Using a manual milling machine, you can perform a very large number of operations with wood - select a groove and a tongue, a fold on a frame, an edge, make a rounding, embed a lock or a hinge on a door - this is not even half the list. Different types of cutters are used for different operations.
Within the framework of the article, their classification by design, purpose and criteria for selecting cutters will be given depending on the tasks performed and the material being processed, as well as photos of sets of cutters as an illustration.
Tail Diameter Standards
Important! There are two types of standards - inch and metric. They do not coincide with each other, so you should not experiment by clamping the cutter half an inch into a 12 mm collet.
The cutter rotates at breakneck speed, and when it escapes from the milling cutter collet, it is not very different from a bullet. If hit in the head, it will definitely kill or seriously maim.
For the metric standard there are 6.8 and 12 millimeter collets. The inch standard comes in two sizes - a quarter inch (6.35 mm) and half an inch (12.7 mm).
How to choose the right cutter for metal
To choose a metal cutter to complete an electric drill, you should pay attention to such parameters as:
- diameter;
- location and design of cutting edges;
- the type of shank with which the tool is fixed in the drill chuck;
- material for manufacturing the body and cutting part;
- sharpening quality.
Shapes of carbide metal cutters for drills
If you need to purchase a prefabricated cutter for a drill, you should also pay attention to how well the cutting part is fastened. Cutting inserts, which are attached primarily by soldering, must fit tightly to the body of the tool, otherwise they may fly out during processing.
The quality of sharpening is an important parameter that directly affects the productivity and quality of processing. Despite the fact that many manufacturers try to sharpen their cutters using a unique technology, preference should be given to tools that are sharpened according to one of the standard schemes.
Each cutter is designed to process surfaces of a certain configuration
Both its durability and the quality and productivity of processing depend on the material from which the cutter is made. To perform one-time milling work using a drill, the quality of which does not require high requirements, you can choose a one-piece tool made of steel of the same grade. If you have to use the cutter frequently, and you need to obtain high-quality products, it is better to give preference to more expensive tools, the cutting part of which is made of carbide plates.
Homemade cutters made from tall hardened nuts and bearing balls welded to them
Many home craftsmen who want to save money on metal cutters for drills make them from improvised materials. Of course, it is difficult to achieve high-quality results using such a homemade tool, but it is quite capable of coping with basic tasks. The following available tools are suitable for its manufacture:
- a corrugated wheel from a silicon lighter (such a micro-mill can be used for quite a long time, and if it fails, it can be quickly and inexpensively replaced with a new one);
- a dowel, on the head of which cutting edges are formed (this way you can make a small cutting cutter that can handle products not only from plastic and wood, but from non-ferrous metals).
To mill metal surfaces, professionals use a special tool - a milling machine and a manual metal milling machine. Such equipment allows you to perform a wide range of work on products made from various materials, but its acquisition is not economically feasible for home craftsmen and small workshops. Simple operations can also be performed using a widely used alternative - a hand-held electric drill.
Types of cutters
End mills - designed for rolling the edges of products. They are equipped with a bearing as a guide, which allows the cutter to cut to the same depth. End mills also include spiral cutters.
Grooves with a flat end - for cutting a rectangular groove in wood. Without a stop, it is extremely difficult to work with such a cutter, so they are used together with a template.
Fillet – allow you to choose round and V-shaped grooves along the length of the product. By adjusting the position of the cutter, it is possible to select grooves of different depths. A V-shaped cutter allows you to make a groove, the walls of which are located at right angles to each other.
Spike with a reverse cone - designed for dovetail parting. This groove is used for reliable tongue-and-groove connection of parts to each other.
Conical - for rolling the edges of the product, for decorative purposes or due to its design features. Equipped with a bearing as a stop.
Moulder - just like a cone cutter, it is equipped with a stop and is intended for processing the edges of a product, but the resulting edge has a rounded shape, and when the cutter is lowered to the maximum, you can also get a straight line on the edge.
The quarter cutter is designed for selecting rectangular rebates on door and window frames. In some cases, the fold is selected in several passes, depending on the material being processed.
Disc cutters are used to cut a groove, and the working part of the cutter is not only its end, but also its entire peripheral surface. Used for cutting narrow deep grooves, for example, under glass or hardboard.
A combination cutter is used to perform two or more functions in one pass, for example, mortise and tenon.
Although the listed cutters are made with the expectation that they will process wood, in principle they can also work with plywood, plasterboard, oriented strand board, chipboard and some other materials.
Set of milling drills 3/4/5/6/6.5/8 mm. for wood and metal
Hi all. In today's review we will talk about another set of drills (or, to be more precise, drill bits) from China, which I bought on eBay. Unfortunately, the store where I made the order no longer has this product, so the link above leads to another one, the first one I came across. So, my seller turned out to be adequate and prompt. For a small surcharge, the parcel was sent with a full track, so if anyone is interested, you can find out detailed information about its route along the China-Belarus route here.
The product was sent in a small paper envelope, inside of which were the drills I ordered. There is no original packaging; all the drills are placed in a small plastic bag, which was “sealed” using a regular office stapler.
The set includes 6 drills of different diameters: 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.5 and 8 millimeters. Outwardly they look quite nice. The cutting part is covered with a yellow coating, which, according to the seller, is nothing more than titanium nitride and is designed to extend the service life of the tool. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to check whether this is true or not at home, so you’ll have to take the seller’s word for it. But these are not my first drills with such a coating, and I want to say that hydrochloric acid does not damage it, it does not wear off during operation, so the statement that the drills are “titanium” seems to be true.
