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Classifications and purpose of cutters for a hand router. The main types of wood cutters for a hand router German wood cutters for a hand router

Mills for hand routers are presented in a wide variety on the modern market, which makes it possible to choose such a tool for performing specific technological operations. It is difficult to imagine that relatively recently, several decades ago, cutters designed to equip a hand router were considered scarce goods.

Using a hand router, you can create all kinds of profiles, recesses or grooves using a wide range of attachments

Today there is no problem in purchasing both the manual router itself and the working attachments that turn such a device into multifunctional equipment. At the same time, they are available for free sale for hand-held milling machines, as well as for processing wood and other materials. Sometimes such a variety of power tools and working attachments for them makes it difficult to choose, so the buyer should have a good understanding of the design features of these technical devices and the areas of their use.

Design features

The design of any milling cutter attachment includes two main elements: the shank and the working part.

• The shank allows you to fix the cutter in the chuck of the equipment used. According to its design, the shank of a tool for a manual milling cutter can have a cylindrical or conical shape; in addition, there is often a flat on the shank that prevents it from slipping in the equipment chuck. In addition to reliable fastening in the chuck of a hand-held router, the shank also ensures that the tool penetrates the material being processed to the required depth. A bearing is installed on the shanks of individual models, which acts as a stop that goes around the template during processing. Thanks to the use of this design, the edge of the part processed using a manual milling machine is given the required configuration, and the device itself, the bearing in which is easy to replace, is subject to minimal wear. In addition, such an attachment, equipped with a bearing, does not need to be installed on a manual router with a copy ring, which greatly simplifies the work.
• The working part of the tool for a manual milling machine performs the main job - it determines the shape and quality characteristics of the surface being processed. This element has a monolithic design (made entirely of high-speed steel) or is equipped with replaceable dial disks mounted on the central axis. The second design option has a higher cost, but is more practical, since it allows, using one shank, to create on its basis tools with different configurations of the working part (the so-called attachment cutters).

Based on the material used, tools for hand routers are divided into two main types.

• Milling cutters made from high-speed steels are marked HSS. Tools made from this material perform well when processing soft wood with a hand router, but when working with hard wood they quickly overheat and become dull. The big advantage of this type of cutter, among other things, is its low cost.
• Tools for a wood router may have a cutting part made of carbide inserts. You can recognize such products, which are used primarily for processing hard wood, by the designation HM. Despite the fact that they wear out more slowly, when used for processing soft wood, it is quite difficult to obtain a high-quality cut. Milling should be performed at a slower speed than when using high-speed steel cutters.

Wood cutters for a hand router also differ in the shape of the sharpening of their cutting teeth, which can be straight or helical. Tools with straight cutting teeth, although easier to maintain, become dull faster. In addition, when using such cutters to process wood with a heterogeneous structure, chips and gouges may occur on it.

You can get an almost perfect milled surface with tools for a hand router, the cutting teeth of which are located along a helical line. Meanwhile, the use of such cutters is associated with certain difficulties, which consist in the fact that for sharpening it is necessary to use special equipment, therefore, if they lose their cutting properties, they are most often simply replaced with new ones.

The angle at which the working edge is sharpened is also important. This angle, the value of which is selected depending on the characteristics of the material being processed, usually does not exceed 90°. The design of the cutting edge, in addition to the front and back relief surfaces, also includes a rather complex surface configuration, which is responsible for the effective removal of chips from the processing zone. It should be borne in mind that without a properly formed chipbreaker, high-speed milling will not be possible.

Set milling tools (mounted cutters) are often made with double sharpening of the cutting part, which allows them to double their working life. After one of the working elements that make up the cutting part becomes dull, it is simply turned over 180°. Meanwhile, working milling attachments with double sharpening, due to the peculiarities of their design, cannot be made in a complex configuration, which significantly reduces the efficiency of their use and, accordingly, the quality of the processing result.

Areas of application

To equip a manual wood router today, various tools are offered, each of which is designed to perform specific technological tasks.

End mills

End mills in their design are very similar to conventional drills, the working end of which does not have a conical part. The design feature of wood end mills is that their end part, located at an angle of 90° to the sides, also has cutting teeth. This design feature allows the use of cutters of this type to perform various technological operations, which, in particular, include:

1. drilling;
2. creating grooves on the surface of the workpiece, including through-type ones;
3. quarter sample;
4. cutting blanks;
5. edge processing.

