Hey everyone,
I am planning to get a CNC Spoilboard Surfacing Bit 1/4" for my CNC work, mainly for flattening spoilboards and surfacing wood slabs.
I found this one
link here:
but I am not 100% sure if it is the right choice for my setup. I mostly work with MDF and hardwood, and I need a clean, smooth finish.
Has anyone used this type of bit before?
How is the finish quality?
Any vibration or chatter issues?
Is a 1/4" shank good enough for surfacing, or should I go for a 1/2"?
Would really appreciate some real feedback before I buy.
It would likely work but there is a void in the center. The void will not activate the BitSetter properly. If possible try to find one that is solid in the center. There are work arounds for the void but it is clunky. Plus often during surfacing you can hit the BitSetter so many people disable the BitSetter during surfacing operations and move the BitSetter. You can use the paper method to set Z zero on the spoilboard. I have an SO3 XXL with Dewalt router and use a 1" Whiteside bit. That is about all my SO3 can handle. A bigger spindle can likely handle 1.5" but you are likely pushing it. Just depends on what machine and spindle/router you have.
Another thing is that a bit this large is really going to reveal (magnify) any tramming issues you have. Very small out-of-tram that wouldn’t really be noticeable on normal sized endmills is going to show up as ridges or steps on your wasteboard. So, get ready for an extended tramming session as you try to dial it in so precisely that this large bit is happy.
i tried a similar bit not from amazon. The non-cutting center was too problematic. Not only the zeroing problem.
A bit like that can’t be plunged into the work. It will lock up a lower powered motor as soon as non- cutting area hits stock, or something powerful would tear its way along. Must start the toolpath at least half the bit diameter outside the stock and enter sideways. Canned toolpaths aren’t really designed for this.
It was not getting enough chance to cut without binding, vibrating, or smoking at the makers feeds speeds and stepover. This all wears cutters down fast. I had to scale back to get a decent cut so it wasn’t saving time over a smaller cutter. I decided rather pay more for a replaceable cutters with smaller footprint
I’m sorry if any of this is obvious but I wanted to mention. Others may have different results.
I’ve been using this one Whiteside surfacing bit, mostly because I already owned it from a pre-CNC project. It works just fine, but probably not what I’d buy were I to need another. One with carbide inserts would probably make more sense for a lot of particle board. To avoid having it try to plunge with no cutters in the center I either start the toolpath off the edge of the work or use ramping to ease into the cut. At least with a 4x4 table a smaller bit would take about forever to do the job.
I wouldn’t use a quarter inch shank tool for any bit more than a quarter inch in diameter. Too much vibration and back when I couldn’t afford bigger router tooling I bent a few of them. Way too exciting.
I got a 16" jointer/planer a few years ago so any need I had to flatten boards on the CNC has pretty well disappeard.
I use my .025” shaft x 1” cutter on my 65 MM ER11 spindle with no issues. One has to understand the limits of the tooling size itself to ensure it works correctly without damaging the tool. I know it’s not 6-8KW spindle and don’t use it that way. And yes, it takes a little longer as expected with a smaller CNC/Spindle machine which I knew before I purchased it.