The drill bits have cylindrical shanks, so they will fit 99% of chuck types. On the shank of each drill there is a marking indicating the diameter of the drill and the material from which it is made. Here it is HSS steel.
HSS (High Speed Steel) is a general definition of a group of high-speed steels. HSS steel is used to manufacture a large number of different cutting tools. Typically, these are drills, cutters, taps and dies, less often - knives and saw blades. HSS steels are high carbon and some contain a large proportion of tungsten. Typically, HSS steel tools have a hardness of 62-64 HRC. The main advantage over carbide tools is the durability and lower cost of the tools. Therefore, HSS performs well in interrupted cutting. A limitation of the use of HSS is the low cutting speeds compared to carbide.
As you can see in the photo, the drills have an unusual appearance. They combine two types of cutting tools - a regular drill and a milling cutter. If everything is clear with the tip of the drill (it is needed to make a hole), then the main part is a cutter used to mill the resulting hole.
The recommended rotation speed of this tool is 1000 - 2000 rpm, and it is used for milling contours of any shape in thin-walled materials (wood, plastic, etc.) and sheet metals (up to 2 mm). It can also be used as an ordinary drill for making holes.
In principle, there is nothing more interesting in the appearance of the drills, which means we can move on to their practical tests. To begin with, I decided to try them out as the most common drills and see how they cope with making ordinary holes. As expected, there were no problems:
The holes are smooth and neat. Wood and plastic can be drilled effortlessly. The inner surface of the hole is flat, smooth, and without burrs. If you move the drill back and forth several times, the milling part will remove all unnecessary material. After making a couple of holes, as well as milling them, the appearance of the drills did not change at all. The only thing is that the whole drill was covered with sawdust.
The next stage is to check the functionality of the drills on metal. A duralumin corner was taken, the wall thickness was 2 mm.
To begin with, I simply drilled a hole in it.
This was done using a cordless screwdriver. I wouldn’t say that everything went as quickly as in the case of the tree, but there were no special problems here either. Metal can be drilled without any problems. Next is milling the hole.
In principle, with the help of these drills, a round hole can be turned into anything you want (or need). Starting from oval and ending with an asterisk or some other figure. A couple of seconds and a beautiful, even hole turns into this:
Moreover, there were no problems with milling a hole even in a duralumin corner, and it was not even clamped in a vice, that is, it had to be held with one hand and the tool held with the other. That's why the heart turned out crooked 
As for processing wood, plastic and other soft materials, everything goes quickly, without serious effort.
After completing the test, the drill was not much different from what could be seen immediately after receiving the parcel (sorry for the focus that went wrong): So, summing up everything that was written here, I can say that these milling drills turned out to be a working tool that copes well with its functions. Their main area of application is changing the shape of a hole. With their help, you can make a hole in wooden floors for a socket or switch, you can make the hole oval or square, or you can use them as regular drills.
That's probably all. Thank you for your attention and your time.
Optimal selection of cutters
The minimum that is included in a good set of cutters is:
- two edge cutters, one metric, the other inch;
- end mills with diameters of 6, 12 and 18 millimeters;
- a simple groove cutter, and for dovetail cutting;
- figured molding cutter;
- disk cutter.
This is the required minimum, but for professional work you may need a much larger arsenal.
What type of cutters process metal parts?
Depending on the nozzle, the material can be processed:
- metal;
- concrete;
- plastic;
- wood.
The harder the object, the stiffer the cutting element should be. In production they are divided according to their purpose:
Sharoshki
1.The surface is cleaned with cutters, the paint layer and lining are removed; such a kit can be seen among the engraver’s tools or on the dentist’s drill.
Countersinks
2. Countersinks do rough work, cut grooves, widen holes.
The cutter can be of different shapes. Previously, their appearance resembled a berry on a thin sprout with a wide working area. With the development of technology, the scope of work has expanded, and the need for different designs has arisen.
When updated modifications appeared, their varieties were divided by type and purpose.
End
The end blades have vertical cutting blades on the base that remove metal shavings and grind flat areas.
Disc cutter
The disk cutter is designed with rotation along a horizontal axis and cutters mounted on a cylinder, they cut grooves or slots.
Cylindrical blades
Cylindrical blades are used to remove excess metal in different working positions along a straight or helical cutting edge.
Cone cutter
A cone cutter is convenient for cutting grooves, passages, and contours of varying depths on perpendicular planes.
Actions can occur with the main cutting edge, which is located on the side of the cutter, or with the auxiliary end part. On these sides there are teeth. This conical element was named after the shape of a geometric figure. The cutter is similar to a cone, the wide part of which smoothly passes into a narrowed end.
Former
To obtain different profiles, a shaped cutter with an oblong shape is used.
Blades with drill
There are blades that are combined with a drill. They are used to drill small hollow spaces and form walls with a small thickness.
Core drill
A core drill is used to cut through large through sections.
Former
Angle cutter
An angular cutter, the most complex in design, works with inclined surfaces and cuts out an angular groove.
A professional milling machine operator, like a craftsman in a home workshop, always has a full range of cutting tools to perform tasks of varying complexity.
When choosing a cutter, first install:
- Purpose, base diameter. A hand drill will not work with an automatic drill attachment.
- Cutting edge design. If the teeth are fixed by soldering, you need to check the quality of the seam so that the edge does not fly off during the working process.
- Level of sharpening of cutting parts.
- Shank grip type.
- Brand of nozzle material.
To choose a good cutter, you need to focus on well-known foreign and Russian manufacturers. Our quality is not so bad, but the price is significantly lower compared to a similar foreign product.
