I have some significant material to remove on these MDF drawer fronts. Currently the largest tool bit I have is a 1/4" end mill. Recommendations on the appropriate bit to get and use so this job doesn’t run for 3-4 hours?
If it matters I have a robust dust collector…not sure if that would allow me to safely increase the feed rate to speed things up.
I made kitchen doors like this many years ago. I used only 2 bits - a 1/4" upcut endmill and a 60 degree V bit for the profile. I had the luxury to let the program run overnight. Even though I had good dust collection some of the fine dust filled every corner and surface in the shop (just a warning) If I did it again the machine would be in an enclosure.
You can use a 2" surfacing bit for the center flat section but your tramming has to be perfect or you will see ridges.
IDC Woodcraft sells bits specifically for roughing and removing large amounts of material quickly, one is called “The Hog” and the other is “The Beast”. You can then do a cleanup pass with a 1/4" end mill. The "BEAST" 1/4 Hyper-Speed Roughing CNC Router Bit, 1/4 Shank – IDC Woodcraft
The HOG 1/4" Roughing Endmill Bit For CNC Routers, 1/4" Shank – IDC Woodcraft
Are you making the drawer front from a single piece of MDF? You would be better off using thinner MDF for the panel, and then cut rails and stiles from the thicker stock (better yet, from poplar or maple).
Most cabinet shops in my area use HDF one piece
Just use a 1/2" two flute straight router bit. Or an upcut if you’ve got a cheap one. Mdf is pretty rough on the blades so better not to use something precious. Running the fastest reasonable ipm will mitigate this somewhat, and reduce the fine dust hopefully. You want the blades slicing, not grinding. I have a couple cheap amazon 1/2 upcuts that use to pocket out 3/4 mdf down to .5" or so. It’s been a minute, but I think ive run them pushing towards 200ipm, 18000rpm, 50%step over. Shouldn’t take too long at all.
Note, deep pockets can end up adding a goofy warp to your mdf, so you may want to consider other’s advice about constructing out of multiple layers. I make big pockets and fill them entirely with epoxy so it’s not so much an issue to me.
