Have You Noticed the Beveled Corners on These Inserts?

Have you ever noticed carbide inserts with beveled/relieved corners and wondered why they exist? These specialized inserts serve a unique purpose, enhancing the quality of your woodworking projects.

Sharp Corner Inserts

Sharp corner carbide inserts are a significant improvement over traditional cutterhead knives, offering cleaner and more precise cuts. Inserts with sharp corners provide a more aggressive cutting edge. They are designed for precise, clean cuts, especially when working with harder woods or materials that require a more defined edge. Sharp corners can result in cleaner, more defined cuts, especially for fine woodworking or when creating joints that require a high level of precision. However, they are more susceptible to wear and tear, particularly when used on abrasive materials, as they don't have the same level of shock resistance as beveled edges.

 

Beveled Corner Inserts

Featuring a small bevel at its corners, beveled corners are commonly used for softer materials and lighter cuts. The bevel reduces the risk of chipping or breaking the insert during operation. These inserts are more forgiving, delivering smoother cuts with less resistance. They have an amazing durability under general, non-abrasive conditions by dispersing cutting forces more evenly. They are often preferred for finished cuts or when working with delicate materials, making them ideal for softer woods, plywood, and composites. In such applications, the cutting edge doesn’t need to be overly aggressive but must still handle moderate feed rates effectively.

Key Considerations for Beveled Corners

1. Optimal performance: When purchasing a planer or jointer, it is important to check whether the original cutterhead featured uses beveled or sharp corner carbide inserts. This is because some of you would want a machine designed for cutting hardwood and others would want a machine focused on cutting softwood. Verifying the cutterhead specifications ensures compatibility and optimal performance when replacing inserts, as maintaining the original carbide insert type delivers the best results.
2. Cost: Due to the additional manufacturing steps involved in creating beveled inserts, they are slightly more expensive than their straight-cornered counterparts.

Conclusion

The choice between beveled and sharp corner inserts ultimately hinges on the material and type of cut required. Beveled corners provide durability and smoothness, making them ideal for general use, while sharp corners deliver precision and clean edges for intricate, detailed work. Both have distinct advantages, so selecting the right one depends on the specific demands of your woodworking projects.

Here are some of the most commonly used carbide inserts for Helical and Spiral cutterheads:

• Carbide Inserts for Spiral Heads 15x15x2.5mm R150: Link

• Carbide Insert Knives 15x15x2.5mm R100 for Byrd SHELIX Cutterheads: Link