Easel now includes settings for MDF!

Continuing the discussion from Which "material" should I use for MDF?:

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Looks good, Paul. Except the grain is the wrong direction! :smiling_imp:

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Hey wait a minute MDF doesn’t have grain it’s a composite?!

Very nice! Can we get some settings for Oak and Pine as well, given that they’re pretty much the most common woods at the hardware store? :smile:

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@TaitLeswing is our master of settings. Care to oblige the cat man?

and poplar I figure by the time i get the funds together to order mine everything under the sun will be added and cant wait for the possibilities.

Yes indeed PINE, POPLAR, and OAK would be very good indeed and wood be very commonly used.

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My image looks more like OSB than MDF…odd.

Nah…here’s OSB:

Most MDF just looks like a gray blob. At least these guys gave it some character! :wink:

Ah, agreed on the Poplar, that’d be another very good one to have, given how widely available it is.

I can’t zoom my preview, but from this view – it looks about the same.

MDF that is used for my workbench looks more like the “birch” image than this…

THIS IS MDF!

Any recommendations for the best bit for clean cuts in MDF? I’ve been experimenting with mixed results.

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Have you tried a normal 2-flute flat-bottomed router bit? I don’t usually work with termite barf, but when I’ve had to in the past I’ve always gotten very clean cuts just routing at max speed with a normal rabbeting bit.

I have but it generates a lot of jagged edges at the top of the cut. However, it can be cleaned up with a little sanding.

I’ve been getting good cuts in MDF using single and double flute 1/8" end mills at 8,000 and 10,000 rpm and anywhere from 5ipm to 30ipm. At first, that wasn’t the case, though. One thing I discovered was my spindle was spinning the opposite direction that It should have been. After wiring as per directions, I assumed the bit would be spinning the right direction. When I finally watched the spindle spin down, I found it was not. Being a DC spindle, all I had to do was flip the motor leads and I was in business. Bits are made to spin counter-clockwise as you face the bit; it’ll cut if spinning clockwise but it won’t be pretty.

Don’t you hate it when that happens? :laughing:

Continuing the discussion from Easel now includes settings for MDF!:

Yeah, for sure! I felt I should own up to it so it might help someone else.

I’ve used routers, both handheld and in tables, for many years. All were AC and spun one direction. My bad that I didn’t check my DC spindle at installation!!! :flushed:

@SeanKeplinger Were you able to find a solution? I am experiencing some similar issues. I’ve been using a spiral bit, but thinking about switching to a two flute straight bit.

I hadn’t thought of this – so looking at the machine, your spindle should be running left to right?