Best 1/8" bit

Can anyone point me in the right direction on a good 1/8" bit for cutting MDF? I bought a 3 pack from Harbor Freight and was cutting the guitar pick holder project in Easel and it did not cut clean at all. I broke the one I bought with the Xcarve. Are there any good 1/4" shank ones that will cut through 3/4" stock? I bought one of these from Sears but the cutting length isn’t long enough.

Thanks for any help.

How deep was your cut? MDF generally cuts like butter.

Hi,

have a look at the tools flutes. If the flutes are large they are well suited for wood (and bad for hard materials) - if they are small they are bad for wood - but good for harder materials.

Usually 1/8" bits with 1/4" shanks are designed for harder materials and have small flutes.

Christian

I generally use the 1/8" upcut from Inventables and they work great. I had tried to find some elsewhere that had the same cutting length (0.87") since I was cutting a lot of 3/4" MDF and these were the only ones I could find. I starting using the straight flute 1/8" that comes in the starter pack last night though and really liked the results.

https://www.inventables.com/technologies/solid-carbide-single-flute-upcut-end-mill-10-pack

https://www.inventables.com/technologies/solid-carbide-2-flute-straight-end-mill-10-pack

Good luck!

One cut was all the way through and the other was a pocket cut. Look in the projects section of Easel and it was the guitar pick holder project.

Search 1/8" (.1250") 2 FLUTE CARBIDE ENDMILLS on ebay. (drillman)
I use these all the time. I drill a hole a little smaller than the red ring around the bit. Take a hammer and gently tap on the blunt end of the bit to take the red ring off. 80in/min .063 deep per pass.

drillman1 is definitely a good place to get end mills. That being said, I can pretty much ditto all of what @Rusty said… the 1/8" single flute upcut is my go to bit and the straight 2 flute 1/8" bit leaves clean cuts in MDF. The 10 packs of these two bits are a great buy and with the right feeds/speeds and the right care they will last you a long time.

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Thanks Guys, I actually ordered both of the 10 packs that Rusty recommended.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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Awesome, good luck! I need to order the straight flute pack as I only have one of those bits and I’m starting to use it a lot. I bought the spiral upcut pack awhile ago and broke at least 2! All stupid mistakes made by me, but that’s what happens when you’re learning!

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So far, my favourite is my Onsrud O-flute single-flute downcut spiral, I think. The 1/8" one is razor sharp, and works great.

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