# Round nose or Ball Nose



## Sebashtion Houston (Nov 11, 2015)

ok just thinking about this a bit. (remember new to cnc here)
being that my CNC is a Porter cable router why not use round nose router bits instead of ball nose end mills? is there a majior difference that I am missing? 
when cutting for carving you are only using 1/8 to 1/4 of the very end of the bit. its not like I am dado cutting a round bottom Chanel.

this way i can use 1/2 shank for stability for 1/4 in round nose.

bits are a little cheaper and can take more force on the passes 

Am I missing something?


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

You aren't missing anything I'm aware of.


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## Keith Hodges (Apr 30, 2013)

You can use standard router bits for most carvings without noticeable difference. The ball nose bits have more cutting edges on the nose, so some materials, such as acrylic, Corian, soft metals and granite will be noticeably better with the ball nose. Just depends on your project and desired quality.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

Ball nose end mills can be considerably longer than standard router bits. My 1/8" ball nose is 3-1/2" long. This allows deeper carving without bottoming out on the router collet. I've used round nose bits for some fluting cuts and they work just fine.


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Seems like I read somewhere that end mills are stronger than router bits. Couldn't swear to it, just something stuck in my mind (which doesn't always work properly). I've used ball nose router bits for signs without a problem.


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## Scottart (Jan 8, 2015)

Well.

The Ball nosed bits do have cutting surfaces further up the side of the shaft, on some of my bits as much as an inch.

So..... if I choose not to do a rough cut, and have passes that are for example 7/8" deep my bit cuts along the entire vertical wall of the material on each pass, as long as at the bottom of the material where the art work resides.

On a round nosed bit, the cutting edge is limited to radius of the ball.. so it may only be 1/4 high. so in the same situation, even with a long shaft ball nose, you would cut in the bottom 1/4 " but just simple burnish the material above that as shaft with no cutting edge presses against the wall of the material.

I think.. maybe if I understand your question.


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## Sebashtion Houston (Nov 11, 2015)

thank you all for the info


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