Continuing the discussion from 1/4" HSS bit discolored after "long" MDF job:
Hardware store showed me this the other day:
SOLID CARBIDE UP & DOWNCUT SPIRAL BITS from CMT
TECHNICAL FEATURES:
-Premium quality HWM.
-1+1 spiral cutting edges (Z1+1).
-2+2 spiral cutting edges (Z2+2).
-Provide an excellent finish on both the upper and the lower side of the workpiece.
Supposed to give excellent finish on both top and bottom edges.
hey if you plunge fast enough you will not have this problem I routinely plunge at 80-120ipm straight into the material on my big machine and I used to do it at around 40 or so on the x-carve they will make a clean entry cut
but I do suggest that you lead into the cut path
oh yes I use a coated compression tool to cut things like this
they can be used anywhere in the material not just the edge and I would just suggest that you lead into the cut just a little bit
@RobertCanning
yeah but that all depends on the upcut length on the compression tool a small .125" compression has a very short upcut length that could be used on the x-carve we are talking like .125" plunge on the first pass and even the 1/4" compression that I use alot of only have a upcut length of .188" so thats all i really need to plunge down to get a clean top side finish
I think the key is to look for a mortise style compression tool as those typically have a shorter upcut length because they are also designed to mortise/dado along with full depth cuts
recommended perhaps
totally doable with the proper set up with no ill effects to machine …you bet
all I am saying is if you need a good top and bottom finish on the x-carve that is the tool to use
I dont want to start a argument lol
but I really disagree Phil
especially when you use the 6100 series of these tools
please keep in mind though I ran a X-carve for along time
I started on the x-carve that is how I got into the cnc machines
I still have my x-carve its just a laser now
but I learned lots of things on how to run tools when all I had was the x-carve and a new user
most of the things that I say are relevant to the x-carve from my own experience I just like to sometimes add things about my bigger machine but your right about the forum I always try and keep that in mind
well I completely understand as I rode for 10 years before I acutally got the license and when I took the class I did learn things
that being said though if you apply that logic to everything then who is really ever right? nobody would ever be
because if the guy who has been doing it all his life is not right
and
the guy that does it by the book is not right
then who is right
like most anything I think skills are art forms it takes a unique perspective to be able to do a good job and as always what works for 1 person may not work for the next
all we can do is make suggestions
but constructive arguments are always a good thing to
extra butter for me!! 
yeah no I think your right
and oh yeah so many posts that people have just started to post the link for the calibration post instead of answer the question lol
but idk here is a thought perhaps
I am just not sure that a new user would buy a compression spiral due to the cost of them vs. other tools
I think that people with at least a little seat time would come across a topic about compression tools because topics on them are a little harder to find
and I guess I just see alot of people wasting money on cheap/improper use of there tools and these tools are designed to be run harder and faster even within limits on the x-carve
I know when I was learning I cant tell you the number of hss bits I went through before I actually did the research and found out that you should only use carbide in composite woods
but I learned those things by lots of trial and error plus reading thing people post about all sorts of tools
lol I even still bug my tool dealer all the time picking his brain on how to do things different to produce a better result
I just want to help people with there tools as much as I can and usually things can be fixed by running them better
I resemble that remark. As soon as I got it assembled I was carving and shortly after I was looking up why I was missing steps.
I turned up the pots, but my bed is still uneven, I haven’t squared the Y axis, and I haven’t even considered looking at my Z axis perpendicular.
But this doesn’t have very much to do with compression bits… which I didn’t know they were called before I made this op.
yeah but at least you have identified all the issues you think might be causing issues right?
idk its hard for small business owners to do alot of research on a topic when the job just needs to get done
I have a upcoming job that is going to use some 200.00 a sheet plywood material and just the research alone to make sure I dont screw it up is daunting but it needs to be done just hard when your trying to make money sometimes
sometimes you just have to rely on past experiences and dive into it and learn how to make a quailty product very quickly
note though I use small pieces of material to run tests on before I dive into a customer bought material lol
oh yeah lol see like (it my fault) but I pretty much quit my day job and bought the x-carve and started to try making money quickly to see if I could make a business of it
at times I wish I had more of a background in cnc machines but I had never even touched one until I bought my first one I like the challenge of learning quickly though sometimes
P.S. I never did make any real money with my x-carve lol (mostly my fault though lol I just dont like doing the art craft stuff)
