Cutting solid maple

[toddmaci]

I am cutting solid maple with a 1/4 compression bit. .38 a pass 3ips. The finish I am getting is rather rough. Could anyone suggest some help? It is being held down by screws and tabs. spindle at 12000rpm

Thanks,

Todd

[Gary Campbell]

Todd...
Try a single O flute at same or less RPM and adjust your feed up and/or down to get the desired finish.
Gary

[toddmaci]

Thanks Gary.

[knight_toolworks]

I cut hardwoods at 1.5" max and I have played with rpms it does not matter much but to keep noise down I have been cutting at 8k.
a downcut seems to work the best on most solid woods. with a compression bit it is designed to pretty much cut through in one pass or most of the way through in one pass.

[ed_lang]

When I moved from a .25" cutter to a .375" cutter everything about the noise, speed and cut quality improved.

If possible, make the change. .25" cutters are evil and flexible.

[knight_toolworks]

yes and 1/2" is even better but sometimes you have to use a 1/4"

[beacon14]

Compression cutters are designed for cutting 2-sided veneered plywood and melamine and are more expensive than bits that will give you a better finish on solid wood. I usually use a downcut spiral bit for clean cuts in hardwoods.

[tkovacs]

downcut spiral is my choice too. Bigger is better.

[curtiss]

.....When I moved from a .25" cutter to a .375" cutter everything about the noise, speed and cut quality improved.

Ed, does the .375 cutter have a 1/2 shank ?
Part # ?

thanx

[knight_toolworks]

just get a 3/8" collet.

[toddmaci]

Thanks all for the posts.

Todd

[toddmaci]

I have changed to a single flute bit and reduced the feed rate to 1 ips. I am happy with the finish but in a tight radius that runs with the grain I get some rip out. I was thinking of reducing the cut per pass to .25 rather than .38 per pass. Any suggestion?
Thanks,

Todd

[knight_toolworks]

it's not depth that causes it. a climb cut may eliminate it or a downcut will do the job.

[toddmaci]

Steve,
By using the climb vs conventional doesn't that just transfer the rip out to the other side of the piece. Can I split the tool path to have climb on one side and coventional on the other?

[knight_toolworks]

not usually. but you never really know till you try it. but if I have an issue with tearout a climb cut can help. but using a downcut bit is easier for the most part.

[knight_toolworks]

here is the cuts I get with a downcut. the same with purpleheart. though some jatoba I had a bit of tearout at the bottom of the cuts.

6904

[toddmaci]

Steve, Thanks for the reply. I tried the climb cut and it worked very well. I still have some slight blemishes in the finish but was thinking I could cheat and oversize the bit by .06 and do a clean up pass with the bit as actual size.

Todd