieve a certain tolerance, I run finish pass on 'mission critical' features.

For larger holes, it may be beneficial to do a drill op on the center of the holes and fix the soon-to-be slugs down with screws, before cutting the profiles out. Another way would be to onion skin with a larger bit, then come back with a smaller bit to profile cut the rest out. The smaller bit won't grab as much, and the onion skin will prevent the slug form binding the bit. Yet another way, and probably only worthwile if you had to do a large run, or have many holes, is either to raise the workpiece, or create a fixture with pockets or holes, this way the slugs fall down and out of the way. Yet another way would be to tack the slugs down with a 23ga pinner.

I had to cut out some letters out of thin gauge (1/16") brass sheet. The best way I found was to glue the sheet down with CA glue, let it cure, profile cut the letters, then remove them with acetone. I tried spray adhesive but there is always a little 'creep' and the glue gums up the bits. Plus if you spray a tiny bit of lubricant it will work under the letters and pop them out and ruin them. I got the tip from Ron Reed at precisebits.com.

But yes, when cutting out holes, you'll have to assess the situation and consider the tools you need when deciding whether to pocket or profile.

[louieatienza]

I suppose that depends how ridgid your machine is. If the cutout gets jammed then some deflection could happen.

I use tabs most of the time but I get a cleaner cut when I use the onion skin method. My z axis alignment must be a bit off.

Or worse you stall a stepper and lose position, or the jolt of the slug forces the bit to put a divot on the edge of your profile. You may not even know you lost position until the job is done, and the features on one side are off.

[louieatienza]

I have used tabs on Acrylic when the protective film is gone never on a wood project but I am a newbie...

Lou

Believe it or not, I've kept the bottom film on Mic-6 aluminum plate and have profile cut right to the film, keeping the part in place, though I've only done this on a couple pieces.

You might want to use tabs on a 3D relief, like an ornamental, where there are intricate details that may get lost or not be as crisp by sanding the onion skin off.

[LouF]

I did that the other day it don't happen to often but it was cool I lifted it right out all that stayed was the film..

Lou

[Walky]

On the right, I have 10 Kyocera 1/8" spiral-"O"-flute endmills. These are designed mainly for plastics, but I think they should work for aluminum as well. I got these 10 for $29 on eBay; that's about the cost of a single one from Onsrud.

Are those from drillman1? Have you tried those with aluminum? I've had my eye on those for a few days.

[louieatienza]

Are those from drillman1? Have you tried those with aluminum? I've had my eye on those for a few days.

I haven't tried yet. The sweeper on the tip looks a little wider than on an Onsrud, so I'm concerned that it might try to take off too much material. But at $2.90 each, what the heck?!

[LouF]

Louie I am subscribed to your you tube channel I really enjoy the videos what did you use to carve the aluminum Harley Davidson logo? Some great work I was showing my wife and Daughter they really like the videos as well.

Lou

[louieatienza]

Louie I am subscribed to your you tube channel I really enjoy the videos what did you use to carve the aluminum Harley Davidson logo? Some great work I was showing my wife and Daughter they really like the videos as well.

Lou

Lou, thanks! I used both a 1/8" spiral-O-flute from Amana, and a 1/16" 2-flute carbide endmill from Enco. Glad the whole family likes the videos, though they may not be the most entertaining!

[Boltz]

I really like this Amana spoilboard cutter. The inserts are 2 bucks a piece and they have 4 edges.

[LouF]

Louie thanks for the information I forgot to ask you what spindle speed and feed rate?
My wife and Daughter have a embroidery machine and are in to basically the same thing but the use fabric so this is up there alley

Lou

[Boltz]

Hey Gerry, you used to have a lot of praise for Vortex, what changed?

Here's a few that I use.

First one's what I use for my spoilboard. 2-1/4" diameter. It's just like a slot cutter, without the bearing. I got it used for free, and cut the shank down with a grinder, as it was 4" long. It needs a little cleaning. Vortex sells something similar, but they're not cheap.

Second one is a 1/4" "O" flute that I use for plastics. Works great for plexiglass, no melting. Sorry about the blurry picture. Got it from CNC Toybox.

Third one is just what you need to cut through 1" board in one pass at 1200ipm and 15,000rpm. 3 flute coated compression from Onsrud. Just got 7 of them in the mail today.
When cutting laminated particle board, the laminate is so abrasive that a good size groove will wear into the tool in as little as 20-30 sheets. I've cut 80 sheets with one coated tool without ay wear grooves.

Fourth one is a 2 flute upcut chipbreaker from Onsrud. Great for hardwoods and hard plywoods, as they cut with much less power required than a standard spiral bit. These are also really good for cutting deep mortises.

Last pic is about $1200 worth of router bits.

[louieatienza]

I really like this Amana spoilboard cutter. The inserts are 2 bucks a piece and they have 4 edges.

I want one when I have the cash for it!