Carbide Tool Problem

[reiddog1]

Hey guys and girls, recently I've had some issues with my carbide cutter. My cutter is chewing up all my acrylic blanks. Chipping instead of cutting the blanks. Thought it may be dull, so I turned it to an unused side and its doing the same thing. This problem started late after I switched from a radius corner square cutter to a square corner blade. Could this be it? Since we're on the subject, would a round cutter be better? Kinda feel like a newbee again. Please help!!

Thanks in advance.

Dave

 

[plano_harry]

I use a 2" radiused square. Works better for me than the straighter 4" radius. For rounding, I hold the cutter on about a 30-45 degree angle, like a skew. I only use it flat for fine finishing cuts. I am also turning relatively fast -- around 3,000 rpm. Hope that helps.

Harry

 

[PenMan1]

Yep, what Harry said. It's very difficult to do anything except straight cuts with the R4.

 

[corian king]

I only use the round bits and I really love them.They work better for me then the others. good luck!

 

[Ruby pen turning]

I use the round cutter until I am close to finished size then skew the rest. In my eyes a square cutter trying to cut a square blank would be to much cutter getting whacked by plastic.

 

[edstreet]

3,000 rpm? holy crap! The most I go is 1,200 rpm. You can take the square nose and turn it on the corner and it becomes a triangle FYI If you position correctly you can see the square edges and where the round edge will start and be able to see how much you are cutting from the corners before its rounded.

 

[KenV]

Hey guys and girls, recently I've had some issues with my carbide cutter. My cutter is chewing up all my acrylic blanks. Chipping instead of cutting the blanks. Thought it may be dull, so I turned it to an unused side and its doing the same thing. This problem started late after I switched from a radius corner square cutter to a square corner blade. Could this be it? Since we're on the subject, would a round cutter be better? Kinda feel like a newbee again. Please help!!

Thanks in advance.

Dave

So --- whose cutters are you using??? Some of the planer cutters do not work nearly as well as other brands, and many metal turning carbides are a hard fit for acrylics and such.

What kind of blanks are you using??? Some are forgiving and some are brittle and buzzzzz.

How fast are your turning??? Higher speeds generally are bettter.

 

[reiddog1]

Ken,
I don't really know what cutters I've been using because they came with the tool and I do not know how to identify them. Ive been turning lots of PR blanks and a couple of AA blanks at 2200rpm. Hope this gives some incite. Thanks in advance.

Dave

Hey guys and girls, recently I've had some issues with my carbide cutter. My cutter is chewing up all my acrylic blanks. Chipping instead of cutting the blanks. Thought it may be dull, so I turned it to an unused side and its doing the same thing. This problem started late after I switched from a radius corner square cutter to a square corner blade. Could this be it? Since we're on the subject, would a round cutter be better? Kinda feel like a newbee again. Please help!!

Thanks in advance.

Dave

So --- whose cutters are you using??? Some of the planer cutters do not work nearly as well as other brands, and many metal turning carbides are a hard fit for acrylics and such.

What kind of blanks are you using??? Some are forgiving and some are brittle and buzzzzz.

How fast are your turning??? Higher speeds generally are bettter.