Terminology Views: 14

Countersinks, drills and end mills are three different tools: 1) Drills - make holes; cutting edges at the tip with helical flutes for chip removal; feed axially only, cannot cut sideways; produce round holes; 2) End mills - mill flat surfaces, slots and contours; cutting edges on the side and end; cut axially and laterally; produce flats and slots; 3) Countersinks - specifically for chamfering hole mouths, making countersunk holes and deburring; conical cutting edges; feed axially only; produce conical chamfers. Can they replace each other? 1) Drill instead of countersink - a drill can be ground to a countersink shape for temporary chamfering, but angle accuracy, efficiency and finish suffer; not recommended; 2) End mill instead of countersink - circular interpolation can chamfer, but programming is complex and slow; suits special shapes; for plain chamfers a countersink is much easier; 3) Countersink instead of drill - no, countersinks have no drill point and cannot drill; 4) Countersink instead of end mill - no, countersinks only feed axially and cannot cut sideways. Bottom line: for simple chamfers and countersunk holes, a countersink is the most convenient and efficient - do not substitute other tools, the result is worse and it wastes time.