The 45190

It sounds like another Whovian thing (or more precisely, Torchwood) (aka “The 456“), but instead, it is a lot simpler than that.

The 45190 is a router bit.  For my current activities on the CNC, it is THE router bit.

It is not overly complicated – a straight 1/16″ (1.59mm) 2 flute solid carbide cutter embedded in a 1/4″ shank.

Amana Tool 45190 Carbide Tipped Straight Plunge High Production 1/16 D x 3/16 CH x 1/4 Inch SHK Router Bit
from: Tools Today

But it is what I have been able to do with it that sets it apart.  Or rather, that it gets done what many other router bits have failed to do.

As many would know, I am cutting out a lot of patterns on the CNC, particularly from 3mm thick MDF. To get the level of detail I need, I am using a router bit that is around half that thickness so it can get right into the various corners.  But it also needs to do some miles, and that is also where this router bit has been scoring some exceptional goals.

I have tried other router bits, with some (but decreased) success – spiral upcut bits work, but have a tendency to pull the resulting piece that has been cut out, right out of the sheet.  It can then be thrown or bumped to a point where the router bit plunges through it while cutting another.  I’ve even found small pieces that have been cut out subsequently stuck on the router bit, trying their best to emulate a helicopter!

Downcut spirals work better, but they still have a problem that the dust they are carrying downwards gets deposited under the sheet, causing it to lift, and in the worse scenarios, to completely detach from the vacuum table.  Granted my vacuum table might not be as strong as a commercial one, or may not be able to carry away any sawdust produced so this doesn’t happen.

I’ve also tried larger bits (specifically 1/8″), but they do not give the same degree of detail, and the joints are not as tight.

So that leaves the 45190.  Yes, I have broken a fair few (and am again down to my very last one, that makes me nervous!) but that has always been the result of something other than cutting normally.

So far, the router bits I have broken have been:

Forgot to slow the feedrate back to 100% from a previous operation, and the router bit tried to cut 3-4 times faster than I have worked out to be a good speed for my machine for that bit and that material.

I’ve hit the clamp on at least one occasion, and a screw on a couple of others.

I’ve had a piece come loose and wedge itself against the spinning bit, and it has broken when the CNC moved in that direction.

Sadly, I have occasionally forgotten which is Y and which is Z (or have simply clicked the wrong button), and instead of lifting the bit, have tried to drive it through the material.

And more than once I’ve had the CNC get its + and – directions confused, and it has driven down hard, rather than up.

In spite of all this, when the router bit is treated correctly, it does the energiser bunny thing – it keeps going and going and going.

Check out the teeth on the dinosaur (Spinosaurus) and you will see what I mean about retention of detail.  Remember that MDF is 3mm thick to give you an idea of scale.

The straight cutter is also not the worse solution either.  The dust that is produced gets packed into the cut, which helps hold the piece being cut from moving.  The top and bottom surfaces stay pretty smooth, and only a very light sand is required.

The detail is retained, which is important, and the yield from each sheet is maximised.

So when I am doing these CNC MDF jobs, and I keep mentioning this one router bit, there is good reason. The 45190.  Its a Whovian thing!

 

 

One CNC Router Bit Set to Rule them All

Three Router Bit Sets for CNC hobbyists under a tin shed sky,
Seven for the 2D and 3D carvers to own,
Nine for signwriters destined to buy,
One for the Shed Dweller on his dark throne
In the Land of Stu’s Shed where the router bits lie.
One router bit set to rule them all, One router bit set to find them,
One router bit set to tempt them all and with the CNC mill bind them
In the Land of Stu’s Shed where the router bits lie.

This is the ultimate CNC router bit collection that I’ve found in the latest router bit catalogue from Toolstoday.com and Amana Tool

58 CNC router bits in its own display cabinet, for CNC routing timber, MDF, laminate, plastic, aluminium, steel, foam, and composites.

That is a set and a half!

Drool!

Episode 109 AmanaTool Raised Panel

AGE Raised Panel Set from ToolsToday.com

Episode 107 Miniature Copy Bit

 

Bowled Over

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Routing a bowl, using the Amana Tool bowl bits from Toolstoday.com

Including rounding over the edge with about the smallest 1/4″ roundover bit there is (and the smallest bearing I think I’ve ever seen too!)

