Tapered bits

[les_linton]

I have been doing some complex floor inlays and have been having issues with everything fitting without some hand work and would like to try using a tapered cutter.

I know that a lot of my issues come from using different exotic wood combinations, so I am looking at this as an alternative.

I have been using 1/8", 1/16" cutters from Think & Tinker/Precise Cut out of CO with great success, but they do not have tapered bits.

Anyone know of a source for tapered cutters in this size. I am looking for something in the 2 to 5 degree range with the length of cut 3/8 to 1/2 inch.

Any sources??

[billp]

Les,
www.mscdirect.com (http://www.mscdirect.com)
They have more tapered bits than anyone I've seen so far...
Just remember, they will be calling them "end mills".

[les_linton]

Thanks Bill. They do have them and they are proud of them. I will order a couple anyway to try them out and if it works, well then I'm sure they will be worth every penny.

Thanks again,

Les

[olecrafty]

I have been using SGS tapered end mills for years. Remember to get the coated endmills they last 3 to 5 times longer for about an extra 3 to 5 bucks.
Kaiwa
olecrafty@charter.net (mailto:olecrafty@charter.net)

[daniel]

Hey Guys,
I've been making some Lithopanes out of Acrylic and corian. I'm running the bit between 10,000 and 15,000 rpm at 1.7 inches per second(100IPM)
I'm wondering about how many hours of use should I get out of a new bit?

It is the 1.0 degree tapered bit with the 1/8 inch ball nose.

[billp]

Daniel,
I have never worn one of those bits out in those materials. While Corian is more abrasive than the acrylic it's still not nearly as bad as some of the composites such as Extira or MDF...I usually run acrylic at 10,000 and between 10-13,000rpm for the Corian.If you have cleared the first few passes, you can bump the speeds up quite a bit as you will be cutting in "clear air" at that point.