Pine is harder on bits than it looks
SA pine is resinous and often has knots and grit. Bits load up with resin, run hot and go dull quickly. Plywood glue lines are hard on edges too. A bit that lasts weeks in clean MDF might last days in pine shelving.
Choosing and running
Use an up-cut bit for pine when you want chips cleared from deep slots, and a down-cut when the top face must stay clean. Keep feeds up so the bit cuts rather than rubs; slow feeds burn. Clean resin off bits at the end of the day with a proper bit cleaner, not a wire brush.
Label the lanes
Keep pine bits in there own labelled row in the foam. Mixing them with MDF bits means everyone ends up using the worn one on the wrong job.
The slip we see most
Slowing the feed right down on pine to be careful, which only heats and burns the bit faster.
How you know it is working
Pine jobs finish without scorch marks, and bits last weeks instead of days.
Written by Lerato Mokoena, Runbooks Editor. Lerato edits the runbooks and handoff templates so that a night-shift operator can follow them alone.
Checklist
- Up-cut for deep slots, down-cut for clean faces
- Feeds high enough to cut, not rub
- Resin cleaned daily
- Pine row labelled in the foam
Pair this runbook with
Stuck after the checklist? Email cnc@cncpme.co.za with your city, machine and a photo.
