The mill is in.

[123hotchef]

I made some slots today on the mill I really need to use it more

 

[123hotchef]

5mm steel 10mm slots

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

5mm steel 10mm slots

Was your table locked when you milled them?

 

[123hotchef]

Was your table locked when you milled them?

front to back was locked aye why do you ask? I didnt lock the colum on the first one though!

 

[m_c]

Two things standout from those photos.
Lack of chip clearance, and the chips are very small.

Lack of chip clearance causes chips to be continually recut, which leads to blunting of cutters and poor surface finish. If you've not got flood coolant, just give things an occasional blast of air to clear built up chips away from the cutter. Also put a light coat of cutting oil/WD40 on the cutter occasionally to help stop things sticking.

The fact I don't see any big chips, means you're not really pushing the cutter very hard, and it'll be rubbing more than it's cutting. You want each tooth to take a reasonable cut, but it's a balancing act between spindle power, machine/workpiece rigidity, and cutter strength. On manual machines, experience counts for a lot, so expect to break quite a few cutters to begin with.


For slots like that, provided the end radius isn't critical, machine them with a smaller cutter, then take a light cut at full depth to get the final width. That'll give you a far better surface finish, and if the end radius is critical, leave enough material to take a final cut with a bigger cutter to create the final radius.

 

[123hotchef]

Thanks for the tips. The first side I did in multiple passes until full depth. The second side I went all the way through the material then moved across the cut. I have no idea what was.the best or correct way. I was using cutting oil.regulary from a pump bottle.

 

[m_c]

Main thing with manual mills, unless you know they have no/very little backlash, is to mill in the conventional direction, so the cutter is pushing against the workpiece and not climb milling which pulls the workpiece into the cutter (and if there is more backlash than the cutter can handle as a cut, will usually result in a snapped cutter).
This page has a nice diagram - https://engmachineshop.wustl.edu/items/climb-milling-vs-conventional-milling/


I wouldn't use that much cutting oil. Unless you're using flood coolant, all you need is enough on the cutter to help stop chips sticking to the cutter. If I'm just using cutting fluid (I'd normally use a bottle of soluble coolant if I'm not going for full flood), I'll normally put just a couple drops on the cutter, then a few on the work piece so the fluid gets picked up by the cutter as it moves. Any more and you just create extra mess for no benefit.

 

[123hotchef]

Main thing with manual mills, unless you know they have no/very little backlash, is to mill in the conventional direction, so the cutter is pushing against the workpiece and not climb milling which pulls the workpiece into the cutter (and if there is more backlash than the cutter can handle as a cut, will usually result in a snapped cutter).
This page has a nice diagram - https://engmachineshop.wustl.edu/items/climb-milling-vs-conventional-milling/


I wouldn't use that much cutting oil. Unless you're using flood coolant, all you need is enough on the cutter to help stop chips sticking to the cutter. If I'm just using cutting fluid (I'd normally use a bottle of soluble coolant if I'm not going for full flood), I'll normally put just a couple drops on the cutter, then a few on the work piece so the fluid gets picked up by the cutter as it moves. Any more and you just create extra mess for no benefit.

Thanks that is interesting to reed. I need to find some more things to make with the mill now then.

 

[123hotchef]

Had a tidy up moved the mill slightly cut the shelf down that was behind limiting the full range of movement. Now to decide if I need to make a tray to sit under it.

 

[addjunkie]

If you ever plan to use coolant or oil, you want a tray under it

 

[123hotchef]

If you ever plan to use coolant or oil, you want a tray under it

I was thinking that and it needs to come way over the edge of the bench too just look at the oil patch on the floor from where it dripped off the vice over night

 

[addjunkie]

You really want to full travel of the table onver the tray, plus a bit, first one I made, handles were inside too, but that was a pain as I kept catching my knuckles. So if I was to do it again, on a similar machine, id use the graduated dials as a guid at full travel for the edges of the tray.

 

[123hotchef]

You really want to full travel of the table onver the tray, plus a bit, first one I made, handles were inside too, but that was a pain as I kept catching my knuckles. So if I was to do it again, on a similar machine, id use the graduated dials as a guid at full travel for the edges of the tray.

Do you have any pics of your one? I am thinking shll I cut and weld these ali trays up I have or better to purchase a sheet of something else

 

[addjunkie]

Do you have any pics of your one? I am thinking shll I cut and weld these ali trays up I have or better to purchase a sheet of something else

I had to dig back in my old photobucket account, its not the best picture. Basically its a 1.5mm thick steel tray, folded edges, welded up the corners, about 40 mm deep. What you cant see is there is a 1/2 inch drain in one corner to a coolant tank in the cupboard underneath. I didnt even paint it, made it, plonked mill on it, marked the holes. Lifted mill, slid mill about to drill each hole. Then bolted it down with a bit of stag jointing compound, to stop leaks through the bolt holes.

 

[minimutly]

Yam irs trike? I have a vmax with the engine in bits. Part exd a 750 hard tail qwack for it, the thing killed my back.

 

[addjunkie]

Yam irs trike? I have a vmax with the engine in bits. Part exd a 750 hard tail qwack for it, the thing killed my back.

Its actually a suzuki intruder trike I built for the Mrs. Since moving to the country with our really bumpy drive, it never got used, so she sold it.



With hard tails you need to us soft tyres as suspension.

 

[minimutly]

I was down to 12 psi on m&s tyres, it was still murder. Also caused a load of drag. Nice trike

 

[addjunkie]

I was down to 12 psi on m&s tyres, it was still murder. Also caused a load of drag. Nice trike

I did plan to trike my Fat bob too, but sold that as the potholed bumpy drive was wrecking that too! Shame it would have made a nice trike, Id made the diff etc too.

 

[123hotchef]

I had to dig back in my old photobucket account, its not the best picture. Basically its a 1.5mm thick steel tray, folded edges, welded up the corners, about 40 mm deep. What you cant see is there is a 1/2 inch drain in one corner to a coolant tank in the cupboard underneath. I didnt even paint it, made it, plonked mill on it, marked the holes. Lifted mill, slid mill about to drill each hole. Then bolted it down with a bit of stag jointing compound, to stop leaks through the bolt holes.
View attachment 201211

thanks mate sounds easy enough

 

[jordhandson]

5mm steel 10mm slots

One thing I learnt fast is you cannot plunge with the type of cutter in your picture as the hole in the middle heats up the cutter as its not cutting

see here

Jord