08-16-2017, 07:24 AM
(08-16-2017, 06:39 AM)Mayhem Wrote: Discontinued cutters are perfectly fine for home shop use, as we don't need the latest and greatest. As long as the inserts are still available there are good deals to be had.
Geometry is the key thing for home shop milling, as it reduces the cutting forces, which is essential on machines with low HP. If you look at the inserts on the post by Jack on the first page, you will see the angle at which the cutting edge is presented to the work. Stay away from flat inserts that are held perpendicular to the work, as these will simply hammer the hell out of your bearings and leave you with a crap finish.
What HP is your mill and what drive is the spindle?
Its a 1.5HP motor, and the spindle is the special Van Norman 5V. Apparently its very close to R8, and R8 tooling can be quite easily modified in a lathe to the 5V taper as long as they aren't too hard. I'm sure I'll find out...
I've also got a few arbors that came with the mill, so modifying one of those to suit a new cutter could be an option.
Steve