![cnc dovetail cutter cnc dovetail cutter](https://cbu01.alicdn.com/img/ibank/2020/055/395/15855593550_416134825.jpg)
To position it I laidan insert in place and then used the X and Y handwheels to get the bitexactly on target…I used a piloted tap and some Tap Magic: worriedthat little 4-40 tap might break off in the hole! Here we are slicing out a dovetail! This was a fun little project! In the picture above, if I am cutting left to right, I am climb milling. This is my first “real” work on the mill, so it should be interesting.I placed the cutter in a V-Block to hold it securelywhile milling and used a 30 degree angle block clamped to the table toget the right angle… Successive passes with the end mill are all it takes… Now ready to drill the hole. We have to hold a piece of round stock at exactly the right angle to the X-axis in order to make the cut. Basically, I need to set up the dovetail cutter onthe mill so that I can take an endmill and cut the pocket that the insert sits in until it’s deep enough that the insert’s cutting edge is on the centerline of the cutter. I alsoapplied a little file and sandpaper to it while it was spinning there… Not bad, eh? Ready for the mill work next.Part 2: Mill WorkThere’s not a tremendous amount to do on the mill, but it would be hard to make this cutter without one.
![cnc dovetail cutter cnc dovetail cutter](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/51/23/94/5123941fc9d4fdaabcee861ef487fb62.jpg)
#Cnc dovetail cutter free
You’ll be free soon my pretty! Flipped it around and faced off the base. Love my 6-JawBuck Chuck! Note that I cut the same taper as a chamfer to finishoff the tip of the shank… Out comes my fancycarbide insert parting off tool. I’m taking 0.020″ each pass… Once the shank is turned down, turn your compoundaround so you can cut the 60 degree taper that is the head of the cutter… Taper is all done. It cuts very accurately, and I can hold a thousandth without really trying to hard, so the 2 hours didn’t require much focus just enough to stay out of trouble.Start turning the shank down to 1/2″ diameter… Whew doggies: she’s so hot she’s smoking! Starting to get there. The work shown below in the photos took me about 2 hours to do on my Lathemaster 9x30 lathe. Given the piece I had wasa bit long, I also center drilled so I could use a live center to support it for greater rigidity. Face and turn it for squareness before starting. Here is what I came up with:Top ViewFront ViewRight ViewPart 1: Lathe WorkThe first thing to do is put some 1″ or so round steel stock into the lathe. I wanted something compact, with a 1/2″ shank, and easy for me to machine. This was not hard to do as the shape is very simple and the key dimensions are readily available on the Internet:The TPGB inserts I plan to use…The rest of the design is pretty simple. It seemed like a good size for the toolholder dovetails, and I try to keep reusing the same insert types so restocking isn’t so painful to manage.Rhino 3D to the Rescue! The first thing I had to do was make a 3D model of a TPGB insert. The TPGB 21’s are right in the middle of the insert sizes my boring bars use. Indexable Tooling is very economical in that respect. The TPGB insert style I chose was based on some boring bars I had. I wanted an indexable dovetail cutter to make it easy to swap in new cutting edges as needed.
![cnc dovetail cutter cnc dovetail cutter](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/351105105922-0-1/s-l1000.jpg)
So, I made this cutter as my first “practical” mill project. To do that I have to be able to cut the dovetails. I wanted to make Aloris-style QCTP holders for my lathe.
#Cnc dovetail cutter manual
Is Manual Machining Faster than CNC for Simple Parts?Manual is Faster CNC is Faster Indexable Dovetail Cutter for CNC JoineryDovetail joints are both strong and aesthetically pleasing, but they require a special dovetail cutter.