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end mill vs: spiral router

3K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  nobuckle 
#1 ·
end mill vs: spiral router

can anyone tell me if there is a difference between an end mill for metal and a spiral router bit ?
 
#2 ·
Rick, there are different styles of endmills that would be used on metals like the among of flute the helix twist and the metals that they are made of. If you are going to use them on wood you should use a 2 flute mill and depending on your budget high speed steel (hss) is cheaper than carbide. I use them on plywood for dados and have used them on some hardwoods for cleaning up tenons. Hope this helps. I also do some machining at my job.
 
#3 ·
I use endmills all the time. I especially like them for making mortises. Also, you can find a good selection of endmills in both HSS and Carbide at good prices from ebay. I have never had a problem with them. Just make sure that you have router collets that fit the endmills. Two flute bits are the best as they remove the wood chips better than 3 or 4 flute endmills. I never had a problem with the high speed.
 
#4 ·
I used a 4 flute endmill with bad results. I would second the 2 flute recommendation. I have a variable speed router and was careful to match the recommended speeds.
 
#6 ·
Here are my thoughts;

!!

If I were not familiar with HSS end mills I probably wouldn't do this. But, because of years of experience with end mills, and a variety of other cutter types, I feel very comfortable with using end mills as router bits.

Yes, I am aware that I said that I would not make cuts deeper than 3/16" but I couldn't help myself.
 
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