Machining carbon fiber?

[Phillip Patton]

I may be making a knife with a round carbon fiber handle in the near future, and was hoping I could turn it on a lathe. My previous experience with CF tells me that HSS bits probably won't cut the mustard. Have any of you guys done any turning of CF, and if so, what bit material worked the best?

Thanks,

P.S. I already know about the health hazards of CF, so no need to go into that.

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

How big of a round will you need? You can buy solid rod up to 3/4in dia.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

I've only milled it and I have found it to dull cutters quickly and it takes a sharp cutter to make a clean cut, otherwise you get tear out.

I would look for sharp (not burnished) carbide inserts for fine finishing aluminum. Insert life is not good and you need to keep swarf out of the ways the same as G10 etc.

Sometimes people will mount grinding wheels or burrs in a tool post grinder to turn things that don't process well with single point tooling. If so, you'll run it in back gear the same as if you were grinding. Since a lot of tooling used in production manufacturing of CF is done with burrs that might be a good approach.

EDIT: forgot to add, just chop the dust into little lines and snort it.

 

[synthesist]

****************cracks up****************

Nathan ---------- you're hilarious (as well as being a treasure, mind you)

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel

 

[Overmountain]

I've only milled it and I have found it to dull cutters quickly and it takes a sharp cutter to make a clean cut, otherwise you get tear out.

I would look for sharp (not burnished) carbide inserts for fine finishing aluminum. Insert life is not good and you need to keep swarf out of the ways the same as G10 etc.

Sometimes people will mount grinding wheels or burrs in a tool post grinder to turn things that don't process well with single point tooling. If so, you'll run it in back gear the same as if you were grinding. Since a lot of tooling used in production manufacturing of CF is done with burrs that might be a good approach.

EDIT: forgot to add, just chop the dust into little lines and snort it.

Great.... another drug to assign a schedule to and enforce...

-Eric