In addition, with the help of such a universal tool, you can process stepped surfaces, cut grooves for door locks and hinges, and also solve many other technological problems.

Slot cutters

Groove cutters for wood, in full accordance with their name, are used to create grooves of various shapes and sizes on the workpiece. Depending on the design, slot cutters are divided into the following categories:

1. straight cutters for cutting grooves of a rectangular profile (this also includes a finger cutter for wood for a manual router);
2. shaped cutters for woodworking, with the help of which grooves of a shaped configuration are made on the surface of the workpiece (a shaped cutter, in particular, allows you to imitate a panel pattern on the surface of the workpiece);
3. cutters for creating grooves with a dovetail configuration (such a technological operation requires the use of a special template);
4. structural cutters, which are used to select grooves in a T-shaped configuration (in this case, it is necessary to ensure effective removal of chips from the groove being formed);
5. cutters with a cone-shaped working part (with their help, engraving work is performed with a manual milling cutter, and grooves of a V-shaped configuration are created);
6. fillet tools used to select grooves of a semicircular configuration on the surface of the workpiece (a fillet cutter is often used to perform decorative processing of wood products).

Edge milling tool

Edge cutters, which are among the most common tools used for hand router work, are also divided into several categories:

1. straight cutters, also known as copy cutters and often equipped with a guide bearing (they allow you to create perfectly straight edges on the workpiece);
2. shaped edge cutter, or profile cutter, with the help of which the edge of the workpiece can be given any configuration;
3. figurine cutters used for making door panels and baseboards;
4. a cone-type tool for hand-held milling cutters, with the help of which the edge of the workpiece is cut at the required angle (the design feature of cutters of this type is that they are almost always equipped with guide bearings);
5. edge molding cutter, used to give the edge of the workpiece a rounded shape (edge ​​molding cutter, as a rule, is also equipped with a guide bearing);
6. a fillet tool, like an edge moulder cutter, allows you to process the edges of a product in an arc, but give them a concave rather than a convex shape (by design, such a tool and an edge moulder cutter are a mirror image of each other; like an edge moulder cutter, a fillet tool most often equipped with a guide bearing);
7. microtenon cutter, which allows the formation of thin triangular tenons on the surface of the workpiece, used to create a connection between two joined wooden parts.

Using a milling tool to remove a quarter

To cut a quarter groove (rebate) on the edge of a wooden product, a rebated edge cutter is used. As a rule, when it is necessary to perform a sufficiently large volume of such work, manual milling cutters equipped with an edge rebate cutter are used in conjunction with a special device that is easy to make by hand. The need for it is explained by the fact that creating quarter grooves is a rather labor-intensive operation, so for its accurate and high-quality implementation it is better to use additional equipment.

Wood cutters are used for processing wooden blanks on a router to create grooves of a given width, depth and shape. Products in demand:

According to their purpose, cutters for a wood router are divided into:

Depending on the composition, they can be all-metal or with replaceable nozzles.

What to look for when choosing wood cutters

The most important parameter is the material and workmanship. A high-quality and durable cutter is made of durable steel, has a precise and smooth shape, due to which it does not overheat during operation and gives excellent processing results.

When choosing a wood cutter for a hand router or drill, you need to consider the diameter of the shank. The internal diameter is taken into account if you plan to purchase components for the machine.

In order to buy cutters for a manual wood router, read the catalog, send the product that suits the price and parameters to the “Basket” and fill out an application. Delivery is available using our own transport in Moscow and Moscow Region; orders are sent to other regions by large transport companies. Pickup from our company stores is also possible: you can find out addresses and directions in the “Contacts” section.

A real helper in the house is a hand router with a variety of cutters. Their use turns wooden blocks into real works of art. Let's get acquainted with the most popular wood cutters, purpose and application.

What is a manual milling machine

Small wooden parts are processed at home using a manual milling machine. Let's look at what types of cutter sets there are and what they are used for.

Main Application:

• For installing doors
• For mounting window frames (frame cutters)
• When turning small bars and planks
• When creating holes for installing door and window locks

The router is used only for spot work on small wooden areas.

