How to Choose the Best Carbide Burr

Knowing how to choose the best carbide burr for you can be a challenge. Here we have laid our a guide to show you how to pick the right carbide burr for your application.

AFS Tungsten Carbide Burrs Available Now

Step 1: “What Carbide Burr Cut Pattern Should I Use?”

The beauty about the Abrasive Finishing Systems range of Carbide Burrs is that you can do so much with them. Are you looking to get rid of machining marks? Maybe you are wanting to rip metal away with no regard to the finish? Perhaps you want to refine a hole within a workpiece?

The Abrasive Finishing range of carbide burrs is made up of two distinctly different burr cut types, which makes it very straightforward to understand what you need. Diamond Cut and Fluted Cut.

Get the right cut pattern and all you then have to worry about is using the right shaped burr for your application.

With 11 different shape profiles and a range of diameters, we are confident that you will find the right carbide burr for your task. So which cut type do you need?

Why use Diamond Cut Carbide Burrs?

Diamond cut burrs have a large number of small cutting edges which make them ideal for use on any ‘hard’ material surface.
Use diamond cut burrs on metals such as steel, stainless steel and titanium
The diamond cut burr ensures rapid, low vibration cutting
Ideal for getting rid of machine marks

Why use Fluted Cut Carbide Burrs?

For use on non ferrous metals, woods and plastics
The open fluted cut face aids fast swarf removal on soft materials such as aluminium and soft plastics
The open cut face also reduces the heat and therefore the risk of swarf sticking to the burr endge andclogging

How do you tell the difference between Diamond Cut and Fluted Cut?

It is easy to differentiate between the two types of carbide burrs we offer.

Visually, the Fluted Cut carbide burrs have a more distinctive face with clear cuts on the burr. The Diamond Cut has more cutting area on the burr as it is used on hard metals.

If you still aren’t 100% sure about the type of carbide burr you are looking at, simply look at the last digit on the product code on the AFS website. When the code ends in a 3 then you are looking at the fluted cut carbide burr. If the product code ends in a 6 you are in our diamond cut burrs. Easy as that! (Note: We organise our carbide burrs by shape, so each section will have all the options for both diamond and fluted cut tungsten carbide burrs.)

Step 2: “What Shape Burr Should I Use?”

Choosing your Carbide Burr shape is entirely down to your application. Cleaning the inside of a bowl? Use a ball shaped burr. Chamfering edges? Then a straight sided burr may be the right choice. Simply put, pick the shape that will reach your workpiece best.

Step 3: “What Size Carbide Burr Should I Use?”

Similar to picking your Carbide Burr shape, you should choose your size for your application. Our Carbide Burrs are organised by shape, and on each shape page you can find a table below the products detailing the burrs diameter, length, spindle size and the overall length.

Here is an example of our diameter tables for Shape A – Cylinder Carbide Burrs:

Diameter	Burr Length	Spindle	Overall Length	Part Number / Links
3.0mm	14mm	3mm	38mm	HMC/A30314/6
6.0mm	18mm	6mm	50mm	HMC/A60618/6
8.0mm	19.2mm	6mm	64mm	HMC/A60820/6
9.6mm	19.2mm	6mm	64mm	HMC/A61020/3
9.6mm	19.2mm	6mm	64mm	HMC/A61020/6
12.5mm	19.2mm	6mm	64mm	HMC/A61220/6
12.5mm	25.4mm	6mm	70mm	HMC/A61225/3
12.5mm	25.4mm	6mm	70mm	HMC/A61225/6
15.8mm	25.4mm	6mm	70mm	HMC/A61525/3
15.8mm	25.4mm	6mm	70mm	HMC/A61525/6

Step 4: “When Should I Use my Carbide Burr?”

There are so many jobs that carbide burrs can be used for, just remember to work with the correct type!

Descaling a piece of metal
Removing/stripping metal where the finish isn’t important
Removing machining marks
Adding detail to wood carvings (Fluted Cut)

Perhaps you are looking to complete more than one of these jobs? We know that one burr will not work for every job you have, this is why we have put together two Carbide Burr sets, one for diamond cut burrs and one for fluted cut burrs. We have you covered and you can work knowing you have the correct burr for each job.

Alternatively, if you are not sure which burr will give you the best end result, our kits allow you to experiment with different burrs before moving over to your work piece. The choice is yours.

Carbide Burr Hints and Tips:

Perhaps the most obvious tip… Ensure you have the correct carbide burr for your material!
One burr doesn’t fit all! The burrs are different shapes to help you on any workpiece.
Free UK shipping on all carbide burr orders.

Still don’t know which is the best Carbide Burr to choose? Drop us an email at ‘sales@abrasive-systems.co.uk’ or give us a call on ‘01677 470795’.

Take me to Carbide Burr Homepage here.