Routing out knife guards

[chknifemaker]

so I was wondering if you got a milling bit and put it in a router and went slow could you mill out knife guards with a router?
Thanks
CH...

 

[Andrew Ovalles]

What i do was an idea i got from wolfgang loerchner, i have a small xy vise mounted to my drill press. I use it to get my drill bit to make nice straight lined holes using the axis and turning 1 knob to keep it real straight.

Then i take out the drill bit and replace it with a carbide bit(similar to the ones that fordoms use) i use the xy vise and slowly roll it through the carbide bit, after that i use a file to get the precise measurement.

Its not as fast as a mill but i feel it does the trick.

 

[Bob Katilus]

so I was wondering if you got a milling bit and put it in a router and went slow could you mill out knife guards with a router?
Thanks
CH...

This sounds radiculously unsafe. The speed at which a router spins is WAY too fast. If you had a variable speed router, and could dial down to a speed on the router = to that of a mill, you probably aren't going to get the torque required to cut metal.

As I say this, my guess is that someone is going to post something to the effect of "hey, yes you can 'cause I know a guy that has done it". I absolutely wouldn't want to be around a person that tries it.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

^ this

Milling = mass, torque and rigidity

Perhaps with some sort of a rotary file or burr. But not an endmill in a handheld router in steel. Nope, no way.

 

[Andrew Ovalles]

Nathan, thats what I meant to say when I said carbide bit, I meant carbide burr. But I dont solely depend on the bur, I use it just to open up the slot after drilling, After that its all file work.

 

[i4Marc]

Danger! Danger Will Robinson!

 

[Bill DeShivs]

No. Won't work.

 

[sunshadow]

There is nothing safe about the idea. There is incredible opportunity for flying sharp things at near bullet speeds. If you don't have a milling machine, drill two or more holes and file out the waste between. Slower yes. More precise yes. Safer. Yes.

-Page

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Drill two holes and use a jeweler's saw to cut the metal out between them.

 

[sunshadow]

Drill two holes and use a jeweler's saw to cut the metal out between them.

That is what I do most of the time, and I have a milling machine. Actually I drill one hole, use the jewelers saw to cut just shy of the scribed outline I have made based on measuring the tang with calipers and sneak up to a tight fit with files and gravers. Or I just lost wax cast the guard and do the final fit with files and gravers

-Page

 

[Chris Pierce]

I've tried a router on Aluminum when I was trying to find a faster way (and well less waste) to cut a bevel on a sheet of 5/8" for a house boat I was building. Even with the soft aluminum it was really hard to do well. If I recall correctly I ended up starting over and using a skill saw to cut the bevel. I thought maybe it would work with a carbide bit in the router since we used to cut aluminum and scarf welds all the time with carbide blades in skill saws and on angle grinders.

EDIT
Or maybe I was trying to bull nose some aluminum reinforcements for a dock we built? Either way, it didn't work real well.

 

[William Schrade]

The Router is the most dangerous tool in a wood shop because of the high RPMs. They're designed for wood. If you insist on trying it you might wear a suit of armor or better yet get your mother-in-law to try it.