Edge Cutter Model Overview

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Edge processing is an integral process in the manufacture of almost any wooden product. Two or three decades ago, an edge cutter 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 cutters). On sale, you can easily find a wide variety of cutter models, even for creating an edge with a fancy curved geometric shape.

Design of edge cutter

Structurally, all cutters for edge router consist of three parts:

• Shank, which is clamped into the chuck 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.
• Cutting part, the shape of which determines the configuration of the processed edge. It can be made as a single piece with a shank or with replaceable cutting elements. The design of the shank of some models allows you to install several of these parts at the same time. The blades of these elementsmilling cutters are made of high speed tool steel or special hard alloys.
• Bearing (if provided by the 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 cutters

Let's take a closer look at the existing types of devices. The most popular and sought-after type of cutting tool for end processing is an edge cutter 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 pre-made template, which is especially important when manufacturing several identical wooden parts. According to the geometric shape of the cutting element, such cutters are very diverse and allow you to create both a smooth end at a right angle to the surface of a wooden workpiece, and the most complex, curved edges.

Straight cutter

After cutting the end face with a straight edge cutter with 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 to be processed. Very often, such devices are used not only to level the entire surface of the butt, but also to remove protruding elements of a wooden structure, for example, veneer glued to a countertop.

Cone cutters can also be included in this category. The edge processed with such a nozzle,has a smooth surface, located at an angle to the surface of the web. The size and configuration of the cutting element depends on the thickness and the required edge slope.

Edge moulder

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 widely used in the manufacture of countertops, processing the ends of shelves or armrests of chairs. The surface of the edge, made using this type of fixture, is a ¼ circle. The size of the cutting part of such a cutter is selected depending on the thickness of the material and the required edge radius.

Filling cutter

This cutter has a cutting edge geometry that is a mirror image of the moulder. The cutting element is made in the form of an outwardly curved arc of a circle. It is intended for arranging an edge with a concave recess. Such products are widely used in the manufacture of simple-shaped skirting boards or furniture legs.

Cutters for joining individual elements

Quite often, a wooden product consists of several parts, which are subsequently connected with glue. In order to firmly and reliably dock individual elements, the edges of the parts are processed with special cutters. The cutting elements of such products allow you to create connections:

• "in a quarter" (on one side of the end of each part, a notch is madesquare section, the width and depth of which are equal to ½ of the thickness of the web);
• with a rectangular recess, the depth of which depends on the diameter of the installed bearing or the adjusting devices of the device used;
• "thorn-groove" (on one part they make a protrusion, on the second - the same recess);

multi-thorn (several rectangular grooves are cut at the ends of the first part, the same number of protrusions are cut on the second part)

Nozzles for making curly ends

Such products are designed to create complex geometric shapes of edges. With their help, they make blanks for baguette frames of paintings or photographs, process the ends of exclusive furniture, door and window openings. Bits are produced both in the form of a finished monolithic design, and with the ability to install two or more different cutters 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 figurative cutter designed for decorative processing of the edges of door panels and the manufacture of skirting boards of various shapes.

Producers and prices

The range of edge cutters for wood is quite wide and varied. These items can be purchased separately. The price of these nozzles depends on the manufacturer, the configuration of the cutting element and its dimensions. For example, a FIT straight cutter with a diameter of 10 mm and a working length of 20 mm costs about 150 rubles, andthe Bosh edge moulder with a radius of 14 mm and a lower bearing will cost you 900 rubles already.

Many manufacturers offer sets of cutters (from six pieces or more in one set):

• with products of the same shape, but different sizes of the working part;
• with milling cutters, the size and shape of the cutting element of which varies, is most often used in self-processing of wooden structures.

For example, a FIT set of 6 most commonly used devices costs 790 rubles, and a HAMMER set (of 12 or 15 pieces) costs 2000 or 2400 rubles, respectively.