more stupid questions bits and end mills.

[BarryB]

Let me preface by saying I'm a newbie at this, so I expect to get struck with a book, but still let me ask.  Now that I've got the chuck/collet thing in order, the next step is getting a collection of cutting tools.  Can you guys recommend what to use to cut mainly hardwood, but sometimes soft metal like aluminum and brass?  Can you use a brass bit for wood?  Do you need both a roughing bit, and a finishing bit for each collet size?

Here is where I plan on ordering, not sure if you guys have seen their site yet.  The prices seem decent and great selection:

http://stegmantoolcompany.thomasnet.com/category/special-cutting-tools?

Barry

[RICH]

I used to use 4 flute end mills on woods, like walnut, bambinga, ebony ( watch out for stone  in the ebony ), and other harwoods in the mill. I would recomend cobalt over HHS as you will be running at high speeds. You can use the same end mills for Al and brass. Frankly, the carbide router cutters would be better for wood.
I am am sure the gantry / router table guys will chime in with better advice.
RICH

[Sam]

They do make a special end mill for wood, but I do believe they cost a premium. Here's a couple links Gerry posted a while back.
http://www.vortextool.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=2
https://www.onsrud.com/xdoc/wood
I never achieved anything close to a good result using anything other than carbide tools. Keep in mind, you need to feed very fast for a 4 flute compared to a 2 flute, and 2 flutes give you allot more room for chips to extract.

Do you need both a roughing bit, and a finishing bit for each collet size?

I always used just a finishing bit for wood.
I use the same carbide cutters for both wood and metal.

[Chaoticone]

Barry, there are some suppliers listed in the links section too (Tab under the search box).  If you call a reputable one I'm sure thaey can give a ton of good advise and probably have a lot of guidlines posted on their sites. A good friend has told me one of the suppliers said the optimal wear point is found by creeping up your feed until you break the bit and then back off 10%. This will cost you a bit to find out but in a long run it may be worth the sacrafice. He has used that info. and gotten very good results with tool wear. I have never seen a feed/speed chart or formula for wood but there easy to find for metals. You can use a speed/feed calculator here.  http://precisionchaos1.com/support.htm   

Brett

[Tweakie.CNC]

I think everybody has already covered this well.
However, to add my twopence worth, I have found that the single flute cutters are excellent for wood and plastic because they clear the cuttings so quickly but they are not good for metal so I think you will have to buy a few different types of cutter and see how you get on with each type.

Tweakie.

[ger21]

Your cheapest option when starting out is to use carbide tipped router bits. They're much cheaper than solid carbide spirals, and will still give very good results. A bonus is that they can be sharpened for about $5. I buy a lot of bits from www.eagleamerica.com.

[BarryB]

thanks, you guys have given me a lot to consider.  I'll order the bits this weekend.

Barry

[bowber]

I have both a mill and a router. The mill is used for metals and I try to use carbide milling cutters, usually 2 flute.
On the router I cut plastics and wood, on the plastics I use single flute carbide from ITC, they wi resharpen them as well.
On woods I use tipped carbide router bits but make sure they are sharp.

For plastics and wood you'll need to have fast feeds, with a 3mm single flute on cast acryic I cut at around 800mm/min but thats still slow.
Wood I take a little slower but only because my little router would start complaining 

Steve

[gfroe123]

I have found that center cutting 3 or 4 flutebit for plunge applications work best.Carbide cutters are more expensive however you get the bang for the buck with bit life. A single flute straight bit still cuts wood the best as chips are removed quickly. Ball nose bits preform well in carving applications. My experiences are from trial and error with differant materials. I have been machining both aluminum and wood. Pay attention to depth of cut. Some materials also require specific router or spindle speed. Plasitic and aluminum so far.