Where to buy router bits

[feldah]

I am a beginner and planning to buy a stock of CNC bits for wood. Where should I buy it. I find really cheap ones on bangood. But they don't offer any data about feeds and speeds. Any ideas?

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[Wal]

The feeds and speeds are all just guides - you'll dial in your own settings based on the materials that you're cutting, spindle run-out (hopefully minimal), machine rigidity etc. I wouldn't worry about what a re-seller 'recommends' too much. Since you're starting out, grabbing yourself a bunch of cheap Chinese tools isn't that bad an idea - you're going to break a fair few of 'em..! The problem with the really cheap tooling is that the carbide isn't as high quality. They dull quickly and aren't as strong as what you'd be buying at the high end - having said that, I use pretty cheap tooling in a non-production hobbyist capacity and I'm perfectly happy with how they perform.

I buy from the following two sources here in the UK - not sure what the shipping situation would be out to Anguilla..!

APT (https://www.shop-apt.co.uk/)
GBR (http://www.gbrengineering.com/)

Yes - these suppliers are more oriented towards tools for cutting metal - however, I find that the single and twin fluted carbide tools that they sell perform very well in hardwood. You could also try these guys - but the money's a bit more serious now:

Wealden (https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/CNC_Tooling_158.html)

If I were you, though - I'd grab a bunch of inexpensive cutters to mess about with first.

Wal.

[feldah]

Oh sorry location is not Antigua ;-).

I guess it was randomly picked by me. I am from Germany so location shouldn't be an issue. I will then follow your advice. The APT shop seems to be a good middle way to thae really cheap ones from Bangood. I think I will buy a mix between both. So I can play with the ones from Bangood and then use APT ones.

Maybe an additional question. As my first task will be to mill my MDF spoilboard. Dimension will be 3,8m x 1,2m. The spoilboard bits especially have a huge variety in prices from 4- 250$. I think as I have a bigger table I should use a bit with at least an Inch diameter? Any recommendations which one is ok and doesn't break the bank?

[Clive S]

Oh sorry location is not Antigua ;-).


Maybe an additional question. As my first task will be to mill my MDF spoilboard. Dimension will be 3,8m x 1,2m. The spoilboard bits especially have a huge variety in prices from 4- 250$. I think as I have a bigger table I should use a bit with at least an Inch diameter? Any recommendations which one is ok and doesn't break the bank?

You can change the location as that helps others when suggesting things.

I use one of these https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Surface-Trim.html

[Wal]

>I use one of these https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Surface-Trim.html

+1 on this. A decent cutter for the money. Stay shallow with it and don't run it at 24K..!

[the great waldo]

I am a beginner and planning to buy a stock of CNC bits for wood. Where should I buy it. I find really cheap ones on bangood. But they don't offer any data about feeds and speeds. Any ideas?

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Hi Feldah
I'm in Austria and get most of my cutters from https://www.sorotec.de/shop/Cutting-Tools/sorotec-tools/2-flute-mills/END-Mill-WOOD/ they are not the cheapest but not too expensive and good quality. Buy cheap chinese ones to experiment with and use the better ones for proper work.

Cheers

Andrew

[paulus.v]

Maybe an additional question. As my first task will be to mill my MDF spoilboard. Dimension will be 3,8m x 1,2m. The spoilboard bits especially have a huge variety in prices from 4- 250$. I think as I have a bigger table I should use a bit with at least an Inch diameter? Any recommendations which one is ok and doesn't break the bank?

For my spoilboard cleaning I bought this one (https://www.ebay.com/itm/333004969067?ViewItem=&item=333004969067). I've got a few other Arden tools as well. Not cheap but very good quality, made in Taiwan.

