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Posted by Frank Warner on February 15, 2008, 1:08 pm
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I'm a part-time knifemaker with a mini mill. Mostly I use it for
drilling & tapping but occasionally need to ruin, er, machine a piece
with its regular milling capabilities. This can involve end cutting or
side cutting.
Over the years I've collected a variety of end mills, mostly from sets,
all center cutting, 2-flute and 4-flute (I understand the difference),
single end and double end. Must have 2 or 3 dozen of these in different
sizes, all dull.
In fact, they seem to go dull incredibly fast, although they cut fine
when brand new. Might be my technique, might be the mini mill (not
rigid enough), might be I'm not holding my mouth right. Might also be
because they are the cheapest end mills available so they can be sold
in sets for $35 or so.
So I'm looking to buy some quality end mills -- just straight, center
cutting mills, in basic sizes 1/8" 3/16" 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" etc. And I want
them to last a little longer than the sets I've been buying.
I've got the MSC Big Book in front of me, and there's a bewildering
arrays of brands, styles, materials, coatings, functions, and I presume
quality. So I just don't know where to start in making a decision about
which one(s) to buy. My budget is not unlimited so I can't afford to
experiment with tooling that won't do the job.
I am cutting mostly annealed carbon steels, stainless, damascus,
titanium, German silver and lots of softer stuff for scales and
embellishments. Most of this is just light cuts to straighten out an
edge or make multiple identical pieces. Shallow slots. I've used the
mill to cut the flats on hunting knives, taking 0.005" off at a time.
Even some freehand stuff for inlays. The rest of it is probably as
varied as the stuff you guys do.
If any of you have any recommendations, I'd be grateful for them, and
any other advice about end mills you'd care to share.
-Frank
--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com/
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Posted by TwoGuns on February 15, 2008, 2:23 pm
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> -Frank
>
> --
> Here's some of my work:http://www.franksknives.com/
Fantastic knives Frank.
Dennis
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Posted by Jon Elson on February 15, 2008, 3:29 pm
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Frank Warner wrote:
> I'm a part-time knifemaker with a mini mill. Mostly I use it for
> drilling & tapping but occasionally need to ruin, er, machine a piece
> with its regular milling capabilities. This can involve end cutting or
> side cutting.
>
> Over the years I've collected a variety of end mills, mostly from sets,
> all center cutting, 2-flute and 4-flute (I understand the difference),
> single end and double end. Must have 2 or 3 dozen of these in different
> sizes, all dull.
>
> In fact, they seem to go dull incredibly fast, although they cut fine
> when brand new. Might be my technique, might be the mini mill (not
> rigid enough), might be I'm not holding my mouth right. Might also be
> because they are the cheapest end mills available so they can be sold
> in sets for $35 or so.
>
I use M-42 end mills now, and haven't bought any plain HSS in years.
The additional price is very little, the greater wear resistance is
remarkable. For 1/8" size I use solid carbide, I can get these for $3-4
on eBay. The no-name HSS Chinese stuff is junk.
Especially on stainless, don't make very shallow cuts or allow the
cutter to progress too slowly across the part. Either causes work
hardeneing, and the workpiece becomes harder than the tool. That's when
the burnout of the cutter happens. You have to keep up an aggressive
feed to prevent that.
Jon
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Posted by Joseph Gwinn on February 15, 2008, 9:29 pm
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> I'm a part-time knifemaker with a mini mill. Mostly I use it for
> drilling & tapping but occasionally need to ruin, er, machine a piece
> with its regular milling capabilities. This can involve end cutting or
> side cutting.
>
> Over the years I've collected a variety of end mills, mostly from sets,
> all center cutting, 2-flute and 4-flute (I understand the difference),
> single end and double end. Must have 2 or 3 dozen of these in different
> sizes, all dull.
>
> In fact, they seem to go dull incredibly fast, although they cut fine
> when brand new. Might be my technique, might be the mini mill (not
> rigid enough), might be I'm not holding my mouth right. Might also be
> because they are the cheapest end mills available so they can be sold
> in sets for $35 or so.
