MDF and alu sandwich router

[Tom]

Hey Kip,

Yeah I'd love a bandsaw!
I made the X carriages today (probably put pics up tomorrow). Funnily enough the hacksawing (5 cuts) took half an hour, and the pillar drilling took most of the rest of the day! (44 holes centred, 4mm pilot, then 8mm final size) The end result looks tidy, but blimey that's a lot of holes.

Some good came of it though - I calculated the proper RPMs for drilling steel at different bit diameters. It turns out I've been drilling steel far too slowly for the last couple of years! It's like butter at the right speed (with some cutting fluid)...

I've attached the spreadsheet I made just in case anyone finds it useful. The steel figures seem about right, but not tested alu or SS yet.