Fly cutter question(s)

Jan 26, 2005 5 Replies
A

Why is the slot on the body of a fly-cutter offset from the centre?



Is it so that the cutting edge itself is brought onto the line of a diameter?


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On the Chronos fly cutter that I have, the cutting bit is about 6" long and 1/4" square.



How much should protrude at the sharp end? It seems to me that if there was more than, say, 1", that there would be destructive forces tending to bend or to shatter the cutting bit.


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When using fly cutters and planing bits in hand shapers, surely as the cut proceeds, the cutting bit will wear and that therefore you will not end up with a uniformly flat surface?


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R

Yes

Yes, keep the toolbit as "short" as possible.

Yes, in theory but not usually noticable in practice.

Randy

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A

Sorry - TA! (It was the other poster to whom I replied contemporaneously who was posting from La Belle France)

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A

And one further question....

What shape do I grind the cutting end to be?

Does it have to be somehow the shapes that are advised for lathe tools, i.e. a knife, and a different shaped knife for brass and for steel?

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J

I usually make a small radius, as seen from the side of the flycutter. This radius would be the cutting edge as it faces the work. I just leave the "top" (as if it were a lathe tool) flat. So, you can take the tool blank and just round off one corner, and put a little back relief on it. I use some old cobalt HSS cutters, and they do amazingly well on aluminum and steel.

Jon

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