09-26-2015, 07:49 AM
I know it's not just me.... or is it? 
My buddy Sean called me the other day and said he was having a problem and asked if I would do a little machining on his open class competition pistol. He was having a problem with the recoil spring guide rod hitting the muzzle compensator during recoil. There was a deep gouge in the end of the guide rod.
"Sure - no problem." (Famous last words...)
I went to grab a radiused or ball end carbide end mill out of my tool box - but can't find them. I searched several times in all the usual places I would store such items, and after a couple of hours I was still coming up empty.
Then I started thinking maybe I dreamed up having such things (again), but found proof that I actually did purchase some not too long ago. Carbide end mills
Knowing that my friend had a match coming up this weekend and needed to get this fixed NOW, I had to resort to the only ball end mill I had available.... a 2 flute HSS cutter made in China. Well you can guess how well that went on a stainless steel part.
I did manage to get the clearance flute widened enough to clear the rod but it wasn't pretty. Lot's of touch up with a Foredom grinder and it looks OK now. That evening I ordered another small set of carbide ball end mills from McMaster.
"SGS" brand cutters. Are they any good?
So I don't have a clue where that black hole lives that eats up my tools, but I do know it also has a box full of spare parts for my Foredom tools and an excellent hand impact driver that I've owned since I was 13 years old. I bought it at Patterson Honda (long gone now) to work on my first motorcycle. Those are just the ones I KNOW about right now.
My buddy Sean called me the other day and said he was having a problem and asked if I would do a little machining on his open class competition pistol. He was having a problem with the recoil spring guide rod hitting the muzzle compensator during recoil. There was a deep gouge in the end of the guide rod.
"Sure - no problem." (Famous last words...)
I went to grab a radiused or ball end carbide end mill out of my tool box - but can't find them. I searched several times in all the usual places I would store such items, and after a couple of hours I was still coming up empty.
Then I started thinking maybe I dreamed up having such things (again), but found proof that I actually did purchase some not too long ago. Carbide end mills
Knowing that my friend had a match coming up this weekend and needed to get this fixed NOW, I had to resort to the only ball end mill I had available.... a 2 flute HSS cutter made in China. Well you can guess how well that went on a stainless steel part.
I did manage to get the clearance flute widened enough to clear the rod but it wasn't pretty. Lot's of touch up with a Foredom grinder and it looks OK now. That evening I ordered another small set of carbide ball end mills from McMaster.
"SGS" brand cutters. Are they any good? So I don't have a clue where that black hole lives that eats up my tools, but I do know it also has a box full of spare parts for my Foredom tools and an excellent hand impact driver that I've owned since I was 13 years old. I bought it at Patterson Honda (long gone now) to work on my first motorcycle. Those are just the ones I KNOW about right now.
Willie