CNC Wood Guide: Chip Load, Feeds and Speeds for Wood

Desktop CNC Router Feeds, Speeds and Router Bit Selection for Wood

CNC Wood Guide
Independent · 2026

maintenance

Leveling a CNC Waste Board: Shim, Tram, Then Surface

Leveling a CNC waste board means making it parallel to spindle travel, not gravity. Shim the base, tram the router, then surface the MDF.

How a chip load calculator works: the feed per tooth formula, inch and metric examples, chip thinning and dep…

Tearout on a CNC router is wood splitting ahead of the cutting edge. Fix it with bit helix, a 0.3 to 0.5 mm f…

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Starting chip load ranges by bit diameter and material, the feed rate formula behind them, and how to correct…

Three pages cover most of what a desktop CNC router in wood asks of you: the numbers, the cutter, and the machine.

Feed rate, plunge and stepover from chip load, checked against your machine's real feed limit.

Starting ranges by cutter diameter and material, plus a symptom-to-fix troubleshooting table.

Rigidity, spindle RPM range, controller limits, dust control and shop power, in order of importance.