What's the best way to put 45° chamfers on everything?

[milotrain]

I like putting 45° chamfers on everything I make on the surface edges of the part but it's always hard to hit the same amount of chamfer on all edges. Recently I've been clamping the work on a little pair of V blocks that I made and touching off the top of the corner with a endmill and facing the corner down a specific Z. This hit's all the corners equally but it is very time consuming and fairly precarious. The other thing I've done is usa a 45° chamfer endmill but that is where I find it hard to make sure my chamfer depth is the same on all edges.

Any hints? I got inspired by the corner rounding thread and I may try a touchoff system like that.

 

[mgbrv8]

depending how deep, router table with a good ball bearing cutter with light cuts. or bevel cutter and use the the back jaw vise method. It also depends on the part

Dave

 

[MachineTom]

I much perfer to use the 1" belt sander, much more control and it takes little time, zero setup. Just hold the material at 45° and slide it passed, A 180 grit is about right for all metals, that grit also make a great finish on SS, just a touch is need to get the finish, straight no L/R movement.

In a industrial setting they use an edger, burr buster, chamferer. Different name same idea, it looks like a wood joiner, vee blocks for a table, carbide burr for a cutter, set the depth to .002 each pass will take off that much. Also quick but not cheap.

 

[doc1955]

We use one of these in the shop where I work. The guys in the shop seem to like it.

 

[Blogwitch]

Use a backstop and parallels in your vice.

Set up 90 deg countersink to cut face that is against the backstop. Or buy yourself a 'Little Hogger Set', that contains a nice 45 degree cutter and use that. Fast cutter speed, low feed.

Turn job so another face is against the backstop, take another cut.

Repeat for other sides.

Perfect alignment and angles all around.


John

 

[mklotz]

For pieces that will fit in the vise, I do exactly what John has described above using a 90 deg pointed endmill instead of John's countersink.

If the piece is too large for the vise, I have a larger table that fits into the vise (pictured and described in an older thread).

 

[Humph7ey]

When I was an apprentice, the only way to put a chamfer on was by filing.

 

[tattoomike68]

I use a file.

 

[milotrain]

Thanks for all the thoughts guys! I didn't know 45° machines existed but I really like the backstop idea. I don't have a belt-sander and I am hacksawing all of my stock so my arms are less inclined to agree with me that I should file the edges (but I do like the look and control of filed edges).