Carbide.

[mzayd3]

Another thread got me to thinking about tooling. I have hardly any carbide tooling for machining. On the other hand, almost everything I have for woodworking is carbide tipped. I find it odd that I have no issue using hss for steel and the like but can't stand the thought of it for woodworking. Anyone else have similar feelings? I almost think I was brainwashed...


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[RJSakowski]

I think that the trend toward carbide for woodworking is due to minerals naturally found in wood tend to dull HSS and carbide holds up much longer. It is particularly true for some of the man made materials. Less time sharpening means more time woodworking.

Bob

 

[wrmiller]

I listened to the talk about carbide vs. HSS, and early on used HSS because that's what everyone said to use. Problem is, I'm more prone to follow my own experience rather than someone's opinion. So I started experimenting. The end result is I've been using strictly carbide for years now and won't be going back any time soon. But then there may come a time when I can't afford carbide. Who knows.

 

[JimDawson]

I use carbide almost exclusively in ''wood'' working. Wood in this case being man made materials. HSS may be better for fine work in natural wood with hand tools. But for high speed CNC equipment, and hand routers, carbide tipped or solid carbide is the way to go. Modern fine grain carbide bits are razor sharp, and have great edge life. The down side is that the good ones are not cheap. The Diablo bits from Home Depot are good utility bits, and I use them on wood and aluminum on the mill as well as in the router.

 

[mzayd3]

I guess I gravitated towards carbide router bits because they included a ball bearing instead of a pilot bearing. It slowly just became the norm and I never questioned it until a little bit ago.


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[rick9345]

"Wood in this case being man made materials"?????
Please explain.

 

[chips&more]

Not even Carbide will hold up to some of the woods that I have worked with.

 

[JimDawson]

"Wood in this case being man made materials"?????
Please explain.

Materials like plywood, MDF, partical board, and similar. As opposed to natural wood.

 

[rick9345]

Ahhhhh!!!!1

 

[coolidge]

Not even Carbide will hold up to some of the woods that I have worked with.

Carbide vs Lignum Vitae = smoke filled shop