Easel now includes settings for MDF!

@pike_lake, no I haven’t found a solution yet. Lately I’ve been having weird issues with my 24v spindle. At times it refuses to start up and now when it does start, it runs at a very low RPM. Not sure what’s going on.

If you stand on a chair and look down at the spindle, it should be moving clockwise just like a drill.

@SeanKeplinger I’ve been doing some research and found this. The X-Carve kit did not come with a down-cut bit, but I’m thinking about buying one to test it since I will be cutting a lot of plywood:

Flute geometry

Some projects may benefit from other types of flute geometry. Contour cutting MDF or plywood sheets would benefit from down-cut spirals as the tool would push the material against the CNC machine table as it cuts rather than lift it.

Resource: CNC Milling: Introduction to cutting tools | wikimal

Sounds promising. Does Inventables sell a downcut bit separately?

Not that I could find online or in their print catalog. But maybe if the team was contacted directly, they could make a rec from their vendor.

I picked up a Freud 1/8" downspiral solid carbide router bit, just for the purpose, from my local hardware store. :smile:

@DanBrown How did that work for you? I posted a while back asking the difference between spindle bits and router bits and haven’t got a response. Are they one in the same?

There is really no such thing as a “spindle bit”
There are router bits.They are made for wood. You can also use them on aluminum or brass if you take it real easy with very light cuts, aren’t too concerned about surface appearance, and you’re not afraid to throw a bit away after using it just once.

There are end mills. Endmills are mde for metal. There are generic end mills that will cut anything in a plain old sorta way. They will cut wood. There are endmills with flutes that are configured to cut really good on aluminum, or non-ferrous metals, or stainless or unobtainium or ???.

There are v-bits for engraving that will scratch a deep line in a surface, but won’t cut a groove through warm pudding.

There are drill bits.

If it fits in the spindle, and it is made to cut the material you want to cut then you can use it.

Joe is correct! Bearing in mind that in wood that bit would commonly be used for cuts exceeding a quarter-inch deep, with a hand-held tool, and with a far more powerful motor. Using the same bit with the X-Carve, running a nice, controlled feedrate will put a whole lot less stress on the bit than a freehand router job could!

I’ve used it already in my 1.5hp router, with a three-eighths depth cut in oak to set some glass in a picture frame I was building, and it went through it like butter.

For all intents and purposes here, there are no differences. If you were machining metal, plastics, etc, then there are a number of factors to consider including the geometry of the bit, coating, flute depth and angle, etc. Router bits, largely, are made for wood only. They CAN work for other materials, but you need to approach it with caution. But, as long as you’re working in wood, they’re ideal. :smile:

I think part of the difference isn’t just the power, it’s the rpm. My woodworking routers (all Bosch 1617 series) top out at 35,000 but the X-Carve is much slower. (stock 24V spindle = 12,000? I gave up on figuring out the data being passed around here so I’ll put a laser tach to it when it arrives.) That will be very noticeable with the smaller diameter bits. Switching from a 2-flute bit to a 4-flute will gain some of that surface speed back.

Good point, although that’s mostly going to be a chip-load calculation, I’d think, wouldn’t it? Your RPM is slower, so you just need to cut your feed proportionately to keep the same chip load per tooth… Heating is a problem, of course, but with the lower RPM, probably not as critical as it would be at really high RPMs. Just kind of pondering, I’ll be interested in seeing how it does tach out!

@DanBrown @JoeMeyer Gotta love these forums. This is very helpful and has saved me an incredible amount of time. Thank you!

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Answering myself here - I measured 15,733 rpm (no load) with the included 24V power supply.

I’m late replying, and I don’t have that bad of edges with MDF (I typically use 1/8" diamond cuts), but have you given any though to covering your workpiece with some thin masking tape before cutting? You have to account for it when you zero your Z, but it’s always helped with I do manual routing.

Since I first posted this message, I’ve upgraded to a Dewalt 611 instead of the standard 24V spindle. Big difference on cut quallity! For anything 1/4" and thinner, I used a 1/16" fishtail bit and get some really nice and clean cuts in MDF.

That explains why my MDF cuts don’t look like yours (I’ve been on a 611 for the last year, along with a SuperPID I’m too afraid to hook up, and a manual router speed controller until I get some courage again)