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  1. #1
    Wal's Avatar
    Lives in Stockport, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 30-03-2023 Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 491. Received thanks 71 times, giving thanks to others 29 times.
    Hello all,

    I'm tooling-up to run a couple of profiling/pocketing tests on some mother of pearl - think intricate inlays that you find on custom guitar fret-boards. Here's an example of the kind of shapes I'm hoping to cut - in the clip I'm using a 0.2mm 2-flute end-mill and the material is perspex:



    And the circled area in the pic below should give you an idea about the pocketing that the 0.2mm end-mill will have to do:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Clearly, the feed-rates I'll use cutting the mother of pearl will be a lot slower than what you see in the clip above - what concerns me most is the longevity of the end-mill and I'd just like to see what your opinions are on the options I have.

    1. The 0.2mm end-mill I used in the clip above didn't last long - it could well have been feed-rates, the perspex packing into the flutes etc etc. but it was also a cheap piece of tooling (£7). Maybe try it again at lower feeds actually in mother of pearl..?

    2. What I'd really like to try is one of these:

    http://www.precisebits.com/products/...bits/shell.asp

    3. I contacted the supplier I usually go to for my tools and they suggested 2-flute blue coated carbide at around £30+VAT a-piece, but as far as I can tell, this would just be a generic 2-flute for harder materials, but none of the features (ie. fishtail) of the cutter available from the States.

    So what do you reckon? Persevere with the cheap-o cutters? Try the expensive conventional cutter, or just buy a few of the end-mills designed for this type of work from the US..?

    Thanks for your thoughts/advice.

    Wal.

  2. #2
    Wal, it might be worth checking out the carbide endmills used for pcb work. I use cutters down 0.4mm and they only cost about £2.50. Still break a few, but cheap to replace. G.

  3. #3
    Wal's Avatar
    Lives in Stockport, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 30-03-2023 Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 491. Received thanks 71 times, giving thanks to others 29 times.
    Cheers Geoffrey.

    I found these over on Amazon:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=468294

    Very cheap - too cheap, probably. Can't see 'em lasting all that long, though..! Maybe worth a punt - even just for curiosities sake.

    Thanks for the tip.

    Wal.

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