Cutter Position Question

Sometimes the step is intentional. Like the dovetail on a QCTP holder. Might be able to work that into your design at times.
 
I use the paper method. It gets you within .003 of the surface. Sometimes, depending on what the dovetail is for, that is good enough.
 
Yes, the paper and dye work. I have also used chalk with good results…Good Luck, Dave.
 
Sometimes I use a feeler gauge. Leave the mill off, and lower the cutter till you feel a slight drag on the feeler gauge. Pull the feeler gauge out, and lower it the thickness of the gauge.

I often setup my roughing cut with a normal endmill so that it's a few thousandths high, and use the dovetail cutter to clean up the bottom of the cut slightly the whole way across the dovetail as well.
 
Hello,
I make many tool holders and qctp, what I do is touch off the top of the work with the end mill and hog out the material to the depth I want on the dro or you can use just the dials if that is all you have and leave 5 thou. The I pull that and put in the dovetail cutter again touching off the top of work again and bring down to final depth on dro or dial and make/enter the final cut. I at times leave more than 5 thou so I can have a finishing cut of 2 thou for a smooth surface. By always touching off with the cutter at the top you know where you are. Use a feeler gauge or paper or I at times will actually touch in a to future to be removed material.
 
I Always gut 2 or 3 thou deaper with the endmill than I wan't to go with the dove tail cutter. It lessens the loade on the dove taile cutter. Most qctp holders are cut that way for that reason.
 
Well thanks for all the replies. It helps me out a lot. I never thought of the chalk idea. I made a bunch of "practice cuts" in different material trying to come to a reasonably, repeatable way of doing these but my cuts were always slightly too big no matter what I did. I kept thinking it was somehow related to the depth after switching to the dovetail cutter. The cutter came from Grizzly and was marked as a 3/8" dovetail cutter. I finally measured the cutter and it was actually .3865". So the cutter I assume is too big to make a true 3/8" dovetail. I ordered a better quality cutter today so I will see how things go after it arrives.

Rick H.
 
Rick,

I am currently making QCTP Holders and have a description in SHOP MADE TOOLING / QCTP -Tool Holders. Take a look at the posting maybe it will help.


Caster
 
There's a method for measuring dovetails with dowel pins you could use to hit that dovetail dead on. Don't go full width, go about 3/4 then measure, then you know how much wider you need to go. You can then sneak up on it, to the point that you're a few thousandths under, then take tiny cuts till it fits well (or you hit your measurement if you trust it) Then the cutter diameter and spindle runout and other factors don't matter. Unfortunately I'm on a phone, so its hard to type math. Should be easy enough to search though.
 
Oops yeah, you'll need a cutter that's not the same size as the dovetail, you'll need one that's smaller so you can clean up both sides.
 
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