.25 x 4 Inch Endmill Needed

CNC Machines Shapeoko
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I have 3" Thick Basswood Stock and im looking for a 4" OAL Endmill.
I found this but it is for Foam.
Amana Tool 46272 Solid Carbide Foam Cutting Up-Cut Spiral 1/4 D x 2-1/4 CH x 1/4 SHK x 4 Inch Long Flat Bottom Router Bit
Would this be ok for basswood or does someone have a tool recomendation?
thanks

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drillman1 has a few bits that are long enough for your need:

Here’s a 4in long bit.

Here’s a 6" long bit.

If you can wait 3 or more weeks, you can get a set of 5 - 90mm long x 6mm shank bits from aliexpress for ~$36.00 plus whatever they add on (item 6 x 62).

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With the right speed and feed, probably ok. Take it easy until you know how it’ll perform.

With 4 inches of length even at .25" it’s not a lot of cross section - you’ll still need to be really careful.

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I’m curious how a 4 in block fits under the gantry with a 4in endmill in the router. Do you have an HDZ or some other setup?

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its 3" stock so 1" will be in the collet

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Here is another 4in bit, (4 flute) this one on Amazon.

Here’s the 2 flute version.

I have used these bits. They work fine for cutting hard woods.

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Well if you have a regular Shapeoko, the spindle does not retract to clear the gantry so if you want to cut a 3 or 4in deep, the bit will stick out that much from the router. So to clear the workpiece with the end of the bit, you will need a bit more than the double that size (1/2 for the bit, 1/2 for the material) under the gantry. I measured under my router from the collet to the base of the Shapeoko, under my supplementary wasteboard and I have 4 3/4 so it would be impossible to mill anything going through the material that is more that 2 1/4 thick, maybe a bit more if you pull the router up slightly.

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Unless you want to play it fast and loose with safety. I cut some thick wood by using a stub end mill and milling down to ~1.5" deep, then I switched to a longer end mill, zeroed on the bottom of the first cut, and finished the rest of the 3" cut.

EDIT: If I were to do it again, I would have made a small 1in circular area where it would have been easier to remove the short bit and put in the long bit, but I have the HDZ and a lower profile spoilboard now, so I think I could cut something 3" now without trying too hard.

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Personally, while it would be possible to do several things to make enable this like start the toolpath on the side and using a hole in the middle, there are too many things that could go wrong and could spell disaster to safety of the user, the Shapeoko could crash and be se4verely damaged or even set the building on fire. All this to say I would discourage this type of project that is significantly exceeding the capacity of the Shapeoko.

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Perhaps not pretty but you could cut your block of wood in half and machine each part and glue it back together. This may not meet your ascetics for the project but would be safer. You could then put a contrasting wood band around the seam.

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https://www.atlascuttingtools.com/categories/End-Mills/Carbide/Square-End-Carbide-End-Mills/2-FLUTE/Extra-Long-Length-%2d-Uncoated/

There is a 4" OAL and a 6" OAL .25" Endmill with a 1-1/2" LOC

3rd and 4th on the page

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Simple solution would be to buy 2 pieces of wood 1.5" thick do your design on one then make it oval then cut the 1.5 " piece oval and glue them together
Jeff Peters

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