3040 and Hardwood

[johngoodrich]

i wouldn't use a down cutter to cut a pocket as you are pushing all the chips downwards and recutting them. this isn't going to help at all. I would use an upcut tool and i would run at about 18000rpm and 3000mm/minute with 3mm doc at least

[scalesr1]

i wouldn't use a down cutter to cut a pocket as you are pushing all the chips downwards and recutting them. this isn't going to help at all. I would use an upcut tool and i would run at about 18000rpm and 3000mm/minute with 3mm doc at least

Thank you very much for that.

I was using a down cutter as the wood would tear at the surface when using an up cutter.

Perhaps I should start the pocket with the down cutter for a few mm then switch to the up cutter for the rest of it?

My max spindle speed is 8000rpm and my cutter 6mm so I run at max rpm and cut 3mm with a feed rate of around 200mm/minute at present - should I be going a lot quicker?

The only reason that I have not gone quicker is that I worry about damaging stuff. I will try shallow cuts at higher speeds to see how it goes. The only real feedback that I have are the various noises that the cutting process makes - many suggest that is how one can tell if things aren't right. Unfortunately I lack the experience required to know what I am listening to!