Blue chips

[Sunset Machine]

About 300 miles east, near Spokane.

I was leaning towards a feed problem way back, it was the only point you didn't cover, but with everything else good it looked like maybe materials. It happens, the stuff all looks the same. Someone drops something at the warehouse and puts it back..?

I work in chipload, the mill is graduated that way, and this might be way off, but I'm seeing a 2-flute endmill spinning at 800 RPM should take about 2-3 minutes to travel 4 inches.

I came to that with a .002 chipload. 2 flutes means it traveled .004" in one revolution. Times 800 revolutions per minute works out to 3.2 inches per minute.
Almost certain you can do .004" and cut that time in half, and a four flute half again - 30 seconds to cross. The .002 is just starting point.

Someone please stomp me if that's wrong.

[wawoodman]

Maybe what I need is a big clock with a sweep second hand, by the mill.

Not joking! That might be the way to go, at first. Coming from woodworking, I have no feel for moving slow.

BTW, is Niagara a good brand of cutters? They are available from Amazon.

[Sunset Machine]

A clock, definitely. They come in handy on the domestic front too. Make a pass, how long did it take? Good, I can do 4 more before dinner...

Feeds can be VERY SLOW. A little video from last year is hanging off the end of this message showing just how slow things can go. You can't really see how slow it moves from right to left, yet chips are curling off.  I bet this would drive a woodcutter nuts.

Niagara was a good source, they might still be. I buy these locally from a small supplier, figuring they stock what everyone buys. Mextool or some such brand. Not too expensive and I sharpen them on a bench grinder. Several guys here run commercial shops and go through these like candy corn. They know brands far better than I would but being for-profit they might suggest something more expensive that improves production for them. So, with the usual grain of salt....


  SlowFeed.avi (Size: 672.1 KB / Downloads: 5)

[EdK]

(10-29-2015, 02:24 PM)wawoodman Wrote: ...

BTW, is Niagara a good brand of cutters? They are available from Amazon.

According to the FAQ section of their web site:

"Are all Niagara Cutter tools manufactured in the USA?
Yes, our plant is in Pennsylvania."

That doesn't necessarily mean they're good but since they've been in business since 1954 they must be doing something right.  

Ed

[TomG]

They are good. I use them all the time.

Tom

[wawoodman]

If the two of you approve, that's good enough for me! As I destroy the ones in the import sets, I'll replace them one at a time. It won't hurt so much.

[EdK]

(10-29-2015, 06:37 PM)wawoodman Wrote: ... As I destroy the ones in the import sets, I'll replace them one at a time. It won't hurt so much.

That's a good plan. I did something similar and it was well worth it.

Ed

[Mayhem]

So far the Niagara endmills that Russ gifted me have proved to be "Darren proof"! Also, I think the fact that Russ buys them for use in his commercial shop further endorses Tom's comment.