Router

[olddog]

Has anyone ever used a router with copper? I know a friend of mine has used one with aluminium with success and copper is another soft metal. My thoughts are to surface mount sight glasses to a column, drill with a half inch drill, then put a small bit in the router and then rout out the remainder. Sort of like a milling machine.


OD

[Kentucky shinner]

I am trying to come up with a good way to make a template for cutting a taper on the sightglass where it contacts the column, so the will be nothing inside the column. I want all of them to look exactly the same. Any ideas

[olddog]

This is why I want to surface mount the glass assemblies, and just rout out the hole flush with the inside of the body of the fitting.


OD

[crazyk78]

Guys you can use a router to cut just about anything.

The important thing is bit type, cutting speed and feed of the bit especially when cutting metals.

I'm not sure which type you will need but I know when we were cutting plastic with a router mounted to a robot, the speed of the bit and how quick it was moving determined how well it cut.

Cheers

[maheel]

I see the biggest challenge is holding the router so it does not drift and also seeing the hole under / over it

[olddog]

I will give it a try on a piece of scrap, and report back.



OD

[LWTCS]

Carbide bit and nice and slow.

Also, a Forsner bit and a bit of cutting oil will work very nicely. The forsner bits are sized just right for the tubing diameter.

[squidd]

OD,

I modified my drill press so that it can be used as a poor man's mill.
It involves boring through the quill shaft, to accomodate the threaded pull rod, to snug a collet and end mill in place.

With the slow speeds available, it works well.
Plus you can see the work piece.

squidd

[still crazy]

I used a diamond bit in my rotozip to cut the pyrex glass worked like a charm.
They make cutoff wheels and router style diamond bits for dremel tools as well

[cob]

crazyk78 said bit type. there are special bit designs for soft metal with spiral flutes so they don't grab. i have used standard straight trimmer bits to trim copper sheets laminated to a base flat stock (like a table top). if you have or can get a top bearing trimmer bit and build a saddle for your pipe with the template in it you should be able to cut any shape you want. the saddle is shaped to the pipe on the bottom and flat on top for the router, and you could cut a mm. or two at a time to keep from getting a runaway. with a bottom bearing bit put the template inside the pipe, and the saddle outide for stability and the smallest diameter bit you own. without any bearing bits make the saddle larger and the template to use the router base as the guide, (router base in a big circle). sharp steel cutters will work as well as carbide. cob

[LWTCS]

sharp steel cutters will work as well as carbide. cob

True.
My forsners are jes regular steel. They are for wood boring and with a bit of oil they seem to be holding up pretty good.

[still crazy]

Oh and one thing I shouldn't have to mention but will SAFETY GLASSES hot shards of copper OUCH < yes I did catch one DUHHHHH