Surfacing

[coach]

I surfaced a fiberglass 4x8 composite panel today. I took off .035 per pass. 2 passes.
Cut great and no mess. The customer wants me to also skim off laminate on about 75 panels.
I looked at a 2 1/2" cutter with replaceable inserts.
I am looking for some input as far as technique for laminate removal. .028-.030 thickness.
I ran at 10 IPS today but my spoil board bit won't last long.
Thanks for any suggestions.

[Gary Campbell]

David...
I would recommend that insert type surfacer for composite panels. A few extra bucks going in, but the ist set of 4 sided inserts are on their last side after 2 1/2 years on pour machine and we surface a lot of Ipe products. Fiberglass is also a high abrasive product.

We run the Amana 2 1/2" surfacer on our spoilboard @ 10ips, 2" stepover and up to .050 per pass. Most sense woods get cut at 6-8 ips. More than that the dust collector cant keep up.
Gary

[coach]

Thanks Gary, where do you get your Amana bits?
Have you ever run at 12 IPS. (max for an alpha?)

[Gary Campbell]

David...
Make sure you get the one with the 1/2" shank: http://www.toolstoday.com/p-5785-spoilboard-surfacing-insert-cutter-router-bit.aspx

Yes, even higher. Under the right conditions, the alpha exceeds its advertised specs.
Gary

[jerry_stanek]

Just remember that if your spindle is not perfectly vertical that you will have grooves in the work. the bigger the cutter the more it will show up.

[coach]

Gary, cutter arrived today. What a difference.
Customer changed from taking .070 off to taking .190 off making 1/2" thick sheet.
.095 1 pass each side......DONE.....18 minutes.

Thanks for the input.
Jerry, luckily everything is square.
David