Edge processing is an integral process in the manufacture of almost any wooden product. Two or three decades ago, the edge mill was a big deficit for most home craftsmen. Now on the market, these products are considered affordable consumables for both professional machines and hand tools (milling machines). On sale, you can easily find a wide variety of models of cutters, even to create an edge with a bizarre curved geometric shape.
Edge milling cutter design
Structurally, all milling cutters for an edge mill consist of three parts:
- Shank , which is clamped in the cartridge of the device used. The standard shape of this part of the cutter for hand tools is cylindrical, with a groove for better fixation. For professional use in special machines, nozzles with a conical shape of the clamping part are produced. This component is made of structural alloy steel.
- The cutting part , the shape of which determines the configuration of the machined edge. It can be made as a unit with a shank or with interchangeable cutting elements. The shank design of some models allows you to install several of these parts simultaneously. The blades of these cutter elements are made of tool high-speed steel or special hard alloys.
- Bearing (if provided by design), which is installed in the upper or lower part of the shank. A set of such devices of different diameters allows you to adjust the depth of cut.
Edge milling cutters
Let's consider in more detail the existing types of devices. The most popular and sought-after type of cutting tool for machining ends is an edge mill with a bearing (upper or lower, less often with both at the same time). With the help of such devices, it is possible to process both straight edges and according to a prefabricated template, which is especially important in the manufacture of several identical wooden parts. In terms of the geometric shape of the cutting element, such milling cutters are very diverse and allow you to create both a flat end face at right angles to the surface of the wooden workpiece, and the most complex, curved edges.
Straight cutter
After processing the end with a mill straight edge with a bearing, the angle between the horizontal surface and the equipped edge is 90 . The choice of the size of the working part of such nozzles directly depends on the thickness of the edge that needs to be processed. Very often, such devices are used not only to level the entire surface of the end face, but also to remove protruding elements of a wooden structure, for example, veneer glued to a countertop.
Cone cutters can also be attributed to this category. The edge treated with such a nozzle has a smooth surface located at an angle to the surface of the canvas. The dimensions and configuration of the cutting element depend on the thickness and the required edge inclination.
Moulder Edge Milling Cutter
The concave surface of the cutting part of such a cutter allows you to make rounded edges of various wood products. These nozzles are most used in the manufacture of countertops, the processing of the ends of the shelves or armrests of chairs. The edge surface made using this kind of fixture is ¼ of a circle. The size of the cutting part of such a cutter is selected depending on the thickness of the material and the required radius of curvature of the edge.
Fillet cutter
This mill on the geometry of the cutting edge is a mirror reflection molding. The cutting element is made in the form of an arc curved outward. It is intended for arranging an edge with a concave recess. Such products are widely used in the manufacture of baseboards with simple shapes or furniture legs.
Milling cutters for joining individual elements
Quite often, a wooden product consists of several parts, which are subsequently bonded with glue. In order to firmly and reliably join individual elements, the edges of the parts are treated with special milling cutters. The cutting elements of such products allow you to create connections:
- “A quarter” (on one side of the end of each part, a recess of square section is made, the width and depth of which are equal to ½ of the thickness of the canvas);
- with a selection of a rectangular shape, the depth of which depends on the diameter of the installed bearing or adjusting devices of the device used;
- "Tenon groove" (on one part they make a protrusion, on the second - the same recess);
- multi-threaded (at the ends of the first part, several rectangular grooves are cut, on the second - the same number of protrusions).
Nozzles for the manufacture of curly ends
Such products are designed to create complex geometric shapes of the edges. With their help, they make blanks for baguette frames of paintings or photographs, process the ends of exclusive furniture, door and window openings. Nozzles are produced both in the form of a finished monolithic design, and with the possibility of installing two or more different mills on the shank, which allows you to create an edge according to your own design preferences.
One of the varieties of such devices is a figurine mill, designed for decorative processing of the edges of door panels and the manufacture of plinths of various shapes.
Manufacturers and prices
The range of edge milling cutters for wood is quite wide and varied. Such products can be purchased separately. The price of these nozzles depends on the manufacturer, the configuration of the cutting element and its size. For example, a direct FIT mill with a diameter of 10 mm and a working length of 20 mm costs about 150 rubles, and a Bosh edge molding tool with a radius of 14 mm and a lower bearing will cost you 900 rubles.
Many manufacturers offer cutter sets (from six or more in one set):
- with products of the same shape, but with different sizes of the working part;
- with milling cutters, the size and shape of the cutting element of which varies, is most often used for self-processing of wooden structures.
For example, a FIT kit of the 6 most commonly used devices costs 790 rubles, and a HAMMER kit (of 12 or 15 pieces) costs 2,000 or 2,400 rubles, respectively.