Must Need Bits for Hardwood & Softwood

How To Machining
1

I wanted to know what kind of bit do I need for hardwood and softwood. Currently, I only have three bits that I use for acrylic. I have #45771-K 30 degree engraver, #51404-K .25" Single flute up cut, and #51411-K .125" Single flute up cut, all from Amana. For the hardwood and a soft wood, I want to make signs, Letters, Engraving, Catch trays, and decorations for business. Just some bits that I can do everything with. Some tools for wood would also be helpful

2

The Shapeoko Endmill Starter Pack:

covers most of the bases:

  • 2 ea - 201 .25" Flat Endmill
  • 1 ea - 202 .25" Ball Endmill
  • 1 ea - 301 .50" 90 Degree V-Bit Endmill
  • 1 ea - 302 .50" 60 Degree V-Bit Endmill
  • 1 ea - 101 .125" Ball Endmill
  • 1 ea - 102 .125" Flat Endmill
  • 1 ea - 251 .25" Downcut Flat Endmill

If you’re going to be doing quite detailed 3D work perhaps get more and smaller ball-nose tools.

May want to consider more downcut or even compression tools.

2 Likes
3

First two are my go to for doing inlays. The third is great for V-carves. I’d also recommend a compression bit for your finishing passes.

4

In addition to Will’s list… I find my 1/8" downcut endmill pretty vital. The downcut cuts so much cleaner at the top that I find I am using them extensively.

1 Like
5

Same here, rarely reach for anything upcut these days…

6

I have had great success with SPETool bits but you do have to manually inspect and it’s best to purchase through Amazon to make returns quick and easy but you can have the exact same quality as other major brands for quite the hefty discount if your time isn’t worth alot of money.

I use the w04007 w04017 w04024 for standard milling
I own 5 of the .25 ball nose endmills and have never opened the package.
Vee bits I bought the SPE-x coated 20 and 30deg for engraving (Dunno if I really reccomend these as they are fragile as hell and the ZrN bit’s geometry is close enough and better for everything)

Amana vee bits are probably a better option

If you own CC Pro and want to create using STL’s reccomendations are:
The ZrN coated W01015 and w01014 Tapered ball nose are amazing for high quality 3d releifs the 1/16th bit is a bit too chunky and I don’t like the finish quality/resolution at any stepover

Back to the standard ball nose if you intend to do some STL work in a very large format like 4’x4’x3inches I would say then maybe you could justify it.

TLDR: w04007, w04017, w04024, w01014, w01015 should get you through everything and then pick up an amana v bit or two and you will be set for a while. I haven’t broken a single one of these yet.

7

I’ve been eyeballing the Groovee Jenny 30 for inlays. They are now $43.99 with a 2-week lead time. Has anybody tried the 30 degree 2-flute from Bits&Bits? ($28.99):
*AstraHP Coated* 30 Degree V-Groove Bit - BitsBits.com

8

This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.