Indexable insert face mills and shoulder mills

[stevec]

Jack, I too, had the displeasure of using one of those face mills. I re-named it a "Farse" mill just before I put it in long term storage (I NEVER throw anything out).
Not to belittle the quality of the Walter in any way but it sure had an easy act to follow.

[the penguin]

the original face mill (term used loosely) is no longer in my possession, I offered it up on another site and there was quite a clammer to get it, I should have sent in a plain brown box.

[EdK]

I use to own one of those abominations. It came with my mill. I also gave mine to an eager member of another forum.

Ed

[Mayhem]

I found a face mill similar to the one Jack posted a picture of. Only the six individually adjustable brazed carbide cutters were slotted and had a single CHS to hold them. I cannot imagine how much fun setting them all to the same hight. Perhaps I'll wait until this thread drops off the first page and then stick it in the for sale section.

One thing that struck me early on was that if you choose an insert wisely and then buy the tool holders to use that insert in different applications, you are going to be much better off in the long run. Fortunately, I found a 16mm SCLCR boring bar that takes CCMT/CCGT 9T30x inserts. So I picked up additional boring bars and a turning turning/facing holder to take those inserts. Given the shoulder mill I got from Ken takes ADMT/ADGT10T3xx inserts, any end mills I decide to buy down the track will also be chosen to use those inserts.

Not bad considering everything I had read until meeting Ken on another site told me to ignore insert tooling because my machine was too slow, not powerful enough and the tooling and inserts were too expensive, etc, etc. In fact, had I not found that boring bar, I probably wouldn't have even looked into carbide insert tooling.

[EdK]

(11-07-2012, 06:14 AM)Mayhem Wrote: I found a face mill similar to the one Jack posted a picture of. Only the six individually adjustable brazed carbide cutters were slotted and had a single CHS to hold them. I cannot imagine how much fun setting them all to the same hight. Perhaps I'll wait until this thread drops off the first page and then stick it in the for sale section.

One thing that struck me early on was that if you choose an insert wisely and then buy the tool holders to use that insert in different applications, you are going to be much better off in the long run. Fortunately, I found a 16mm SCLCR boring bar that takes CCMT/CCGT 9T30x inserts. So I picked up additional boring bars and a turning turning/facing holder to take those inserts. Given the shoulder mill I got from Ken takes ADMT/ADGT10T3xx inserts, any end mills I decide to buy down the track will also be chosen to use those inserts.

Not bad considering everything I had read until meeting Ken on another site told me to ignore insert tooling because my machine was too slow, not powerful enough and the tooling and inserts were too expensive, etc, etc. In fact, had I not found that boring bar, I probably wouldn't have even looked into carbide insert tooling.

Good grief Darren. You're starting to talk like Ken now, and that's a good thing.

Ed

[PixMan]

Oh boy.

This adoption of carbide insert tooling in home shops isn't a fluke....it's a movement.



Come on now, we all now there's always going to be far more applications of HSS tooling in home shops than not. Carbide insert tooling is just another tool that some people find benefit is using. Some others find expensive scrap carbide.

[Mayhem]

(11-07-2012, 06:34 AM)EdK Wrote: ...Good grief Darren. You're starting to talk like Ken now, and that's a good thing...

Ed it is a long an informative drive from NYC to Central MA and back but I haven't got the funny accent quite yet In fact, Ken and I have had numerous email exchanges regarding this topic and whilst I'm starting to feel comfortable with some of the nomenclature, I'm a long way from being knowledgeable. I have taken notes and downloaded a lot of product catalogs, which is a big help. I figure if Ken is going to go to the trouble of sharing his knowledge, I'm going to go to the trouble of trying to learn it.

(11-07-2012, 06:47 AM)PixMan Wrote: ...Come on now, we all now there's always going to be far more applications of HSS tooling in home shops than not. Carbide insert tooling is just another tool that some people find benefit is using. Some others find expensive scrap carbide.

I agree and I still use HSS when I want/need to on my lathe and certainly will be using HSS end mills when I get my mill up and running. However, where possible, I'd like to spend my time using my lathe as opposed to sharpening tools.

[f350ca]

The beauty of a home shop is we generally don't need to show a profit, we can use carbide when it is feasible and and HSS when cost prevails. The bottom line is what we can afford or the accountant (other half) thinks we can.

[the penguin]

(11-07-2012, 10:04 AM)f350ca Wrote: The beauty of a home shop is we generally don't need to show a profit, we can use carbide when it is feasible and and HSS when cost prevails. The bottom line is what we can afford or the accountant (other half) thinks we can.

Profit!! I'd be happy with minor cash flow!!

[Mayhem]

I need to make a "Will work for Beer" sign!

I agree with what you say Greg but as pointed out previously, the profit doesn't always have to be monetary.