I have tried on three occasions to cut out the motor mounts using a 1/16" bit. The only bit that size I can find is a "dremel" bit and I buy them at Lowe's. I am using 1/8" lite ply. That is the really soft aircraft plywood that is actually a sheet of foam laminated between two sheet of plywood. The ply is not what I would call tough material but is strong enough to hold a motor for the foamies I build. Anyhow, cannot complete cutting more than one of these motor mounts before the bit snaps off. It breaks off about half-way down the cutting surface. I have varied the cutting speeds, but that does not help. The motor mounts can be cut out easily using the 3/32" bit but of course the holes are too large using that bit. Does anyone have any idea why these bits are breaking? Is there a source for longer, stronger 1/16" bits suitable for cutting 1/8 plywood? I will appreciate any comments and/or suggestions. Thanks.

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

 

Hi Chuck,

I don’t know if this is any help but I have profile cut countless numbers of plywood gear wheels using a 1mm cutter (for a friend who is an over enthusiastic designer and builder of wooden clocks) and have found that the glue/resin used in some batches of the laminate tends to ball up in the cutter flutes and kerf. This then causes additional loading on the cutter. To overcome my problem, I now use a low pressure air jet aimed at the cutter which helps to remove the debris but some pieces of ply still had to be discarded as unsuitable.
I really don’t know if this could be an issue with lite-ply but it is a thought.

Tweakie.

 

Thanks to you both. The motor mounts are the one's posted by Mark and are set up already for multiple pass cuts. Most definitely will try the slower cut rate and see if that helps.


Chuck

 

Thanks. I will get busy and order Marks bit-kit. Also, would like to experiment with the 2 and 4 flute end mills. I guess I just Google ENCO or MSC, right?

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...