In the manufacture of furniture or locks, the milling tool is an indispensable tool. With its skillful use, this tool will greatly facilitate life and simplify work. Therefore the question how to choose a milling cutter is pretty relevant. The main purpose of the milling cutter is to cut grooves, process edges and cut holes of complex shape.
Using this tool, you can process a wide variety of materials: wood, plastic, particleboard, MDF and others. In addition, with the help of a milling cutter, it is possible to produce grooves and slots in wooden parts, chamfer, join parts on tenons and dowels, and much more. In order for the tool to best suit your needs, you must carefully approach its selection.
In the manufacture of furniture or locks, the milling tool is an indispensable tool. With its skillful use, this tool will greatly facilitate life and simplify work. Therefore the question how to choose a milling cutter is pretty relevant. The main purpose of the milling cutter is to cut grooves, process edges and cut holes of complex shape.Using this tool, you can process a wide variety of materials: wood, plastic, particleboard, MDF and others. In addition, with the help of a milling cutter, it is possible to produce grooves and slots in wooden parts, chamfer, join parts on tenons and dowels, and much more. In order for the tool to best suit your needs, you must carefully approach its selection.
Getting to the tool selection
As with the choice of most tools from the very beginning it is important to determine the types of work for which it will be used most often. If the usual activity is the manufacture of small drawers or wooden toys, then there is no point in acquiring weighty and bulky equipment. But in those cases when you will use the tool for the manufacture of furniture in full, it is better to refuse lightweight models.
The choice should begin with the power of the router, which should be in accordance with the types of work and the purposes of its use. If you find the optimal ratio between the weight of the mill and its power, it will be very convenient to work with such a tool. Of course, you can work with this tool while holding it in your hands, however, its most preferred option is to use it on a table. In this case, the following rule is important: there is not much power. Therefore, the more powerful your router will be, the better.
Milling Speed and Power Management
Different speed of the tool allows cutting at the required speed for different materials: for plastic it will be one, and for alloys and wood it will be completely different. This function allows you to increase the usability of the tool, but if with it you will work with only one material and even in large volumes, then you should think about using a single-speed model.
Now let’s talk about nutrition. When choosing a tool, it will be important to study its switch, because when you start working with it it may be too late. It is preferable that it has the ability to lock, and the random lock button should be mandatory. If it is not possible to fix the tool in the on position, this will lead to inconvenience in the work, especially in the performance of some woodwork. This is due to the fact that this type of switch must always be held down, and the blocking mechanism will create additional insurance against injury.
Collet and dust suction
Particularly popular are cone-shaped collets, for the manufacture of which hardened steel is used. They fit precisely and perfectly into the cone-shaped motor shaft. Collets made of pieces of steel are cheaper, but their size is not always enough to grab the cutter barrel, moreover, their wear is much higher, and in some cases it is they that cause the chisel to rattle.
Today, almost every manufacturer offers products with a gateway, which is used to extract dust. Quite often included in the package, but can also act as an additional feature. The highest quality dust extraction is observed in cases where this mechanism is built into the milling cutter. In some systems that exist on the market today, due to the installation of a special pipe designed to suck out dust, visibility is greatly reduced. However, when using a special table, this function works in a completely different way and will not create any interference with visibility..
The ease of use of the milling table also deserves attention. The tool should have a sole, which would provide good visibility and have fastening points of high strength, was also equipped with a height adjustment system, a simple switch and have a convenient shape. Since you already know, how to choose a milling cutter, each of these indicators should pay attention.