The power of the tool is:

• Easy

The lightweight model has a power of up to 750 W. Suitable for small jobs at home.

• Average

With a power of 750–900 W, the model is in demand. This is an indispensable assistant during the installation of furniture frames and the creation of shaped parts from wooden blocks.

• Heavy

The heavy model is used to make professional products. It has a power of 900–1200 W.

Classification of wood bits for a hand router

Regardless of the technical characteristics, equipment can be divided according to the specific use.

• Spiral

The spiral cutter allows the tool to be in constant contact with the wood material. This results in a smoother cut.

• Profile

Using profile tools, corners are rounded, chamfered and grooves are made. Microtenon cutter is one of the varieties. It has side and end edges. Using this cutter, a tongue-and-groove joint is formed;

• 45˚ cutters

An edge type of cutter that gives the edge an aesthetic appearance. There are no knives at the end, and the presence of a bearing on the structure helps to cut the edge of the tabletop according to patterns and obtain a chamfer on the edge of the product.

Important! To prolong the life of the bearing, it must be lubricated regularly with machine oil.

• Extended

To make wooden workpieces look clean - with grooves and grooves, you should opt for long grooved cutters. They can be either a carbide monolith or a steel tool with high-speed cutting tips. MDF and chipboard boards are processed with an elongated cutting tool for a hand router.

• Round

Ball cutters for wood have a round shape. They are used to process the ends of wooden parts and create grooves. A distinctive feature of this type of cutter is the presence of a cutting part along the entire circumference. This advantage allows the tool to work at any angle, both on the entire working surface and in individual areas.

How to choose slot cutters. Their main types

• Direct

The cylindrical shape of the cutter leaves a rectangular section in the groove after work. This is the simplest tool.

• Fillet

Milling cutters with a rounded cutting head are used for shaped processing of carpentry blanks. They are used for decorative processing of furniture elements, and the cross-section of the groove resembles the configuration of the letter U.

• V-shaped 90˚

Cutters are used to create a small V-shaped groove on a wooden piece. Its side walls have an angle of 90˚ between themselves.

• Structural

The cutter in the workpiece forms an inverted letter T. Its base has the shape of a regular trapezoid. This is a very reliable connection. If the workpieces move together, there is no other way to separate them.

• Shaped

The tool is used for decorative and edging work. They are also called paneled. The cross section of the groove produces the shape of a curly brace. Not only the center, but also the edge of the workpiece is milled.

Important! Milling cutters are consumables. It is necessary to make a supply of cutters, since they are worn out during processing of wooden blanks.

• Finger

Finger (overrunning) sharpening consists of a tail, main and working part. Using the tool, a recess of a certain configuration is formed, the edge is processed, and hinges or other fittings are cut in. And on the surface of the block you can make decorative elements of volumetric shapes.

• Radial

The cutters are convex and concave with reverse rotation, which makes them universal. They perform complex or figured processing of wooden blanks.

• Profile

The cutter has a cylindrical shape, a cutting edge, and additional end elements that protect the bottom of the groove. They come with interchangeable knives. Process recesses and concessions. The sharpening penetrates deeply into the workpiece, processing the hole and plane, which are located at an angle of 90˚ to each other.

• typesetting

The construction industry offers cutters in sets of 10, 12, 50 and 60 pieces. You need to choose a tool according to technical parameters.

• Profile–counter-profile

With the help of some cutters it is possible to form two mutually matching profiles, one of which is a counter profile. This can be a set of two separate cutters that complement each other (“profile-counter-profile”).

• Corn

The planing cutter is made of a light but durable alloy, equipped with four-sided carbide knives, designed for planing smooth surfaces of soft and hard wood or milling curved workpieces made of wood, plywood, MDF on single-spindle milling machines with manual and mechanical feeding of workpieces.

You need to pay attention:

• for soldering, which may lose its longitudinal stability during long-term operation;
• on a plate with a shank, which must be firmly soldered with article material PSR 40 or PSR 37.5 with silver and copper;
• for thermal strength, which is tested by heating to a temperature of 200–250˚ C. In this case, the longitudinal axis should not be bent by more than 0.05 mm.

Cutters made from high-speed steel have better strength compared to monolithic cutters made from tool steel.