Are you cutting dry? It sounds so to me. Using coolant will help
greatly. What I use is a Noga sprayer with Rustlick WS-5050 soluable
oil:
<http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=5287143&PMT4NO=37949405>
<http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1659454&PMT4NO=37949507>
Despite MSC's photo, the one gallon size comes in a reasonable container.
> So I'm looking to buy some quality end mills -- just straight, center
> cutting mills, in basic sizes 1/8" 3/16" 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" etc. And I want
> them to last a little longer than the sets I've been buying.
>
> I've got the MSC Big Book in front of me, and there's a bewildering
> arrays of brands, styles, materials, coatings, functions, and I presume
> quality. So I just don't know where to start in making a decision about
> which one(s) to buy. My budget is not unlimited so I can't afford to
> experiment with tooling that won't do the job.
I buy used endmills locally. It's a good way to start.
> I am cutting mostly annealed carbon steels, stainless, damascus,
> titanium, German silver and lots of softer stuff for scales and
> embellishments.
These are very different materials, and require different techniques,
especially the stainless and titanium. You need to get a book on
machining and read about these materials. For instance, stainless needs
slow speed, high torque, heavy pressure, and lots of black sulfur oil.
Joe Gwinn
> Most of this is just light cuts to straighten out an
> edge or make multiple identical pieces. Shallow slots. I've used the
> mill to cut the flats on hunting knives, taking 0.005" off at a time.
> Even some freehand stuff for inlays. The rest of it is probably as
> varied as the stuff you guys do.
>
> If any of you have any recommendations, I'd be grateful for them, and
> any other advice about end mills you'd care to share.
>
> -Frank
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Posted by Tim Wescott on February 15, 2008, 11:08 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:08:56 -0800, Frank Warner wrote:
> I'm a part-time knifemaker with a mini mill. Mostly I use it for
> drilling & tapping but occasionally need to ruin, er, machine a piece
> with its regular milling capabilities. This can involve end cutting or
> side cutting.
>
> Over the years I've collected a variety of end mills, mostly from sets,
> all center cutting, 2-flute and 4-flute (I understand the difference),
> single end and double end. Must have 2 or 3 dozen of these in different
> sizes, all dull.
>
> In fact, they seem to go dull incredibly fast, although they cut fine
> when brand new. Might be my technique, might be the mini mill (not rigid
> enough), might be I'm not holding my mouth right. Might also be because
> they are the cheapest end mills available so they can be sold in sets
> for $35 or so.
>
> So I'm looking to buy some quality end mills -- just straight, center
> cutting mills, in basic sizes 1/8" 3/16" 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" etc. And I want
> them to last a little longer than the sets I've been buying.
>
> I've got the MSC Big Book in front of me, and there's a bewildering
> arrays of brands, styles, materials, coatings, functions, and I presume
> quality. So I just don't know where to start in making a decision about
> which one(s) to buy. My budget is not unlimited so I can't afford to
> experiment with tooling that won't do the job.
>
> I am cutting mostly annealed carbon steels, stainless, damascus,
> titanium, German silver and lots of softer stuff for scales and
> embellishments. Most of this is just light cuts to straighten out an
> edge or make multiple identical pieces. Shallow slots. I've used the
> mill to cut the flats on hunting knives, taking 0.005" off at a time.
> Even some freehand stuff for inlays. The rest of it is probably as
> varied as the stuff you guys do.
>
> If any of you have any recommendations, I'd be grateful for them, and
> any other advice about end mills you'd care to share.
>
> -Frank
Thanks for asking this question -- after looking at the links Gunner gave
I now understand why I lose an end mill every time I try to cut steel.
Next time I'll try for more patience.
Does lubrication and/or coolant help?
--
Tim Wescott
Control systems and communications consulting
http://www.wescottdesign.com
Need to learn how to apply control theory in your embedded system?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" by Tim Wescott
Elsevier/Newnes, http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html
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>
> --
> Here's some of my work:http://www.franksknives.com/