Sounds about right, but I wouldn't get it unless you need it specifically......
I use Azek PVC from Home Depot at $100 for a 4x8 1/2" sheet for exterior stuff.

1/2 the price and on the up hill side of the learning curve...I am in!
Thanks
Mark

Extra benefit from Big Blue. In a 1-man shop, it has always been a PITA to crosscut long wide sheets on the table saw (my rip-fence is 52" max). I had a part I needed to cut crosscut at 61", I clamped it down on BB and she did the job ...much safer too! Just saying, yet another reason no shop should be without a MM :)
Mark

Just FYI, these are on sale on ePay...10 round nose 1/8" for $16.79 shipped. No idea if they are total crap, but for $1.67 a bit ...thought I would try them out. Auction number, 201104409861.

Mark

Those look like they'd be worth a shot.
Please report back with your observations.

I agree on the MM....I sometimes need to make long tapered pieces, very easy on the MM.....not so easy on a table saw...

Yes, Darren ...I will certainly post some feedback. I have been mostly working on the learning curve for the Mach3 and CAD. Just some very small and simple projects to get my feet wet, but lots of fun. I actually am just going to surface the whole machine for the first time (until now, small projects have been done on a temp sacrificial board).
I am curious how others have done that? I still have my router set up (the spindle is planned for the near future). So my PC router is limited to a low end RPM of 10,000.
I have Grizzly Fly cutter set (for my mill) but I am sure that even at 10K that is too fast for them? Is my best option just a 1/2" end mill? And if so, what is the fastest feedrate I could use? My spoilboard is 1/2" MDF (over 3/4" MDF support board, table size is 5x10).
Thanks for any input!
Mark

150-200 IPM should be fine. The biggest end mill at about 80% stepover would be good.
Obviously you want to remove as little as possible, so a little time finding the low point on the table and going a few thousandths below that is a good plan of attack.

I ran a 1 1/2" double flute to surface mine at 80ipm at 12k rpm.

Do very light cuts. start with 1～1.5mm & increase if you think your router can handle it.

Thanks for the input, biggest endmill that I have that will fit the 1/2" collet is a 1/2". With the 80 stepover /200 ipm on a 5x10 table, that is just over 3 hours. That is like watching paint dry! (At least compared to the short runs I have been doing). Pete, when you say 1 1/2" double flute, is that the length or width? The Fly cutters that I have are like this;
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Fly-...its-1-2-/H5935

I would think with the off-balance design, at 10K that would be too fast? If not, even the small one would cut my time by triple.
Mark

You are looking for something like this: https://www.magnate.net/ProductDetai...ductCode=PG136
available from 3/4 diam to 2 3/4 diam.
That fly cutter is NOT suitable for use in the router, it's meant to be used on a milling machine.

and another one from Amana tool: http://www.amanatool.com/cncroutingdetails/rc-2252.html

Alan...that is what I thought...I didn't think the Fly cutter could handle those RPM's.
Thanks too for the links....big price difference! But I will give one of the Magnate products a try.
Thanks
Mark

Thanks Heath...those are very nice...but they are in the "other" price category ....
I am starting with the $30 ones :)
Mark

Yes I hear you on that one. You might be suprised at how fast those
$30 cutters dull on mdf though. :)

Oh I know I am getting a $30 bit, at least it is carbide. And I can certainly see (I hope) at time when I am running enough jobs and profit that one with insert cutters will be the way to go. Until that time, this will be a big step up from a 1/2" HSS endmill :)
Mark

Any cheap router bits will do the job.
Also, nothing stay sharp forever when cutting MDF.

I can atest to that Ken. I bought one of these off ebay: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131088061...84.m1423.l2649 and the last time I used it to surface my old machine machine it left burn marks all over the place. I had maybe used it 3 or 4 times on a 1200x1200 spoilboard.

With a 1-1/2", 2 flute carbide tipped router bit, try removing .01"-.03" per pass, at about 14,000 rpm and 300 ipm, with a stepover of about 1-1/4".

Thanks for the input. Ger, I will give that a try (when the bit arrives). Just did the toolpath for it, 40:40 ....sounds a lot better than the nearly 3 hours I was looking at :)
I will let everyone know how things turn out.
Mark

I would not use a fly cutter. Insert type would be the best, I use a Freud bit 12-190. Ger mentioned something I did not, I remove 0.025" at each re-surface. MDF is all about the correct feed/speed. It takes about 40 minutes to complete at 80ipm. If I used Ger settings it would be around 15 minutes. You will know it you push too hard or too slow, MDF has a distinct burning smell when you are over or under the cutting speed/feed even when burn marks are not on the material.

