Hi all, new to the forum and I’m after some advise please. In the new year I have to fit 27no Barnwood wardrobe doors on Blum 71B7550D I’m using these because the the doors are 30mm thick . I have a Trend 35mm Hinge template which you use with a router . The doors are 2600 x 595x30 and are sat in a aluminium frame... What router bit would you suggest to router out the aluminium?
Routing 35mm holes in Aluminium wardrobe doors
- Thread starter Shytot
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I've not looked up your parts, only read your text.
I assume your doors are not 30mm of alluminum at all! They must be a couple of skins.
I spend my working life routing alluminum on CNC machines. I use single flute cutters and cutting fluid.
For jobs where I need the finish to be visually perfect (virtually all of my work) I make a roughing pass, leaving on the last 0.25mm on the radius of the hole, and then skim it off with a finishing pass, where the tool plunges in the center of the hole, and moves to the edge to skim the last 1/4mm off.
So, for your job?
Use your template and cut through one skin first, then plunge further to the second skin. Hope youre not cutting somewhere where there's internal stuff going on.
If you can use a single flute, that will give you the best finish. I use carbide, but, sadly, the cheap from China single flute carbide are just no good. The cutter geometry is so poor and they just push a burr.
I'd you're not in a hurry, look at the American firm, rlshmitt (or somthing like that) and try and find something similar here. It's going to be the tip that wares soonest, but this is easy enough to refresh on a diamond wheel. You don't need fancy tip profile if you are plunging away from the final cut line - you just need to get it through the work, so don't worry about tip profile, or not being able to recreate it after sharpening.
Plunge away from the edge and move toward it, as you may push a burr on plunge.
Use a cutting fluid. Don't go and spend out on 5 gallons of whatever. Somthing like standard road diesel would do you. Kerosene cleans up even easier but people get jumpy about that burning down everything. Kerosene may be better for you though, as I'm assuming the doors have got to be double skinned at 30mm...
If they really are solid, just outsource.
I assume your doors are not 30mm of alluminum at all! They must be a couple of skins.
I spend my working life routing alluminum on CNC machines. I use single flute cutters and cutting fluid.
For jobs where I need the finish to be visually perfect (virtually all of my work) I make a roughing pass, leaving on the last 0.25mm on the radius of the hole, and then skim it off with a finishing pass, where the tool plunges in the center of the hole, and moves to the edge to skim the last 1/4mm off.
So, for your job?
Use your template and cut through one skin first, then plunge further to the second skin. Hope youre not cutting somewhere where there's internal stuff going on.
If you can use a single flute, that will give you the best finish. I use carbide, but, sadly, the cheap from China single flute carbide are just no good. The cutter geometry is so poor and they just push a burr.
I'd you're not in a hurry, look at the American firm, rlshmitt (or somthing like that) and try and find something similar here. It's going to be the tip that wares soonest, but this is easy enough to refresh on a diamond wheel. You don't need fancy tip profile if you are plunging away from the final cut line - you just need to get it through the work, so don't worry about tip profile, or not being able to recreate it after sharpening.
Plunge away from the edge and move toward it, as you may push a burr on plunge.
Use a cutting fluid. Don't go and spend out on 5 gallons of whatever. Somthing like standard road diesel would do you. Kerosene cleans up even easier but people get jumpy about that burning down everything. Kerosene may be better for you though, as I'm assuming the doors have got to be double skinned at 30mm...
If they really are solid, just outsource.
doctor Bob
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Can you not use the blum hinges designed for aluminum framed doors, saves a lot of difficult routing?
Thanks for you reply, the aluminium is about 5mm thick , then there is 10mm mdf glued to the 15mm barn wood planks. The hole doesn’t have to be bang on as there is quite a bit of cover with the Blum kitchen hinge . Will the single flute cutter cut mdf ok
Dr Bob, when the doors were delivered they were supposed to have come with hinges supplied. I rang Blum helpline, the problem was that the doors are 30mm thick which is a lot thicker than your average wardrobe door 18mm. They suggested 2 types of hinge to suit thick doors , both are your traditional 35mm dia hole type
Cheers Pete , I tempted to give that a whirl . With my https://www.trenddirectuk.com/trend-tem ... ig-35-26mm I would need a 12.7mm cutter , need to look for a single flute one
Single flute will do MDF, I'm sure.
They're good on alloy as the chip size / cooling is good. Less smearing on soft alloys.
People use single flute for plastics too.
I'm not really a wood person at all, but MDF isn't all that far from plastic, is it? : )
They're good on alloy as the chip size / cooling is good. Less smearing on soft alloys.
People use single flute for plastics too.
I'm not really a wood person at all, but MDF isn't all that far from plastic, is it? : )
