Product Description
CMT Four Flute Dowel Drill 6 x 50 x 85mm Left-Hand by CMT is a precision-engineered boring tool designed for clean, flat-bottom blind holes in furniture panels, cabinetry components, and solid wood assemblies. Built around a tungsten carbide (HW) cutting head mounted on a super-strength steel body, this left-hand rotating drill excels in multi-spindle CNC boring machines and dedicated panel processing centers where accurate dowel pocket placement is critical. The four spiral flutes promote rapid chip evacuation from deep holes, reducing heat buildup and keeping cycle times short on high-volume production runs.
Key Features
- Tungsten Carbide (HW) Cutting Head - hard-wearing carbide material maintains a sharp edge through extended production runs in abrasive materials such as chipboard, MDF, and coated panels, reducing resharpening frequency.
- Precision-Balanced Centre Point - centers the drill on its intended bore location the instant it contacts the workpiece, eliminating wander and delivering consistently accurate dowel pocket placement hole after hole.
- 2 Precision Ground Cutting Edges (Z2) - two carbide cutting edges produce a flat-bottom hole with a smooth bore wall, which is essential for full-surface dowel glue contact and strong furniture joints.
- 2 Negatively Ground Spurs (V2) - negatively sharpened spurs score the perimeter of the hole cleanly before the main cutters clear the waste, preventing tearout on veneered, laminated, and coated panel surfaces.
- 4 Spiral Flutes - four flutes versus a standard two-flute configuration move chips out of the bore channel twice as effectively, reducing clogging in deep blind-hole drilling and extending tool life.
- PTFE Coating on the Cutter Portion - the black or orange PTFE non-stick coating prevents pitch and adhesive residue from bonding to the flutes, keeping the drill cleaner between maintenance intervals.
- Parallel Shank with Driving Flat - 10 x 27mm - the driving flat locks positively into the spindle chuck, preventing rotation slip under load and allowing quick depth adjustment to match panel thickness requirements.
- Left-Hand (LH) Rotation - purpose-built for left-hand spindle positions on multi-spindle boring machines and CNC boring centers, ensuring correct chip ejection direction and clean entry at every bore.
Why This Product
- The combination of negatively ground spurs and a carbide cutting head makes this drill a strong choice for laminated, coated, and veneered panels where surface tearout at hole entry would cause rejected parts and material waste.
- Four flutes provide noticeably faster chip clearance compared to two-flute dowel drills, which matters when running continuous boring cycles on cabinet carcasses or flat-pack furniture panels where productivity directly affects output.
- The 85mm overall length in the long-series format allows this drill to reach spindle positions in multi-row boring heads where a standard-length tool would not have sufficient reach, without sacrificing rigidity.
- Left-hand rotation is a specific requirement - not an option - for left-hand spindle positions, and using the correctly matched LH tool ensures proper spur engagement, clean chip evacuation, and bore geometry that a reversed RH tool cannot replicate.
Specifications
- Manufacturer Part Number: 373.060.12
- Brand: CMT Orange Tools
- Diameter: 6mm
- Cutting Height: 50mm
- Total Length: 85mm
- Shank: 10 x 27mm (parallel shank with driving flat)
- Number of Flutes: 4
- Number of Cutting Edges: 2 (Z2)
- Number of Spurs: 2 (V2)
- Spur Sharpening: Negatively ground spurs
- Blade Material: Tungsten Carbide (HW)
- Rotation: Left-Hand (LH)
- Coating: PTFE (black or orange) on cutter portion
Approved Applications
- Drilling blind holes for dowel connections in furniture manufacturing
- Panel drilling in cabinet making and case goods production
- Boring operations in flat-pack furniture component processing
- Left-hand spindle positions on multi-spindle CNC boring machines
- CNC boring centers and panel processing centers
- Boring machines fitted with a compatible adapter or chuck
- Chipboard, MDF, HDF, hardwood, softwood, plywood, laminates, and coated panels
Frequently Asked Questions
What does left-hand (LH) rotation mean, and how do I know if my machine requires it?
Left-hand rotation means the drill spins counter-clockwise when viewed from the cutting end. Multi-spindle boring machines and CNC boring centers typically have dedicated left-hand spindle positions - these are usually labeled on the machine head or in the machine manual. Using an LH drill in an LH spindle ensures the spurs engage the workpiece correctly, chips eject in the intended direction, and the shank driving flat locks securely rather than loosening under torque.
Why does this drill have four flutes instead of the two flutes found on standard dowel drills?
The four spiral flutes are specifically designed to evacuate chips more rapidly from deep blind holes. In high-volume panel boring operations - common in furniture manufacturing and cabinet making - faster chip clearance reduces heat buildup in the bore, lowers the chance of clogging in materials like chipboard and MDF, and helps maintain consistent hole quality over long production runs. Two-flute versions carry chips out more slowly, which can be sufficient for lighter duty or intermittent use.
What is the purpose of the negatively ground spurs on this dowel drill?
The 2 negatively ground spurs score the perimeter of the hole before the main carbide cutting edges remove the core material. This scribing action severs the surface fibers cleanly at the hole boundary, which prevents the chip-out and tearout that can occur on laminated panels, veneered surfaces, and coated boards when the cutter reaches the face without a pre-scored boundary. The result is a clean, crisp hole entry with no rough edges, which is important wherever the bore hole will remain visible or where a dowel must seat with full contact.
Can this drill be used in a standard handheld drill or a benchtop drill press?
This drill is engineered for use in multi-spindle CNC boring machines, CNC boring centers, panel processing centers, and boring machines fitted with a compatible adapter or chuck. The 10 x 27mm parallel shank with driving flat is a machine-tool interface - it is not a standard round shank compatible with handheld drill chucks. Additionally, the left-hand rotation requires a spindle that rotates in the correct direction. Using it outside of a properly matched machine configuration would prevent the driving flat from engaging correctly and the tool from performing as designed.
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