rail and stile bits

[drumpriest]

Larry, my rail and stile bits are 1 3/4". Should be fine at 15k no?

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by drumpriest

Larry, my rail and stile bits are 1 3/4". Should be fine at 15k no?

Long answer: I've seen a lot of different speed charts, from a variety of sources, with some pretty big differences in what the various authors consider the maximum safe speed for any given size bit. Some of them seem a little scary to me, some seem overly conservative. In all cases the divisions are totally arbitrary, and if strictly interpreted suggest that turning a 1-31/32" bit at 18,000 RPM is perfectly okay but add another 1/32" to the diameter and you gotta cut the speed down to 15,000. C'mon. And none of these charts take into account how much the bit weighs, or how much material it's capable of hogging off. So everyone needs to realize that all these charts are rough guides at best.

Short answer: I personally would be comfortable turning a 1-3/4" bit at 15K, yeah.

But I will add that that size and speed are getting close enough to my own upper limits that I'd feel a lot better if I knew I had one of my Whitesides or CMTs chucked up than one of my no-name generic bits.

[drumpriest]

I agree that I'd rather have a whiteside set, but I don't. I've cut several tests out of different materials, going from pine up in the hardness chart. This set will cut in one pass nicely in softer woods, but I didn't like the feel of it in hard maple, that's why I did incrimental passes to remove the material.

[LCHIEN]

Check these instructions.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shops...railstile1.pdf

[trash man]

Thanks agian for all the advice ! I have not had time to try the bits agian but with all the help and info I am shure I will get good results. I will keep you all posted. Thanks agian !!

Wayne (trashman)