Check out the next edition of The Shed magazine for a full description and step by step for making this project.

Busy weekend

Just managed to knock off the next article for “The Shed” magazine.  This one is on using a router to make a bowl, using the Amana Tool bowl-making bit from Toolstoday.com

Haven’t tried it before, and it was a very interesting exercise.  The Amana Tool bit worked out very well  – a very nice bit that worked very well, even when shucking off a good amount of material.  There was no tendency to kick back either.

There are a couple of sizes available in 1/2″ (and a couple of 1/4″)

I won’t pre-empt the article – you’ll just have to read the next edition of “The Shed” magazine!

 

Web broadcasting video

Received a rather interesting email tonight from Toolstoday.com.  They send out a regular email promoting their latest router bit, video, sawblade etc, (and I subscribe to it – makes a nice break from the mountain of work emails that come through!)

Tonight’s one will look rather familiar 🙂

(And yes, they did seek my permission to put the video on their YouTube channel – I was more than happy to allow it)

 

 

Episode 101 David and Goliath

Featuring the smallest, and largest Amana Tool router bits from Toolstoday.com (at least those that fit a standard 1/4″ and 1/2″ router).  Surfacing is done on a Torque Workcentre.

Music by Lis Viggers

3D Rounding

There are router bits, and router bits.  They come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny and cute, to the massive and scary.  And I have router bits at both ends of that spectrum, and a fair few in between.

The router bit is the real tool after all.  The router is just a motor to spin that bit quickly.  And having the right tool for the job is the name of the game.

Having coped with the idea that some router bits can be cute, and knowing full well some are large and mean looking, I am not sure if I have ever described a router bit as “fun”.

 

Ok, yes, they are not a toy, and they can draw claret with the best of the tools in the workshop, but it is fun when a tool works so superbly, that you honestly cannot think of a way they can be improved.  Perhaps fun is not quite the right word.  Enjoyable?  A pleasure to use.

They are the descriptions I am giving to a bit that I used the first time the other day, while making the wooden toy vehicles.  It is the Amana 3D rounding over bit from Toolstoday.com, and it works brilliantly.  A normal rounding over bit can work in two dimensions – the table (or router base) runs along the side of your workpiece, and a bearing controls the depth of cut so it rounds over your square corner nicely.

But what if you have a compound curve (and quite common in wooden toys, particularly bandsawn components)?  You come across a concave section, and there is no way you can get the router bit to that section.  Out comes the sandpaper, and you try to match the curves and radius.

This is where the 3D router bit comes into its own.  Instead of having just a bearing on the end, this router bit also comes with a sleeve (that can also spin) that restricts vertical movement as well.  The benefit of this is that you can use the router bit above the table, without the need to rest the workpiece on a flat surface.  This sleeve performs that function instead.

And with an overall length of over 95mm, there is plenty of clearance to reach inside concave curves and still effect a roundover.

You still have to keep fingers away (I don’t need my fingers rounded over!), but I found the router bit very easy to use, even when climb cutting, without any risk of a catch.  The bit is still only taking off a small amount of timber, and the double guides (sleeve and bearing) prevent any real opportunity to get a dig in, or take off more than intended.

There is both a 1/8″ and a 1/4″ version.  I have the 1/8″ version, as I tend to like having a subtle rounding over – enough to prevent splinters, or sharp edges for the young and inquisitive, but still retain some of the crispness of a tight corner.  Having one of each would be ideal, to keep the options open.

Available from Toolstoday.com as I mentioned, this is thinking outside of the box, and is both really clever, and well executed (quality).  And yes, I’ll stick to calling them fun to use!

Recommissioning Triton History

I debated whether to use the Triton POS router bit cabinet again, (that is Point of Sale by the way!), and decided that despite it not being the most efficient storage system, it is a good display

And maintains a little bit of Triton history. Not sure how many other copies of this cabinet still exist. Once, pretty much every Bunnings store had one.

Still, loaded up, it doesn’t make too bad a router bit storage. I still have to fit another dozen or so bits in (not to mention the bit sets that will be stored separately).