Opinions of bits to use in slot mortiser

[mr douglas t]

What are all of you using? I dont know if I am gettin gthe best performance out of my mortiser. I have a home made slot mortiser that uses a router. I use 1/2" diam. two flute high speed steel end mills. I mortise alot of hardwoods such a jatoba and teak. What does everyone else use and how doest it perform.

[guzziguy]

4 flute center cutting endmill bit.

[crzypete]

endmills work great in slot mortisers- I like the ones intended for aluminum as they have a more aggressive twist.

You however are running a router- I like two flute router bits- straight not twist. Gotta be carbide- especially with those tough woods.

The RPM's of a router are really more appropriate for carbide than HSS.

I would think that a solid carbide endmill would work well as well, but I have not used them personally- I am too cheap.

Also agree with Guzziguy- any bit chosen has to be center cutting.

Also it kinda goes with out saying: USE SHARP ONES.

Pete

[buck shot]

I like the two flute bits, as well. more chip clearance than the multi-flutes...

if you're doing big mortises, a 3/4" bit is more stable, as well - the 1/2" bits tend to wobble a bit out at the end when they're long.

[Jay Rubino]

With the hard exotic woods, maybe you could consider using industrial diamond and the shortest bit possible that will make the cut you need.

[soubre]

Jay, Isnt there a cutter that is sort of triangularly forked at the end. Isnt this a dedicated morticing bit. I assume they are made for auto/ occillating machines Bacci etc. Could these be used in hand fed machines. they do look pretty agresssive.

[craig]

I tried some of these from Onsrud and they worked very well. I do believe they are designed for use on an automatic mortiser, but if you keep the table oscillating and forward feed slowly they are great. I have doubts about running on a router because they cannot cut beyond the depth of the V in one pass.