Using a HSS 1/2 end mill to side cut a piece of 9/16th square timber to a L section

You will get much better results from carbide tipped woodworking cutters than from hss metal cutters. I'm not familiar with ramen, but the silicates in teak that repel wood eating critters are very abrasive and eat hss alive. Metal cutting tools are blunter so they have the strength at the edge to push through hard material. Wood cutters have more acute edges to slice softer wood.
When wood is run past a cutter head, it works best to support one side and one edge with firm surfaces and to have some sort of resilient pressure on the other side and edge to suppress chatter. Shop made feather boards are the classic example. The solid fixture you describe will either bind or chatter.
 
I don't know if you can rig it on a lathe, but a slitting saw and two passes would be far more comfortable. You could conventional mill it, and not have to worry about deadly chatter, just push it through.
 
TQA222 said:
I will have a mini lathe with a collet chuck to hold a 1/2 inch 2 flute end mill. I will also have a vertical slide. I will make a fixture that is 9/16th square on entry and L shaped on exit with space for the cutter to allow me to push the timber through which I will mount on the slide.

This is a one off operation and I will need to process about 25 ft of timber plus some circular pieces. Mabe 30 ft of cutting altogether.

The end mill will be new.

Should this work?

Is there a wood cutting tool that I can hold in the lathe [ 3/8th collet ] that will be much better? I am not too concerned about the finish as the machined side will not be on show.

I realise that whatever cutter I use I will generating a lot of sawdust. I do have a small shop vac and I will rig it up to collect as much sawdust as possible from the cut.

I know if I had a Home Depot on tap I could get a ready made moulding but the local stores in Grenada in the Eastern Caribbean don't stock it. The local Pirates of the Caribbean [ marine store ] can get it in teak but 25 ft will cost 600 $ US. I can get the 9/16th in a fine grain knot free timber which might be ramen. for a small fraction of that.
Click to expand...

I have found that carbide router bits work better than HSS end mills on wood. Whether its insufficient clearance for the end mill or abrasive minerals in the wood dulling the end mill, or both.

I had a cabinet project where I had to route a 2" thick piece, about 50" long and didn't have a router bit that could make a 2" cut so I used a 1/2" end mill. The wood was burnt and the end mill was fairly well trashed for metal cutting after that. I was using a router and running at a lower rpm may have made a difference. I have had similar experiences milling engineered flooring on the mill. The router bit outperformed a carbide end mill.

Router bits are typically less expensive than end mills anyway.

As to climb or conventional cutting wood, I always use conventional cutting. If there is a concern about splintering or poor surface finish on the work, it could be done in two passes. The first pass would leave about 1/16" on either cut face for the second pass to clean up. Your jig could easily modified to accommodate the two passes.
 
OK Carbide router bit is on the purchase list and I will plan on multiple cuts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top