Flush cutter

Different diameters, different usable and shank lengths, milling cutters with fixed and some with exchangeable cutting edges: You have come to the right place at RUWI if you want to buy flush milling cutters, because we have a versatile and, above all, first-class range of milling cutters at your disposal.

Purchase advice – buy flush cutter for router

Ideal for the RUWI table router, hand router, table router or the CNC milling machine:

Here you can quickly find the right tool if you want to buy a trimming cutter that suits your project. So that you can find the right one, we will first clarify the most important questions about copy routers.

Table of Contents

What is a flush cutter and what is it used for?

Flush milling cutters are often also called copy milling cutters and this name already reveals what makes this type of milling cutter special:

The edge circumference of the trimming cutter is ground exactly to the diameter of the ball bearing. As a result, the ball bearing “copies” the contour of the workpiece. Thanks to this property, trimming cutters offer the possibility of working very comfortably with templates, because the desired contour of the template is transferred from the trimming cutter to the blank. In addition, everything that protrudes is milled flush to the contour edge. In this way, protruding material such as veneer or HPL can be milled flat.

Flush milling cutters: how they work and how they work

Before inserting the tool, it is checked whether the tool is sharp and the copying ball bearing is clean and smooth-running. The milling tool is then clamped in the collet of the milling machine up to the mark on the shank.

The milling height is adjusted so that the ball bearing can run along the contour and the material to be machined is in the area of the cutting edges. Then the workpiece is guided along the ball bearing.

Areas of application Flush cutters

The special nature of the diameter of the cutting edge, which is adapted to the ball bearing, enables numerous areas of application and clean results when working with wood. We present three important areas of application here:

Copy stencils

Copy milling cutters are ideally suited to copying or duplicating straight or curved workpieces using a template.

Mill the coating flat

The trimming cutter is often used to trim off excess material after coating a carrier board so that the veneer or the coating material is flush with the edge of the workpiece.

Mill edges flat

Flush milling cutters can also be used, thanks to the usually high cutting edge, to trim an edge or to mill it flat. This can be done, for example, on a stop where the two jaws are slightly offset from one another (similar to a surface planing machine).

Which flush cutter is the right one?

At RUWI you can buy trimming cutters with different radii and as a variant with fixed cutting edges and indexable inserts. All of our trimming cutters are equipped with a ball bearing and are just as suitable for softwood as for hardwood.

Which radii do flush cutters have?

There are trimming cutters in different diameters to suit the respective requirements. At RUWI you can choose between 9.5, 12.7 and 19 millimeters.

Tip: Basically, you should choose the diameter of the milling cutter as large as possible, since the cutting speed increases with a larger diameter and the cutting edge becomes cleaner.

Larger radii:

The trimming cutter with a diameter of 19 millimeters is ideal for copying a simple contour from a template. This offers a high cutting speed and thus rapid processing with good milling results. However, a larger diameter also means more power behind it, so you have to work carefully and be able to guide the device confidently, especially with hand milling machines.

Smaller radii:

If the workpiece has smaller inner radii that need to be machined, the milling tool should also have a smaller diameter. With the flush cutter with 12.7 millimeters, inner radii of up to approx. 6.5 millimeters and with the cutter with 9.5 millimeter thrust bearing even inner radii of 5 millimeters can be copied or milled flush.

What is the difference between flush milling cutters with a fixed cutting edge and with indexable inserts?

If the cutting edges of the trimming cutters have become blunt after a long period of machining, the ball bearing can be unscrewed and the cutting edges resharpened. Usually the cutters are sent to a professional sharpening service.

To avoid this downtime, the blunt cutting edge of indexable insert milling cutters can be replaced quickly and easily. During the first changing process, the cutting edge is rotated by 180°. If both sides of the hard metal plate have already been used, it is simply replaced completely. The slightly higher initial investment pays off over time, especially if the tools are used frequently.

In addition, there can be dimensional differences when frequently re-sharpening fixed-tipped milling cutters because the cutting circle no longer fits perfectly with the diameter of the ball bearing. This does not happen with the indexable insert flush cutter. This results in a perfect and lasting repeat accuracy.

Buy flush cutters for the router and more

Benefit from our high-quality range when you buy a trimming cutter from RUWI. In addition to the trimming cutters, you will also find numerous other milling heads, other tools, accessories and entire milling systems in our shop – just as you need them for your wood project.

In addition to the products, you can expect excellent service with short delivery times and personal advice if you have any questions.

Feel free to contact us if you would like to buy a trimming cutter. We support you in the selection and find solutions if there are problems.

You might also be interested in these cutters

Rounding cutter
Chamfer milling cutter
Disc grooving cutter

Do you have anymore questions?

If there are any uncertainties, our team will be happy to advise you and support you in purchasing a rounding cutter that best suits your project and your tools. Feel free to contact us!

+49 07402 8414

Reachable by phone
Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m

RUWI GmbH
Alte Kirchstr. 1
78737 Fluorn-Winzeln

Email: info@ruwi.de