A metalwork cut tool is a tool that removes metal from a work piece by shear deformation. For a long performance, a cut tool must be made of a stronger material than the material that it is cutting. A cut tool also must be able to withstand the heat generated from the metal cutting process. Additionally, a cut tool must be geometrically designed so that its cutting edge can contact the work piece without the rest of the cut tool dragging onto the work piece’s surface. The cutting face’s angle, the flute width, tool margin, and tool material are all also important in a cut tool’s design.
There are a variety of cut tools. Chainsaws, knives, axes, scissors, and even switchblades can all be considered cut tools. However, more specifically, there are multiple kinds of metalwork cut tools. These include: broaches, end mills, reamers, drill bits, tools bits, and countersinks.
A broach is a cut tool with a series of progressively taller chisel points mounted on a piece of steel. Usually, these points enlarge a circular hole into a noncircular shape such as a square. Another use of this particular kind of cutting tool is to cut square keyways on objects like gears, driveshaft, and pulleys. Broaching machines are designed to push or pull broaches through holes.
An end mill is not only the most commonly used carbide cutting tool, it’s the most commonly used cut tool in industrial milling applications. End mills are currently made out of carbide to resist friction and wearing down, though older models were made of high-speed steel. End mills can generally cut in all directions, though some cannot cut axially. It is a shank-style carbide milling cutter. Different end mills are distinguished by the number of flutes and whether or not they are center cutting. Carbide end mills are used for profile milling, tracer milling, face milling, and plunging and more. The material being milled and the task to be performed determine the type of end mill needed. For example, milling machine aluminum needs an end mill with a shallow flute depth and pre-dulled cutting edge.
A reamer is a cut tool used in machining to make existing holes dimensionally more accurate and to improve surface finishes. They may be used as hand tools or in the spindles of machine tools.
A drill bit is a cut tool sometimes confused with an end mill. It creates cylindrical holes. Its bits are held in a drill, which rotates them. This gives them axial force to create holes.
A countersink can be a conical hole cut into a manufactured object or the actual cut tool used to cut that hole. It allows the head of a countersunk bolt or screw, when placed in the hole, to sit flush with or below the surrounding material’s surface.
There are, of course, many more cut tools and even specialized versions of them. Which cut tool, or specialized cut tool, should be used depends on the material that is to be cut and what exactly the metalwork project is and its specifications.