• Conical

Used to obtain 3D reliefs on the surface of workpieces. The shank in a cone cutter can have a diameter of 4, 6 and 8 mm. The depth of the relief depends on the selected shank diameter. It is used to process external edges, decorative chamfers, and furniture parts, which will subsequently be joined into a round shape.

These cutters perform slotting and grooving work in wood blanks. Manufacturers use high-strength steel with anti-corrosion protection.

Wood cutter sizes

The main parameters of the equipment are length and diameter. The most popular shank diameters are 6, 8 and 12 mm. It is key to the tool. The store sells cutters with a diameter of ¼ inch - 6.35 mm and ½ - 12.7 mm. They do not fit 6 and 12 mm collets.

Important! The diameters of the shank and collet must be the same size. A small difference will not give the expected result in your work.

Conclusion

Having familiarized ourselves with the types of cutters, we can conclude that milling has great capabilities - it forms edges, panels, grooves, grooves of different depths and configurations. Each type of tool is designed for a specific type of work. The seam cutter is used to produce window grooves for glass in wooden frames. The production of furniture facades using facade cutters, plinths, parquet boards, handrails, baguettes is possible in other ways. You can see how much wood cutters cost in any hardware or specialty store. A separate product group is diamond wood cutters. They are distinguished by the highest strength, but the price is several times higher. There are cutters for aluminum, stone, and metal, but that’s another topic.

When working with a hand router, you must follow safety precautions. Special clothing and a respirator are required.

A manual milling machine is a high-performance equipment. If you have a large number of interchangeable tools, they can be used to perform a wide variety of work with wood. For this purpose, various types of cutters have been developed and produced. Today, we will talk about the types of cutters and their purpose, and also touch on the main selection criteria.

Classification and types of cutters for wood processing

Wood cutters for a hand router can be divided into the following types:

• Designed for processing wood edges (). Such a tool is equipped with a guide bearing, which ensures the evenness of the processed edge of the product. Spiral cutters also fall into this category.

• Flat end slot cutters. To use them, you will need a stop and a certain practical skill, since without a template it is almost impossible to get an even rectangular groove.

• Fillet cutters, designed for milling a semicircular groove in the end of a wooden block. Such cutters are also quite versatile, since the size of the groove arc depends on the depth of immersion of the cutter in the material. Fillet cutters with support bearings allow you to produce decorative furniture slats.

• V-face slot cutters. When using them, you can get a shallow groove, the side walls of which will be inclined relative to each other at an angle of 90 0. By increasing the depth of penetration of such a cutter into the material, the groove will have smooth walls.

• Reverse cone tenon cutter, to obtain dovetail grooves. Such a tool is indispensable when performing repair work on furniture, when one fragment is removed and the second is secured to the base using the specified groove.

• Cone cutters. With their help, the outer edges of the product are processed, which, when ready, must have chamfers of a strictly established height and angle of inclination. The depth of penetration of such a cutter into the wood can be limited by installing a thrust bearing, similar to that used for edge cutters.

• Moulders, using which you can obtain rounded edges. A set of wood cutters for a hand router usually includes several standard sizes of such a tool, which allows you to create edges with different radii of curvature. Installing a support bearing allows you to further obtain a straight edge when the tool is inserted deeper into the wood.

• Quarter cutters. They create not only a vertical, but also a horizontal edge, and therefore are used in the manufacture and repair of wooden window frames.

• Disc cutters. They are also designed for making grooves, but, unlike groove cutters, they work not at the end, but at the periphery of their working part. A set of such cutters of various diameters (3...6 mm) allows you to obtain grooves with a guaranteed depth along the entire length of the processing area. In this case, a support bearing is not required. Disc cutters with an increased height of the working part are sometimes called rebated cutters, and are used to produce window grooves for glass in wooden frames.

• Combination cutters According to the capabilities provided, they combine tenon and groove types.

The listed versions of wood cutters for a manual router can be used not only when processing wood, but also a number of other materials, in particular plasterboard boards, multi-layer plywood, etc.

Designs of cutters and their influence on the technology of milling operations

Wood cutters for a manual router can have stacked and monolithic designs. In the first case, the design of the tool is a certain set of plates made of high-speed steel, which are attached to the cutter shank by soldering with copper alloys (sometimes, in cheaper sets, tool steel is used instead of a carbide alloy, and alloy structural steel is used as the shank material).

