1/8" 2-Flute Down Cut Spiral (Solid Wood)

ID: D04

Type: End Mill

Same size as D03 down to the thousandth: 1/8” cutting diameter, 1/2” cutting length, 1/4” reduced shank, 2” overall. Different bit, though. Amana grinds this one with a steeper shear angle specifically for solid hardwood, where D03 is the general-purpose version that also handles composites and sheet goods.

Specifications

Property Value
Cutting diameter 0.125”
Shank diameter 0.250” (reduced-neck)
Flutes 2
Cutting length 0.500”
Overall length 2.000”
Geometry Down cut spiral, acute shear angle, face-ground helix
Corner radius None — square end
Material Solid carbide
Coating None

Feeds & Speeds

For the X-Carve Pro and its 1.5 kW spindle. Amana rates this bit for 20,000–21,000 rpm, meaningfully higher than D03’s 14,000–16,000, so the wood presets below run faster across the board — same halved stepdown as D03 though, since that’s a function of the 1/8” shaft’s rigidity, not the flute grind.

Material RPM Feed Chipload Plunge Stepdown
Hard maple / oak 20,000 180 ipm 0.0045” 22 ipm 0.0625”
Soft maple / walnut / cherry 20,000 195 ipm 0.0049” 23 ipm 0.0625”
Plywood / veneered sheet 21,000 210 ipm 0.0050” 23 ipm 0.0625”
MDF / laminate 21,000 225 ipm 0.0054” 27 ipm 0.0938”
Softwood / pine 21,000 225 ipm 0.0054” 27 ipm 0.0938”
Acrylic / HDPE 12,000 100 ipm 0.0042” 13 ipm 0.0313”

Notes

Maximum cut depth is 0.500”, same limit as D03 — shallow work only, nothing through 3/4” stock.

Ramp only here too, despite Amana’s own marketing. Amana’s copy for this bit specifically claims “fast plunge action,” but that’s describing the center-cutting tip’s ability to plunge axially, not a green light to ignore the chip-packing problem every downcut spiral has. The auger-downward geometry that makes this bit shear so cleanly is exactly what packs a straight plunge full of its own chips. House rule stands: ramp, don’t plunge.

Run this one over D03 whenever the material is solid hardwood and the finish matters — that’s the entire reason Amana ground it differently. Reach for D03 instead on plywood, MDF, or anything that isn’t solid lumber; its more general-purpose grind doesn’t leave performance on the table there the way this one might.

Same reduced-shank caveat as D03: Fusion’s flat-end-mill type won’t visualize the neck taper between the 1/8” flutes and 1/4” shank, but the shank diameter itself stores correctly for collet clearance.

Let's co/lab