I bought before a similar one but cheap Chinese make and after surfacing a 20x10 cm piece of pinewood it went blunt. I think the inserts were just mild steel, not even HSS or something. Or they tried to bind the tungsten carbide particles with super glue? :)

[feldah]

Thank you guys. That's already a good selection. And good to see that I don't have to buy a 25$ bit as my first router bit. I started to get nervous that it was that expensive ;-)

[paulus.v]

I have edited the ebay link (https://www.ebay.com/itm/333004969067?ViewItem=&item=333004969067) as the one I pointed has ended while writing the post. Not to be confused with the cheap Chinese yellow bits that ebay suggests! The Arden bits are sold only by one vendor, bestones2010 (https://www.ebay.com/str/hengyoutools/ARDEN-Woodworking-Router-Bits/_i.html?_storecat=6825711013)

[feldah]

I have edited the ebay link (https://www.ebay.com/itm/333004969067?ViewItem=&item=333004969067) as the one I pointed has ended while writing the post. Not to be confused with the cheap Chinese yellow bits that ebay suggests! The Arden bits are sold only by one vendor, bestones2010 (https://www.ebay.com/str/hengyoutools/ARDEN-Woodworking-Router-Bits/_i.html?_storecat=6825711013)Oh thanks. I just saw the Chinese ones. How long do these Arden bits stay sharp. As the expensive ones have exchangeable blades.

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[cropwell]

I think the inserts were just mild steel, not even HSS or something. Or they tried to bind the tungsten carbide particles with super glue? :) A lot of the cheap tools are sintered Tungsten carbide and they don't have the strength to hold an edge.

[paulus.v]

Oh thanks. I just saw the Chinese ones. How long do these Arden bits stay sharp. As the expensive ones have exchangeable blades.

I don't know how long will they stay sharp. I didn't used them a lot and are all still sharp. I used the most a 1' dia round nose bit cutting about 500-700 meters in MDF and it is still very sharp.
I was also looking at CMT tools with replaceable inserts but I think the price is justified only if you are routing MDF as a business, which would mean cutting maybe 500 mtr per day or hour.


A lot of the cheap tools are sintered Tungsten carbide and they don't have the strength to hold an edge.
I think all tungsten carbide in tools is sintered. Mixed with cobalt and liquid sintered, where the cobalt melts and fills the space between the carbide particles. Most likely those Chinese inserts had no tungsten carbide in the composition, they looked more like cast iron, maybe had some iron carbide inside :)

[feldah]

That's fair enough. If I can do my spoilboard once with it I am happy. I think one time will be all ready 200 - 300 m.
What cutting depth do you do? More than 1mm in one run?

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[paulus.v]

My spoilboard is actually my router table. I never cut through it. I am surfacing it only every few months with a depth of a few tenths of a millimeter. How have you got 300 m cut for the spoilboard surfacing? My table is 1400x1000 mm, with my 2" dia tool I take 50 mm width of cut which means 20 cuts of 1.4 m = 28 m.

As MDF is abrasive it is important to have the chipload as high as possible. It depends on the stiffness of your router, the tool dia & length, depth of cut and desired cut finish.
For example, let's say you are cutting with 24k rpm and 1000 mm/min feed and I do it at 8k rpm and 4000 mm/min with the same cutter. So for the chip thickness that I am cutting you make 12 cuts, your tool will wear 12 times faster.

You want to get out of the cut chips or shavings not dust.

Here is an example:

25317

25318

And here is rounding with an Arden "point cutting roundover" bit (for straight cutting I'm using the popular Chinese 6 mm dia single flute carbide bits):

25319

25320

[feldah]

Great explanation. Sadly I won't have prior information about the stiffness. But I know that I will use a 2.2kw Spindle which can handle 1/2" shanks.
My 300m comes because my table is 4 times longer(1,2m - 1m) x 4m. Because it is my first cnc I am building. I was expecting an uneven table with 3mm height difference. But that's just a guessed number. So with a 2" tool and 1mm cut depth I assumed 20 x 4m x 3 rounds -> 240m. But as you said you are going a few tenth of a milimeter it will even be more runs.

[paulus.v]

But as you said you are going a few tenth of a milimeter it will even be more runs.
I'm taking a few tenths of a millimeter to clean the table from time to time. You may be able to go 3 mm depth in one pass but it depends on the stiffness of the machine.