[PROJECT] Clamp Knurling Tool

[the penguin]

(01-02-2015, 01:36 PM)EdK Wrote: Oh, and I got that same face mill from Ken but unfortunately my mill doesn't like it.

Ed

Why is that Ed, if I my inquire?

[Arbalest]

(01-02-2015, 12:57 PM)the penguin Wrote: It looks like he stopped the cutting before the cutter touched the other end of the material. if you have a 7" cutting diameter and only a 6" long piece of material, you could get that pattern, if you stop before the cutter touches the material on the other side of the cutter's diameter.  I hope that makes sense.

I've never used a fly cutter, I've always used a face mill, I have a nice Walter F4041, that Ken helped me get.

Yes, that's it. 

If you have say a 2" cube of alloy in your vice to the left of the Flycutter and you crank the handwheel clockwise the table will move the work under the cutter from left to right. The cutter, rotating clockwise will move in an arc from the front of the material to the back. If you stop moving the table once the cutter reaches the left side of the block you'll have a nice pattern of single "arced" cuts across the work. If you continue moving the table then you'll get the classic double hatching effect you get with ordinary endmills etc. Either way the job will be flat if the head is vertical but it looks nicer with a "single" cut.

If you mounted a block of alloy near the edge of a face plate on your Lathe and faced it off the work would look very similar.

[EdK]

(01-02-2015, 01:50 PM)the penguin Wrote:

(01-02-2015, 01:36 PM)EdK Wrote: Oh, and I got that same face mill from Ken but unfortunately my mill doesn't like it.

Ed

Why is that Ed, if I my inquire?

Probably because my mill is too wimpy. I have a gear head bench top mill so it's not very rigid and the gear head doesn't seem to like the beating it takes when I try using that face mill. The mill makes loud, scary noises when I use it.

Ed

[Dr Stan]

I'm not here to trash anyone's machine selection as I'm all too aware of price being a major factor. A couple of issues with the bench mills is rigidity of the spindle and/or spindle bearings which can produce results quite similar to an out of tram situation. The other is having to use shims to tram the mill instead of having built in adjustments.

Tom has some excellent information on his site and here on the forum. However I tend to make the nose radius bigger on a flycutter just to increase longevity of the cutting tool. Just different strokes.

Ed, as to machine selection I recommend checking out Lost Creek Machine http://www.lostcreekmachine.com/ in Ottawa, IL just East of Chicago. Matt is a straight shooter and I bought my Logan 14X30 from him. Going up next week to pick up a Harig 6X12 surface grinder (a 2 day trip for me). He sells mostly used equipment, but does rep new lathes and mills. I have absolutely no business connection with him other than being a very satisfied customer. Depending on where you are in MN he could be within a decent driving distance.

[EdK]

(01-02-2015, 10:39 PM)Dr Stan Wrote: I'm not here to trash anyone's machine selection as I'm all too aware of price being a major factor.  A couple of issues with the bench mills is rigidity of the spindle and/or spindle bearings which can produce results quite similar to an out of tram situation.  The other is having to use shims to tram the mill instead of having built in adjustments.

Tom has some excellent information on his site and here on the forum.  However I tend to make the nose radius bigger on a flycutter just to increase longevity of the cutting tool.  Just different strokes.

Ed, as to machine selection I recommend checking out Lost Creek Machine http://www.lostcreekmachine.com/ in Ottawa, IL just East of Chicago.  Matt is a straight shooter and I bought my Logan 14X30 from him.  Going up next week to pick up a Harig 6X12 surface grinder (a 2 day trip for me).  He sells mostly used equipment, but does rep new lathes and mills.  I have absolutely no business connection with him other than being a very satisfied customer.  Depending on where you are in MN he could be within a decent driving distance.

No offense taken Dr. since I'm already aware of the limitations of my mill. I've had it for seven years now. I don't have any problems tramming it without shims.
I'll check out Lost Creek when I get closer to purchasing a new mill.

Ed

[Mayhem]

Being a second-hand seller, I wonder if you would get a worthwhile trade in on your current mill?

[EdK]

(01-03-2015, 10:50 AM)Mayhem Wrote: Being a second-hand seller, I wonder if you would get a worthwhile trade in on your current mill?

That's a good thought but I'm tempted to keep it and use it as a drill press. I guess it would depend on how much they would give me for it.

Ed

[EdK]

Not much to show for a days worth of work but I had a hell of a time getting an acceptable finish. I dulled two decent end mills and finally got frustrated and did something DaveH suggested some time ago. I removed all but one insert from the face mill I got from Ken and got a really decent finish and my wimpy mill didn't complain much at all.
The knurl holder blank is ready for the next step, finally.

Ed

   

[DaveH]

Well I'm glad it came right for you Ed   It does look good            Although saying that I thought you first 'go' wasn't that bad.
 
DaveH

[TomG]

That's a very acceptable finish for 1018 Ed. Nothing to whine about, except for those other things you mentioned. 

How did you manage to dull two end mills on it?

Tom