Freeborn Carbide vs T-Alloy

[Charles Brown]

Does anyone have any experience between either? I've only used the carbide and was wondering if I'm missing anything.

Mainly I run domestic hardwoods through the cutters, if that matters.

[peter gagliardi]

T-alloy is for solid wood only! It has the nice sharpness of steel but longer edge holding. Order carbide if you will be running ANY man-made materials. Been using T-alloy for 20+ years , it works well in solid wood.
peter

[Peter Quinn]

From freeborn web site


Question: When should I choose carbide versus T-Alloy? [ top (http://www.freeborntool.com/faq.html#top) ]
Answer: Freeborn Tool Co. offers you a choice of tipping materials to maximize your cutting efficiency. Which one you use will depend on your application. Carbide cuts by abrasion, while T-Alloy cuts by severing the wood fibers, resulting in a smoother finish.

Carbide: The choice for all around cutting, carbide is unsurpassed while working with man-made materials such as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard. Carbide also works well on all natural woods. Our choice of C2 grade carbide offers the ideal combination of shock and wear resistance. Other carbide grades are available in custom cutters, but there is an extended lead-time. Choose carbide when a variety of materials are to be cut, for very abrasive woods, and for most hand fed jobs.

T-Alloy: Freeborn Tool Co.’s name for Jon-Alloy, T-Alloy is a cast alloy comprised of cobalt, chromium, tungsten, columbium, and carbon. It is melted in electric furnaces and cast in chill molds. Ideal for natural woods, T-Alloy is not to be used on man made materials. While not able to withstand as much heat as carbide, T-Alloy cutters can be made sharper and are highly resistant to shock and impact. Choose T-Alloy for use on natural woods where the feed rate can be kept high enough to allow the cutter to cut rather than rub the wood.


That pretty much sums it up. I bought a few tantung cutters used, same thing as t-alloy, they really are sharp, they cut more like HSS when fresh. IIR they can actually outlast carbide in hardwood, particularly acidic hardwood like white oak which tends to degrade carbide more quickly. My experience, it cuts well, you have to feed quickly. It cuts better than most brazed carbide, not better than insert carbide. So for cabinet doors, great. But doesn't work on MDF or other man made stuff.

[Charles Brown]

Peter(s), thanks for the response. Per Mr. Gagliardi's suggestion, I'm going to get a set of their door cutters in the T-Alloy and see how well they hold up. To Peter Q's point, I'll be running all of the stick cuts with a power feeder. When you say it needs to be run quickly, do you mean faster then a 12-14 KPI (knife cuts per inch)? That's typically what I try to run the speed of domestic hardwoods past the cutters.

[Peter Quinn]

I don't have the " spindle moulds handbook" handy, but iir they put some numbers to it. The few I have are 4z brazed molding cutters, so I run them a bit quicker than I would a typical sticking cut, never really stopped to think very scientifically about it. Very smooth cut though. I suppose there are limits to your speed range for a quality product, I'm thinking I probably wouldn't run at the bottom end of the feed rate, particularly for a blind end grain cut like coping? I've run carbide on a small shaper at a crawl to maximize kpi, might cook tantung.

[peter gagliardi]

Most cutters like this are designed to work best at a feed rate of between 20-35 feet per minute, as it optimizes cut quality and cutter life while maintaining proper chip load in the cut which actually cools the cutter to prevent wear and burning.
in my experience, the cope and stick will give no issues in that regard, but the back cutter for panels will. It has to do with the cutting geometry- a horizontal flat that the cutting edge maintains contact with the wood from entry to exit, essentially the entire arc.
Freeborn gives the best cut of any I've tried.
peter

[Charles Brown]

Thanks again. Peter, the Spindle Moulder Handbook does that that information, I copied it and its posted on the wall in my shop. Rod Sheridan also posted a very handy pdf with cutter speed / feed speed relationships. It, too, is posted on the wall in my shop. The big feeder I have does 8 speeds depending on gearing. I just need to remember which turtle or rabbit graphic corresponds to which speed. I guess a pictogram of childhood stories are more universal than using 1, 2, 3, 4? Maybe Delta was just trying to play to a wider audience with their power feeder? Who knows.

Peter G, I agree with your statement of Freeborn cutters. I will be ordering some more this afternoon. I just wish they made them with a larger OD.

[David Kumm]

Charles, I agree. The only thing I'd change with Freeborn is the diameter. I especially like their entry door sets for cabinet doors. Larger profile allows me to use 1" stock with a full 5/8" tongue and groove. Dave

[Jeff Duncan]

I guess a pictogram of childhood stories are more universal than using 1, 2, 3, 4? Maybe Delta was just trying to play to a wider audience with their power feeder? Who knows.
.


I have a Delta with the same setup and I kinda like it. I have another Euro feeder that has O/1/2 Hi/Lo and 1/2/3/4 speed selector, and I have to stop and think about the speed correlation for a minute. With the Delta it's just slow and fast;) At some point I really do have to print out the speeds though, why they print it inside the cover I don't get?

good luck,
JeffD