I don't like working around the rotating fly cutter so I spin the board in my woodworking lathe and mount the cutter in the tailsock so it sits still.
I don't like working around the rotating fly cutter so I spin the board in my woodworking lathe and mount the cutter in the tailsock so it sits still.
Yes, anyone who is "comfortable" working with a fly cutter should probably find an inherently safer way to do the job. That is one reason why I favor mounting the workpiece to a piece of scrap which can be c-clamped to the drill press table. And always figure out, before turning on the motor, which of the three quill handle knobs will be "up" when the cutter is in the work!
I like the idea of using the wood lathe, but mine at least has so much play in the tailstock that getting it locked down on-axis and parallel to the spindle would be a chore. For a tricky job, it might be worth it, particularly with a boring head in place of a fly cutter.
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