In the second case, the cutter is a monolithic tool, which is made of tool steel. A special type of cutter for a hand router is formed by mounted cutters, which consist of a removable plate, which is then mounted on an adapter shank. Such cutters are the most technologically advanced to use, since when the cutting blade becomes dull on one side, the removable plate can be turned over to the opposite side and continue to use the tool.

When choosing a set of tools in question, pay attention to the following:

• Soldering of typesetting cutters must be done in such a way that the tool does not lose its longitudinal stability during long-term processing, especially if the workpiece is made of hornbeam, pear, oak and other hardwoods;
• When soldering tools, grades PSr40 or PSr37.5, with a high content of silver and copper, should be used as solders. Solders of other brands usually include nickel, which impairs the strength of the connection between the plates and the shank;
• The easiest way to check the thermal strength of a set cutter is by the thermal deformation of the tool during heating of each tooth to a temperature of 200...250 0 C: the tool after such heat treatment should not allow its longitudinal axis to run out by more than 0.05 mm;
• The stacking cutter should not be made by welding the shank to the working cutting part. Firstly, at the site of the weld, the strength of the metal is always reduced by 15...20%, and, secondly, with sharp impacts (for example, when cutting a cutter into hard wood), chips may appear on the surface of the weld. The use of such a cutter is unacceptable.

It is especially worth highlighting the problem of the hardness of cutters for a hand router. Manufacturers of sets of such tools may be from China. The price of such a tool is noticeably lower, but the quality of the metal from which the equipment is made also decreases. Most often this concerns monolithic cutters. It is impossible to evaluate the steel grade under normal conditions, but the test can be performed at home. To do this, it is best to use a calibrated file, after contact with which there should be no visible marks on the working surface of the cutter. This roughly corresponds to a hardness of 58…62 HRC.

The durability of cutters is determined by the intensity of their use. High-quality stacking cutters with working plates made of high-speed steels have the best durability, while monolithic cutters made from ordinary tool steel have the least durability.

How to choose a wood cutter for a hand router?

Having decided to purchase a set of cutters of the highest quality, it makes sense to analyze the criteria for choosing such a tool. The following are usually taken into account:

1. Shank dimensions. This size (for an imported set produced by a European brand, it can be indicated in inches) will determine the possibility of sharing the equipment with a hand router. The problem will not arise if the design of the router provides collet clamps. But even in this case, the diameter of the collet must be compatible with the diameter of the shank. The most common discrepancies are caused by different length measures. For example, shanks with a diameter of ¼ or ½ inch in conversion will give a diameter value of 6.35 and 12.7 mm. The metric sizes of the most common types of collets are 6.8 and 12 mm, so it will not be possible to combine the mounting points.

1. Blade material Wood cutters for imported manual routers are marked with the letters HM (carbide) and HSS (high-speed steel). Carbide cutters are characterized by increased fragility, so when cutting into hard wood, they can quickly chip. But they can successfully cope with milling A0 or A00 aluminum. If you intend to process hard wood, it is more practical to use high-speed steel grades R6M3, R6M5 or 10R6M5.
2. Blade position. They can be placed parallel to the tool axis, or at some angle. Vertical blades do not cut, but chop wood, which practically translates into significant impact loads. In such conditions, it is quite difficult to work with a hand router, and the resulting surface will have to be ground. Therefore, it is advisable to use plate cutters with vertical plates in preliminary operations, when the main thing is maximum material removal. On the contrary, inclined blades cut wood cleaner and are used at the final stages of milling.

The optimal set of cutters for wood includes two edge cutters (for metric and inch shanks), three end mills (diameters 6.12, 18 mm), two groove cutters (including one for dovetail), one each figured and corner cutter. More advanced combinations are used for professional wood milling purposes.

If you quite often make various wooden products for your home, then sooner or later you will acquire a hand router. Of course, some types of manual milling work can be done using an electric drill, which is available in almost every home workshop.

You can read about different cutters for drills.

