I’ve used my 1/4" downcut bit on the first batch of cabinets, and it did fine. But, as expected, the bottom edge of the cuts is not as clean as the top edge.
I was debating picking up a 1/4" compression bit, but I’m pretty sure this would be bad for drilling out the pin holes.
I tried setting up the downcut bit as the roughing pass, and the compression bit as the finish pass, but Easel didn’t use the 1/4" bit for anything (just the door hinge pockets).
So my question is, if you were making a lot of cabinets, would you:
- Stick with the downcut bit, and just deal with hand-finishing the rougher edges
- Use the compression bit (or is that going to overheat or break doing the holes?)
- Manually set up a 2-pass carve, with the holes, dados, and pockets using the downcut bit, followed by a second pass with the compression bit.
I think after writing that out, I’d stick with #1, since the hand-finishing will probably take less time than manually setting up dozens of cuts. But I’m still curious what other folks are doing.
I’ve tried a different bits…expensive and cheap ones…I’ve recently had good luck with this inexpensive bit, it’s an Up and Down cut compression combo bit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BGR5D4JL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I was skeptical, but it leaves a clean enough edge where I can take it right to edgebander without a problem. Over the last two weeks I’ve cut two full kitchens and 40 little christmas trees with it, and it’s just starting to dull. Just my experinece!
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That’s great to hear! I just spent all day yesterday sanding back edges while the CNC ran, but it sounds like you know what you’re doing.
Do you have recommendation on speeds & feeds?
Thank you for the bit advice, @BrianLarzelere!
I did pick up that bit. It took a few tries to get a clean cut, but overall I’m pretty happy. I’m still experiencing some burning—especially with shelf-pin holes, and it sounds even more like a demon stubbing it’s toe than the downcut bit, but it’s worth it because I think it’s saving me a lot of time.
My final settings are as follows:
| Property |
Setting |
|
| Feed Rate |
160 |
in/min |
| Plunge Rate |
24 |
in/min |
| Depth per pass |
.25 |
in |
| Spindle Speed |
16000 |
rpm |
| Plunge |
VERTICAL |
|
The last part is important, otherwise there’s fuzzies on the top edge of every cut. By not plunging, the upcut portion never really cuts the top edge.
I’m not entirely sure I’ve got the best overall settings, especially because the bit sound is so bad and the holes occasionally burn, but overall I think this is still an improvement.
