Starter Kit of Bits?

[stargategfx]

My new Bot is to be shipped out next week.
What do you guys suggest as a good starter kit of bits for a Colombo spindle, working primarily with foams, mdf and acrylic and for flattening the table?

[mrdovey]

Boyd...

Since buying my 'Bot I've most used 1/2", 1/4", and 1/8" solid carbide up-spiral bits. I've developed a definite personal preference for Onsrud and Whiteside carbide bits.

I used the 1/2" up-spiral to true the surface of my MDF table top. A wider bit would have made the job go faster; but I'm pleased with the result.

I have 1/2", 3/8", 1/4", and 1/8" ER-25 collets. BTW, Enco has fairly good prices on the ER-25 collets and collet nuts.

Nearly all of my work has been with pine/fir/spruce boards (although I've also used my 'Bot for plywood and polycarbonate sheets).

Morris

[elcruisr]

Boyd,
I'm with Morris on the Onsrud. A call into them should help you with cutter selection and may result in a visit from one of their reps. They also have a nice 1.25" fly cutter for dressing spoil boards.

We use up spirals, down spirals, straights and tons of compression spirals. Everything from 3/32 to 1/2. It really depends on the job and required finish.

We have used several different collets and have settled on the ones we buy from Onsrud. They are lasting longer than most of the others we've bought. Make sure you buy high precision collets to keep runout to a minimum.

Since there are foam bits, plastics bits, and wood bits try a few of each to begin experimenting. You'll develop some preferences pretty soon. We use mostly 3/8 bits unless we need small dados of bigger tooling for heavier work.

Eric

[gerald_d]

Starter bits? The very cheapest you can find, because you are bound to break the first one or two by doing something silly.