Finally getting around to cutting, not just engraving. Shapeoko3 with the Makita. Cutting out pieces for a chair from 1.5" thick doug fir but just down to 3/4". I’m finishing the cuts with a different process. What I want is to find a bit/speed combo that will not stress out the machine but will move along nicely. I am experimenting with 1/4" down cut end mills right now, 1/8" depth per pass, and found that plunging at 15/min and feed at 40/min was just ok.
For those of you here that use a Makita as your motor, have you found that an upcut bit which is pulling the chips up and out allow for a feed rate increase? And greater depth per pass as compared to a down cut?
Tnx, Scott