Big Bit

[texasinmi]

I have a 3/4 diameter, .625 height, 1/4 shaft bowl router bit I would like to use on my Carvewright.

Will the machine handle something this big or does it represent too much mass and torque. I assume I will have to have a cut path that removes small amounts of material at a time.

Is there a spec for the max size and weight for a non-Carvewright bit that can be used?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Texas

[bergerud]

You will be in uncharted, out of bounds territory. (Near where I live!) The bit is big for the CW so you will have to start out by choosing the biggest bit in the list (1/2" round over or 1/2" classical?) and choose a small max cut depth like 0.1" or smaller. What you see in Designer is not what you will get. Watch the flex shaft does not oscillate too much or heat up. Watch the bit does not move out of the chuck. Keep a finger on the stop button.

[texasinmi]

Yeah, I live in Washington Mi. I liked the wider bit because it has a flat floor is addition to the 1/4 curved edges, keeps down the sanding on a pocket cut with rounded floor edges.

Thanks,

Texas

[DocWheeler]

All I can think about with this is the small flex shaft and what a beating it would take with much use of that big bit.

[Digitalwoodshop]

My feeling on this is that the machine will snap the flex. I snaped one using a 1/2 inch end mill doing letters on a sign. I took too much of a bite... The 3/4 might hit the brass roller area on the way down to touch.

It could also draw too much current throught the X Termination Board and burn the board....

It could snap the Truck where the Rail Roller Bearings attach.

Could overheat the cut motor. fire....

Could strip the square drive of the truck...

All I see is down sides to this.... Let us know how you make out....

AL

[texasinmi]

Thanks folks, you talked me out of the big bit.

Is there a spec for bit design from the factory?

Texas

[brdad]

They make a bowl bit that is 1/2" diameter, flat bottom with 1/8" radius which I have been thinking about trying for such applications. It should work fine using the 1/2" ballnose option. If I had such a bit in my collection I would have tried it by now, but I don't.

[ktjwilliams]

I used a 1" vee bit for center line letters on a big sign ... Used a couple bits to get to the final 1" one,,, by running the lettering part of the project through the machine like 3 or 4 times...

[Capt Bruce]

Rather than strain/break your CarveWright using that big a bit for Centerline I'd suggest using it to cut a template through 1/4" tempered Masonite or Baltic Birch of the same letters full size for the wording/lettering you want. After laying out the lettering you would want to add space around each letter to allow for a router collar. The template would then guide a hand held router fitted with a pattern brass collar big enough to surround the 3/4" bit you want to use. You would get the same exact letters with proper spacing but you can control your depth of cut and feed rate precisely as you then cut the large letters with a router in several passes. If the "enlarged" letters overlap each other you may need to cut two templates dropping out every other letter and cutting them later with the 2nd template.

This way you can take advantage of the precision of the Designer software and the guided cutting capability of the CW to help you do the task - without destroying the machine. Let it be your helper.

[texasinmi]

I just weighed the big bit I am thinking about using and it was 1.4 ounces. I then weighed a 1/2" ball nose bit on a 1/2" shank and got 1.6 ounces. Since 1/2" shank bits are used all the time, it would seem this should work.

Thoughts?

Texas.

[FWMiller]

It's more than spinning up the weight of the bit. The 3/4 bit has much larger cutting surface so it will create a lot more side force when cutting into the wood. And you don't have control in the software to slow down the feed rate further than what it calculates based on the limited bit selection.