I had the two bits that came with xcarve, one broke the other I’ve lost. there are many in inventables store and as a new cnc user i’m confused. what are the best bits on a budget if you needed them for a broad range of projects? I have a 611 dewalt router, I assume also I can just get these bits at a hardware store? Should I get the four sizes that easel has as stock choices? Thx!
What do you plan to cut ? Material ? Detailed carvings, or just cutting out parts ?
The CNCRouterTips podcast just discussed the best starter bits.
He provided links to the suggested bits on Amazon
I would like to get started trying to cut out flat pack furniture and 3d models, but also be able to cut out detailed projects.
Flat pack furniture you are going to want a down cut bit. Great for plywood and MDF.
You can get a 1/4" down cut router bit at the local hardware store
For even better results you want a compression bit. (up cut on the tip, down cut on the rest) But you will want to have you machine tuned and you CNC skills refined to get best results from that as you need to get the cut depths just right of best effect.
First cut deep enough so that the top is being cut by the down cut area and on the final pass the bottom is being cut by the up cut area.
For 3d I use a 1/8" ball nose bit as my go to. I have a 1/16" but try to avoid using it as it as it is fragile and larger prints take forever. So I try to adjust my model or project to work with the 1/8" as much as possible
Finally a good V bit. V Carving makes text look awesome 