Single flute carbide cutters

[luke11cnc]

i tried to watch the first two video's but they are private ??

so I can't view them

James

[luke11cnc]

I can now view it thank you

cool machine you have there

James

[luke11cnc]

I have ordered some today ready for when I'm up and running

James

[Karl]

OK, let's just recap here. Are single flute cutters to be preferred over 2 flute (or more) cutters when it comes to working with hard woods such as oak?

We mostly do detailed (depth 5-10mm) v-carving and flat bottom clearance in small areas and therefore the feed rate rarely seems to get up to max' rate because of the stepper motor acceleration and de-acceleration times; feed rate typically 300-500mm/min.

[packmansdaddy]

Hi Karl,

I am certainly no expert on cutters, just an ordinary user. I do earn a bit of money cutting stuff, mainly aluminium but also wood, MDF and plastics. I bought this single flute cutter because of its "good looks" and when I actually tried it (many weeks later) I was stunned about its performance.
As I take a lot of knowledge from the forum I thought I give a bit of info back as I am sure that some will profit using these cutters. As mentioned, I now can easily cut aluminium on my home made router as before, with whatever I tried, the results were not impressive.
You will have to try one for your application to see how it works. I made a nice holder for my collets in a "hardish" Australian timber, some kind of a redwood. And it worked fantastic.

I buy these direct in China as I visit there quite often
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/9030...og=minisite_CP
but am not sure if they sell direct to outside China or what is the minimum quantity. There are also a few shops with the product on EBay and yes, there are high quality ones for a lot more money too. I regard the cheap ones as throw away's but never actually did throw one away yet. So far I made around 200 liters of chips with just a 4mm and a 6mm one.

I published the video's as I realized that I make big words and needed to back it up. I will make another one cutting off a 1/2" aluminium plate with a 6mm cutter in one go at 100mm/min (4"/min). All I can say is that I could not do this with any other cutter I have tried and I paid top dollars for famous brands. Not even close. Just give them a go and I am confident it will work just fine or you can use it for something else.

[packmansdaddy]

Added one more video, cutting 10mm (3/8) aluminium bar stock with 6mm cutter at 100mm/min (4"/min). I do not want to risk to break the cutter so I cut quite slow. Did cut some parts in 1/2" aluminium in one go at 4"/min, no problem at all. Surfacing leaves a beautiful texture because of the center dome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZVT8ORdQu0

I have excellent results in acrylic, MDF and ply. Just finished my new vacuum table for my small router (2'x3') and will try to make a video with the different materials.

[packmansdaddy]

just added a small video cutting 12mm ply.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1QcqRAIDl4

This is the same cutter as I used to cut aluminium on my Syil X6. The finish is amazingly clean despite the high cutting speed. I usually do not cut this fast, only about half the speed you see on the video.

[cooliced]

This discussion has got me very interested.

I have a sherline mill, ive currently got hss 4 flute roughing end mill and i can safely goto 0.3 DOC at 350 mm/min. so cutting ally takes forever and the finish is shit tbh...

Do you think a single flute carbide cutter will be good for me??

Edit: i use WD40

[JAZZCNC]

This discussion has got me very interested.

I have a sherline mill, ive currently got hss 4 flute roughing end mill and i can safely goto 0.3 DOC at 350 mm/min. so cutting ally takes forever and the finish is shit tbh...

Do you think a single flute carbide cutter will be good for me??

Edit: i use WD40

Yes they will perform far better in Ali than 4Flute hogger. . . . Also don't be afraid to go higher on the FR and DOC.
Depending on Max spindle speed you should easily double those figures.! (If machines upto it.?). . . Chipload is the key to cutting Ali (And most other materials) send the heat away with the chip and you'll be surprised just how deep and fast you can cut in Ali.!
Most of my work is cutting Ali and find blown air to clear chips mixed with the odd squirt of WD40 type fluid works best.

[cooliced]

my spindle is 2700rpm max

if thats the case i will buy some.

will it give better finish to the work too?