But the main difference between a router and a drill, besides the presence of an adjustable support platform, is its high speed (from 10,000 to 30,000 rpm), which even the most high-speed drill cannot boast of. But this is precisely what determines the level of quality of the result obtained. But, you will also need the right equipment - cutters, and a great variety of them are produced for this tool.

Helping you understand their varieties and types is the goal of this article.

What types of cutters are there for a hand router?

To get started, we suggest watching the video:

And according to the design of wood cutters there are:

• monolithic;
• compound;
• mounted.

Monolithic cutters do not need a detailed description.

But compound and mounted ones are often confused. Composite cutters are cutters in which two or more types of cutters are combined into a single unit on one shank. In them you can change the order of the cutters and the distance between them, insert intermediate bushings or bearings.

And the attachment ones have a large hole in the center and are mounted on the shaft of the milling machine.

A according to the nature and place of application of the cutter for manual milling cutters there are:

• end;
• edge;
• grooved;
• copying.

8

This video will help you better understand their diversity and purpose:

Let's look at it in order.

Their main feature is the presence of cutting edges at the end of the working part.

This does not mean that they only work with axial loads. They can also have side edges that allow you to move the cutter in the plane of the router's support pad, making various grooves and cuts in the material. They may have a different number of cutting edges, and, accordingly, different cleanliness of material processing.

End mills are most often monolithic, but there are also composite ones. A striking example of this can be core cutters, more often used with a drill.

Edge cutters for wood

This is the most widely represented range of this tool, due to the most frequent use of hand routers specifically for forming various edges on wooden products.

Even in large sets of cutters, which it is preferable for a home craftsman to have rather than buying a large number of cutters randomly, the main part is edge cutters.

And their classification is much wider than that of other types of cutters. They are:

• profile– giving the processed edge an intricate figured shape;

• molding– rounding the edge with a convex shape to a quarter of a circle;

• conical– chamfering at an angle (more often it is at 45°);

• disk– for grooves in the edge;

• folded– selecting a quarter in the edge;

• fillets– making quarter-circle grooves in the edge;

• curvaceous– for forming the edges of panels.

As a rule, all edge cutters for wood have a thrust bearing that limits the penetration of the tool into solid wood. The depth of the cutter's reach is regulated by the position of the support platform of the router itself.

And the methods of working with such cutters are the same. If the cutter removes a large mass of wood at once, then it is better to carry out the processing in several passes, gradually deepening it into the wood until the thrust bearing starts working. You can watch the video:

Groove cutters for wood

Their main purpose is to form grooves, but most often they are used for carving wood using a hand router.

And there are quite a lot of varieties:

• spiral– similar to most end mills with a more formed external helical cutting edge, reminiscent of a drill;

• fillets– making semicircular grooves;

• conical– often they are used for carving on a plane;

• T-shaped;

• dovetail type;

• shaped;

• combined– used for gluing large wooden panels.

Groove cutters that work on the surface of wooden products are most often monolithic, but they also come with carbide cutting edges.

This is the smallest subgroup of cutters for a hand router. The main difference between such cutters is the overall dimensions, the number of cutting edges and the location of the thrust bearings or thrust surfaces: above, below or on both sides of the cutting part.

They are the ones that come into contact with the template, according to which the milling shape of the workpiece is copied. The principle of their operation will become clearer after watching a short video:

Functional sets of cutters and more

Quite often, manufacturers create sets of cutters designed to perform the same type of work, with a completed cycle of processing wooden products or producing the same type of joints.

This set of 2 cutters not only forms the inner edge of the frame product, but also makes the groove part of the corner joint in this frame. It is easy to understand that it can also be used to join boards into panels.

This set is used for making thin wooden window frames and other similar works.

But each of its cutters, of course, can act as an independent tool for performing a number of other types of wood processing.

The composite cutter shown in the following photo, depending on the sequence of assembly of its constituent elements, is used to form both edges of the wooden lining.

And by using a metal sleeve of the appropriate size instead of one of its components, this cutter can become either a moulder or a disk edge cutter.

Of course, as with other hand-held power tools, you can greatly expand the capabilities of a hand router by building a table for it.

By attaching movable stops to it, you will turn the hand tool into something like a milling machine. And with its help and a set of cutters, like the ones mentioned above, you can do very interesting things:

Dear readers, if you have any questions, please ask them using the form below. We will be glad to communicate with you;)