Drilling Frame and Eccentric Cutter Head

In ornamental turning two of the most versatile tools are the drilling frame and the eccentric cutter. Combining the two without question makes for the most versatile tool possible.

The drilling frame is made to do decorative drilling with more styles of cutters than can be mentioned here including raised pearls and spherical depressions. It is exceptional for fluting and reeding as well as drilling projects like the one seen on the cover of Holtzappfel's Vol. 5 book. This one will also be capable of decorating the insides of boxes with the use of extended 8MM fly cutters. Holtzapffel, Evans, and Walshaw all spend a lot of time describing the use of this tool in their books.

The drilling frame mentioned above is designed to handle lateral loads as well as thrust, and coupled with its capacity to accept collets, it's an exceptional carrier for the eccentric cutter head.  This cutter head is a compact and well balanced tool that can handle recommended speeds up to 6000 RPM's. Its design keeps the cutter head close to the frame body to reduce vibration and give better results. The clamping bolt is offset from the center allowing for circles to be cut from about 1/8" diameter to just over 1 1/8". The cutter head incorporates a 1/8" round tool bit holder and comes with a 60-degree carbide bit. As tools are often specially ground by the user of the eccentric cutter, the tools are made to be changed quickly and easily with a socket head set screw. The tool block is held in by the clamping screw for safety in such a way that it cannot come away from the cutter head. The major diameter of the cutter head is 1 1/8", and the shanks come in either 3/8", 8MM (WW) collet style, or a 1/2" shank meant to be turned to the desired size for special applications.

This is the tool used to make the famous "fish" as well as the standard barleycorn pattern.  Half squares can easily be made with it as well as the pineapple style decorations so often associated with ornamental turning.  One can also create convex shaped rings around the edges of projects. The uses are too numerous to mention, but are fully described in Holtzappfel No. 5, Evans, and Walshaw books.

There are two 1/8" studs in the face of the tool to allow one to measure the diameter being cut by simply placing their calipers across the two studs on one end and the cutter on the other. The offset is easily measured and is repeatable.

 The eccentric cutter was designed by Fred Armbruster and has been proven a good design over time.

This drilling frame is designed to handle 8MM or WW collets which are easily obtained in any metric or fractional size both on the used market and new as it has been the standard in instrument lathes for over 125 years. It is a proven design. Collets come in sizes from one tenth of aMM to 80 MM or 5/16" with through holes of just over 3/16". The bearing tube and spindle is made of steel while the carrier is made from aluminum and will fit the standard tool post.

The drilling frame/eccentric cutter package comes with the drilling frame, eccentric cutter with 8MM shank, two collets (1/8" and 3/16"), and a 1/4" end mill or router bit holder.

Eccentric Cutter Head with 3/8" shank - The eccentric cutter head is considered by many to be the most versatile tool in ornamental turning, and this one, which was designed by Fred Armbruster, is a proven design. It is a compact and well balanced tool that can handle recommended speeds up to 6000 RPM's. Its design keeps the cutter head close to the frame body to reduce vibration and give better results. The clamping bolt is offset from the center allowing for circles to be cut from about 1/8" diameter to just over 1 1/8".  The cutter head incorporates a 1/8" round tool bit holder and comes with a 60-degree carbide bit.  As tools are often specially ground by the user of the eccentric cutter the tools are made to be changed quickly and easily with a socket head set screw. The tool block is held in by the clamping screw for safety in such a way that it cannot come away from the cutter head. The major diameter of the cutter head is 1 1/8", and the shanks come in either 3/8", 8MM (WW) collet style, or a 1/2" shank meant to be turned to the desired size for special applications.

This is the tool used to make the famous "fish" as well as the more standard barleycorn pattern. Half squares can easily be made with it as well as the pineapple style decorations so often associated with ornamental turning. One can also create convex shaped rings around the edges of projects. The uses are too numerous to mention, but are fully described in Holtzappfel No. 5, Evans, and Walshaw books.

There are two 1/8" studs in the face of the tool to allow one to measure the diameter being cut by simply placing their calipers across the two studs on one end and the cutter on the other. The offset is easily measured and is repeatable.

Universal Cutting Frame (UCF) -The Universal Cutting Frame is a versatile tool because it can be used at any angle from vertical to horizontal.  This tool requires the use of an overhead drive which gives smooth and quiet operation. 

It is available with either one of the two above cutting heads; carbide cutters or 3/16" round cutters, please specify when ordering.  The pulleys are made from steel and ride on high grade Japanese shielded bearings. 

The UCF can be driven by belts from 1/8" to 3/16"; the small belt that drives the head is 1/8" and is included. 

The shank is 9/16" square making it usable in older style slide rests.