Hey Yāall,
Just wondering if anyoneās come up with a good way of getting tape off their endmills, for those of us using double sided carpet tape anyways. Iāve tried soaking in acetone and using the tip of an exacto knife to scrape it off but it doesnāt seem to work all that well. So Iām looking for maybe an easier solution, or if I should keep doing what Iām doing.
I put a bit of GooGone in an endmill case and soak the endmill for a while. Comes right off.
Well colour me impressed, I let it soak, probably for a lot longer than I needed to, and the small amount of residue that was left after the soak just wiped clean off. Much thanks for the tip on that mate.
The real trick is to not cut past the bottom of the material. 
Since youāre cutting into the tape, try adjusting Z for the thickness of the tape.
Iāve settled on blue tape / CA glue method. The trick with that is to allow for the thickness of two layers of tape and CA glue layer. I adjust my Z by 0.010" as a standard. It works very well. At worst, my bit will just skim the top of the tape.
Iām really not concerned about cutting into the tape with through cuts, it doesnāt affect the cut in anyway, so it really isnāt āThe trickā as you put it. As for the blue tape/CA method, tried it a few times and each time it has failed to hold the workpiece, and since I have an abundance of double sided tape which I know works, Iāll stick with that.
The issue Iāve had with cutting into the tape is that the gum from the tape makes a mess of the surface that is cut after the bit gets the gum on it. Now, I leave a few thousandās inch onion skin that I have to trim off, but the cuts on the sides no longer are messed up with the gum.
Thatās why I only use double sided tape for non through cuts now. Or on cuts where I know exactly where I can put the tape. Blue tape and CA glue is my preferred method, but it takes a bit more time to set up. Cutting completely through your stock, but not through the tape is truly satisfying.
Double sided tape isnāt a good option for cutting aluminum, but Blue tape and CA glue works great.
Carbourator cleaner, use it to clean paint guns too. Basically if its metal its safe with the cleaner and anything non metal will come of easily. That being said if it is a coated bit, depending on how they coated it, it should be safe but you might want to be aware it is possible, so clean one at a time first.
Some manufacturers use coatings on their bits to prevent heat build up and other things like pitch from building up Im thinking White Side bits if your using higher end bits be aware of that. Using a clear could damage those coatings. If your using bits for the store here your ok or from Lee Valley your fine
