The best keyhole bit money can buy!

Thought I would share a high end keyhole bit that I had to buy for a job its not super high end but its Italian made so its got to be good lol

I noticed that you were talking with your hands!! LOL…
Seriously, I’m also looking for a good keyhole bit.

you have a part number?

oh yeah lol that tool is solid carbide (well most of it)

they do make a 1/4 shank version for the x-carve also as that one is a 1/2" shank

but just make sure that you pre-mill the entry hole and the slot with a properly sized endmill

so for that tool you also need to buy a 3/16" end mill sdo you can do all your roughing work before that tool is used

Not a great bit, but I have been using this one:

yeah see I was using carbide tips like that and I just kept breaking them at the small diameter due them being steal

so far with this solid carbide one I have been able to slot at over 80ipm with no issues (big machine speeds but I am sure that with pre mill the x-carve could do the same)

I don’t mill a hole first…I just plunge and wiggle the bit bit up…lol

teach me your ways lol cause I have broken 8 of those tipped ones so far doing that

I wish I didnt have to pre mill everything

I plunge very slowly…usually at 8 ipm…then I only cut at 20 ipm with this bit…move 0.125", then back 0.125, move 0.25 then back 0.125…I go a total of 0.75"

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I’ve done a few dozen with this bit in maple, cherry, oak and MDF.

I took the one from here on the forum and edited it by hand…so I just load the code and run it when I need it.

That one has a nice price, no doubt. I hate when I break an expensive bit, but it still happens, and I’ve been doing this for a while…I built my first machine in 2009 and I still break things.

I’ve been switching over to CMT entirely. I’ve been really impressed with everything I have used of theres compared with Amana and Onsrud. I just used my CMT keyhole bit this morning in hard maple. I’ve never pre-drilled and never had a problem. I plunged at 40 and cut at 30, or there abouts- no problem. I love the keyhole tool in VCarve. I just need to find a way to repeat with my controller so that it doesn’t keep measuring the bit between pieces.

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That’s why I just use a set g-code file for keyholes. I position the x-y over my mark and probe the z-axis and hit go. Nice and quick.

And that is a nice clean keyhole.

@ErikJenkins

hmm see maybe that was my problem

see it started out at around 8 or 10 ipm but I was trying to power all the way through I never hand edited gcode to take it in steps

what rpm are you guys turning these things at?

I just can not find chipload info anywhere for these all I have gotten so far was .005" at 12000rpm but I am assuming you are running them at 16000 with the dewalt?

I am running with the dewalt on 1, so about 16k rpm.

so when I was trying to run this on my bigger machine with those bits I kept breaking them and it was because of chatter

now granite I have never cut a keyhole on the x-carve but do you think that the x-carve being less rigid is why you are able to do it and I can’t

just curious cause I got to tell you this whole keyhole slot adventure has been quite frustrating to say the least

@PhilJohnson

when it is pecking does it clear all of the chips in between every peck?

@PhilJohnson

hmm yeah maybe I need to try that cause I even tried air cooling the tool with 90 psi of air and the tools where still breaking after 6-7 keyhole slots

I am working in red oak

This is my machine

@ErikJenkins it’s not the code it’s the automatic tool measuring device on my machine. It measures the bit before each cut. I’m sure there’s an easy solution but I haven’t looked into very seriously yet.

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