Could Anyone Please Recommend a Starter Bit Set for a Shapeoko 4?

[Scott Memmer]

Hi, All. I just found out that my wife is going out of town for a few days to visit family. This will allow me to focus on finishing the set-up of my brand-new Shapeoko 4.

I was going to buy the starter bit set from Shapeoko, but that will come too slow for the weekend.

Could someone possibly recommend a starter bit set to me for that machine -- with the direct link would be great -- that would be on Amazon. I'm a Prime member and could have that here in two days. That will allow me do final set-up and possibly some test cuts while the cat's away.

Thanks Very Much, in Advance,
sm

[George Yetka]

What are you planning on using it for?

A couple i would start with are 1/4 &1/8 down cut bits, 1/4 and 1/8 compression bits, bowl bit, v-bit, and a surfacing bit.

That will get you going. down cuts cut into the wood and protect from chipout on the top surface, Compression is good if you are going through.

If you plan on 3d you will need ball end bits.

Amana and whiteside make some premium bits but they may not be necessary when first starting.

All that said I still dont have the frame I need to start assembling my onefinity

[Scott Memmer]

What are you planning on using it for?

A couple i would start with are 1/4 &1/8 down cut bits, 1/4 and 1/8 compression bits, bowl bit, v-bit, and a surfacing bit.

That will get you going. down cuts cut into the wood and protect from chipout on the top surface, Compression is good if you are going through.

If you plan on 3d you will need ball end bits.

Amana and whiteside make some premium bits but they may not be necessary when first starting.

All that said I still dont have the frame I need to start assembling my onefinity

George, thanks for your response. I will be cutting NO wood. My business is involved strictly with high-end plastics -- DuPont Vespel, PEEK, Ultem, etc. These plastics machine very similarly to Acrylic and Acetal machine as well as metals, so I'm seeking either plastics-specific cutting nbits and/or metal-cutting bits.

Thanks Very Much,
sm

[Bill Dufour]

What type of machine is that? I assume it has a motor.
Bill D

[Scott Memmer]

What type of machine is that? I assume it has a motor.
Bill D

Bill, thanks. Yes, it comes outfitted with a motor and is good to go once assembled.

https://shop.carbide3d.com/collectio...33051555921981

[Bill Dufour]

I would buy solid carbide spiral endmills designed for plastic or Aluminum. Cheaper then wood ones as a general rule. What kind of accuracy do you need? I would consider resharps and set the offsets for each bit.
Bill D

[Scott Memmer]

I would buy solid carbide spiral endmills designed for plastic or Aluminum. Cheaper then wood ones as a general rule. What kind of accuracy do you need? I would consider resharps and set the offsets for each bit.
Bill D

Bill, thanks. On the accuracy thing: I've never done CNC before, so this is yet to be done. But nothing like Mil Spec. I'm guessing somewhere around .020", if that seems reasonable.

Thanks Again, Bill.

Scott

[derek labian]

Hi Scott, congratulations.

I'm not sure if your aware, but there is also a CNC board on this forum that has lots of good CNC info: https://sawmillcreek.org/forumdispla...8-CNC-Machines

I've been researching CNC machines and I found it helpful.

Derek

[Scott Memmer]

Hi Scott, congratulations.

I'm not sure if your aware, but there is also a CNC board on this forum that has lots of good CNC info: https://sawmillcreek.org/forumdispla...8-CNC-Machines

I've been researching CNC machines and I found it helpful.

Derek

Derek, thanks for the reminder. I'll post over there as well.

sm

[Richard Coers]

I use Onsrud O flute, single flute for acrylic. Speed and feed will be your adjustments after using the right bit. With a little adjustment, you'll hear when you get it right. Get it wrong and you get some impressive buggers hanging on the top of the bit!

[Jim Becker]

Tooling for plastics, composis and soft, non-ferrous metals have different optimization than for cutting wood. The "sets" that many folks start their CNC journey out with are generally focused on wood cutting. Tooling for what you want to cut is often single, O-Flute spiral. While I've gravitated to buying "value priced tooling" for wood cutting in many respects, Amana is what I use for plastics and aluminum. Speeds and feeds are also critical and different than for cutting wood. If you're using a router motor, that will be slightly more difficult than with a spindle for these materials because you have less flexibility for RPM. You'll need to adjust your horizontal movement speeds and depth of cut to get a good chip load. That all said, plastics and composite mill really nicely with a CNC machine. You'll enjoy it. You'll also make a nice mess. Plastic debris sticks to EVERYTHING!

[Scott Memmer]

Tooling for plastics, composis and soft, non-ferrous metals have different optimization than for cutting wood. The "sets" that many folks start their CNC journey out with are generally focused on wood cutting. Tooling for what you want to cut is often single, O-Flute spiral. While I've gravitated to buying "value priced tooling" for wood cutting in many respects, Amana is what I use for plastics and aluminum. Speeds and feeds are also critical and different than for cutting wood. If you're using a router motor, that will be slightly more difficult than with a spindle for these materials because you have less flexibility for RPM. You'll need to adjust your horizontal movement speeds and depth of cut to get a good chip load. That all said, plastics and composite mill really nicely with a CNC machine. You'll enjoy it. You'll also make a nice mess. Plastic debris sticks to EVERYTHING!

Jim, thanks so much. It's starting to make sense, little by little.

If you have a moment, would you mind posting a few direct links to the kind of bits you're talking about. This is all French to me, and I want to make sure I dial it in. I'm hoping to have the machine up and running as soon as Sunday, so I'll be doing some test cuts in the next week or too, I hope., figfuring

I bought the bit set off Amazon last night, figuring it's cheap enough even if I bought the wrong thing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[David Kenagy]

An internet search for end mills has so many…. I ordered a starter set with the machine that’s coming, but am starting to think about my applications (brass sheet) and what companies to lean toward.

A guy named “Fromme” has a bunch of YouTube videos for new folks, and showed Amana as better than Whiteside. By that he meant higher quality steel in the shank (didn’t compare the carbide edges). He also didn’t discuss wood vs soft metals.

Does your preference for Amana apply to brass too?
Is Amana your choice because it performs better? Costs less? Breaks less? Dulls more slowly?

Are there other folks with CNC experience with suggestions for companies to seek out (or avoid)?