Hi Pete
My table size is 5x10, I am surfacing at 120"x 61". So may take a bit longer than a 4x8. But I will certainly keep smelling for an incorrect feedrate!
I wonder if the Fly cutter would be ok with a spindle/VFD set up?
Mark

Also, be mindful that if you surface to fast, the leading edge of the large cutter with scallop the table and may leave a less-than-flat table. I found this true with my router set up..not so much with the spindle....but happened.

Thanks Sean...there should be a whole section on just spoilboards :D
Mark

The limiting factor (in my opinion) with the fly cutter is it requires a solid machine made for machining metal. The bearings in a spindle are a high speed, high precision bearing the same as a mill spindle. However, a most mills spin a maximum of 2400 rpm. A well built mill as other factors that make it suitable for offset cutters where this machine is not. The spindle in a mill is housed in a block of steel or bored into casting for the head. The clearance is usually 0.0005" or less. The head is locked down to the body of the mill. We use 6 single row bearings for the up and down of the Z with only the V groove holding it in. Even if you have linear bearings they are designed for compression loads and not extreme dynamic forces like you receive from a fly cutter. With the speed it would be turning at I would stick to tooling designed for wood routing.

Thanks Pete...that makes a lot of sense. I will be using the 2 flute 1 1/2" for now. When I can upgrade to a spindle and a surfacing cutter with inserts, that's the way I will go.
Pete, I also may be contacting you (if you don't mind) when I am moving on the VFD, I think the Hitachi WJ200 that you mentioned earlier sounds like the way to go. But may have some questions on the set up etc?
Mark

No problem if you need to.

Thank you Pete! I tell ya...if I put one more thing on my tech plate, my head is going to explode!!! Just to give you an idea, right now I am working on of course learning the Mach3 and CAD for MM, building 4 MAME machines (really cool project if you aren't familiar, for those of us of a certain age), a kiosk built around the Raspberry Pi (Linux based system), down-grading a laptop that is pre-loaded with Win8 to Win7 (those that don't know, Win8 basically locks you out of doing that with loading prior to hitting the "hard drive", BIOS is gone and is now UEFI...just terrible to deal with. And finally my wife has her first smart phone...and though I love her dearly...she is perhaps one of the least techie people on earth :)
So again, thanks for the offer!
Mark

I can't say anything about the smartphone, all mine are dumb indeed however my wife wants one now. I am terribly hard on cell phones, tend to break even the brick style ones(literally crack, smash or shatter) all while in my pocket. So for financial reasons, I have never purchased one. With your MAME are they all one station or vary?

Yep, that's exactly why I keep it out of my pocket while in the shop...always hitting on something. The MAMEs are all individual and identical. I had told a few friends that I would make them, once I had the MM to do it on.
Mark

Depending on who made the laptop, you should be able to disable secure boot in uefi. My Dell XPS12 came with windows 8 and I had Debian running on it for a while. Went back to 8 until they get the touch drivers worked out. Most current linux distributions support efi, and so will windows 7.

Yes, I went with a Dell. Started with Asus, but there was no way to boot from dvd or usb (even with secure boot disabled) Dell states, as long as it is preliaded with Win8 pro, you can down grade to 7.
Just got it today, haven't had a try at it yet.
Just learned about Debian working with Raspberry Pi.
Mark

Quick question on tabs. How many and size? Take for example, 3/4" sheet , cutting several 1.250" holes. How many tabs per hole and what length and thickness would you use? I did a practice part...and took a lot of work to get the holes smooth. I think I used too many and too large?
Thanks
Mark

I'd do no more than 3.
.375 should be plenty big.
Have you tried 3-d tabs?

Depends on how flat you sheets lay. I have used only 0.080" thick at 0.438 length before but others I have used 0.11 thick. I have used both 3D and standard tabs. Generally I only use 3 on circles unless they are over 12" diameter.

I just leace 0.1~0.2mm onion skin on, not cutting through. the skin will tear off very easily & sanding will be minimum. Since no matter how you do it, you will have to SAND.

Thanks for the input...I am afraid that I don't know what standard tabs vs. 3D tabs are?
Mark

Mark.
A standard tab is a flat, single height tab that is like a rectangular block.
A 3d tab has a ramp on the lead in and lead out of the block to minimize the about of material to be removed but laterally long enough to keep the part from shifting.

....think dinner plate vs. upside down bowl.

Got it (I think) so, as long as it is strong enough to hold....I guess a 3D would be preferable? Also (I know Google is my friend) so I searched, I guess this is an example of a 3D tab? ; http://www.wired.com/2012/10/you-suc...lding_tab_cut/

Mark