GerryG wrote:
On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:51:57 GMT, "tcg" wrote:
"GerryG" wrote in message
.. .
| Carbide is needed to prevent burning? Would you care to elaborate on that?
Of
| course you realize that, although it will hold an edge longer, carbide is
more
| difficult to sharpen, and HSS bits will often take a better edge. That at
one
| point, having trouble with some burning on a particular piece of cherry, I
| switched from carbide to a freshly sharpened HSS bit and eliminated the
| burning. And you know that the combination of speed, feed rate and depth
of
| cut will have the greatest influence on burning. So, given that, what's
your
| point on carbide?
| GerryG
|
| On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 12:58:43 GMT, "tcg" wrote:
|
|
| "ississauga" wrote in message
| . com...
| | I want to buy the premade oak stair treads (steps) and use a half inch
| | router to smooth the edges, will this work? The front part of the
| | tread is already rounded but my customer wants the sides rounded too.
| | People told me the router will burn the wood because oak is hard, is
| | there a trick to rounding without burning?
|
| Use a carbide tipped router bit or you probably will burn your stock.
As you said "although it (carbide) will hold an edge longer". Experience has
shown me that HSS may be as sharp as carbide, but one doesn't rout hardwood
long before the bit is dull and you're burning your stock. To me, with all
other things be equal, the longevity of a carbide edge makes it my choice
for router bits. Carbide tipped saw blades have almost completely replaced
un-tipped saw blades as the blades of choice in almost all saws today for
the same reason.
Firstly, I suggest that there are no rules that always apply. One obvious
variable is the amount of routing you intend to do. In general, I've heard it
said that carbide lasts about 5x HSS. On the other hand, I can route hardwood
for several projects with HSS before it begins to get dull, which is a bit
different than what you've seen. I've got a few HSS bits that I use to hog out
MDF and particleboard, which also more quickly dulls carbide, but these same
bits have been used for maybe twenty years now. There are also cheaper carbide
bits that will tend to chip out much sooner, and they also have a place for
some projects where they're maybe 1/4 the cost but get the job done. For saw
blades, if you mean circular saws, I won't argue that one since sharpening a
HSS saw blade takes quite awhile. Overall, most of my router bits are of a
quality carbide, but the others have a use as well.
GerryG
I suggest that the original poster subscribe to the rec.woodworking newsgroup and
post the question there. Those guys have oodles of experience with routers on almost
any type of wood. For a newbie, they will try to help out.
|