Belts & End Mills

fdh54turkeyshooter

fdh54turkeyshooter

Joined
Nov 2, 2007
Messages
84
Ok I see the belts in Blue & Yellow colors besides the normal reddish brown. I have been trying to figure out which belts will hold up best to this greenhorns torture of the steel. I have heard the Norton belts are good. Can someone please elaborate on this issue once again. I know there was a thread somewhere already discussing this, but I missed it somehow. They were talking about a blaze belt and others.
Also what is the best End Mill to purchase for slotting guards. 2 flute, 4 flute, Carbide or Cobalt, Coated or uncoated, Ball, Square, or tapered? Too many choices for this novice. Someone please give me a heads up on this end mill business. Thanks in advance. :confused:
 
I run 3m ceramic belts for the heavy grits and triac for the finer stuff. On the end mills it depends partially on what the material is. If it is not to hard you do not need carbide. I am NOT a machinist. I run mostly 2 flute squares on my guards. Most 2 flutes will drill, most 4 flutes will not. I drill a line of holes with my 2 flute and then clean out the "bridges" You can do it with a bunch of cutting passes, but thats a lot of starts and stops. I then slowly widen the slot to match the blade. Hopefully a real machinist will step up and tell us the proper way.
 
The 2 flute will be better for doing a plunge into the metal but the 4 flute will have a better feed rate because of more teeth, I think.
 
The type of processing is probably important to note. This depends on how you are holding the material and the type of material you are cutting. Generally speaking- 2-3 flutes = Alum, plastics (high speed steel or carbide). 4 or more flutes = Steel and like alloys.

In your situation, I would probably (brass or other like materials) use a 3 flute carbide (I would probably have a good hold of the material as well) and play with plunge - move to endpoint -plunge - move back to start- and finish as needed.
Don't forget the coolant/lubrication depending on material.

Stub length is a good bet for endmills. Increase rigidity as much as possible in both fixture and tooling. Probably don't need to mention NOT running endmills in drill chucks but it is always worth a mention.


Bill
 
Not to dispute anyone, but my cousin who is a good machinist also mentioned during one of his long instructional speeches, that in a narrow slot a 2 flute is sometimes better because it will have less trouble with the chip built up in that slot. Carbide is great, but, as mentioned, you had better make sure everything is very rigid and you don't over feed or it is a more expensive snap. Also, I have found it is important to set up some type of indicator to measure your stop start as eyeballs are tricky with the chips and all. Running your tool into the wall on either end will either break the tool or increase the length of the cut. I am a real hack at this, but, I am learning. I am using HSS 2 flute because I can get them cheap. After I quit breaking them I will go to carbide. LOL Jim
 
I drill two holes that are the distance apart needed for the guard slot. Then mill out in between the holes. That way the chips have some where to go.

I only use four flute carbide endmills for any milling. They might be 4-5 times more expensive but they last 20-30 times longer and you can use much higher speeds.
 
ib2v4u said:
Not to dispute anyone, but my cousin who is a good machinist also mentioned during one of his long instructional speeches, that in a narrow slot a 2 flute is sometimes better because it will have less trouble with the chip built up in that slot. Carbide is great, but, as mentioned, you had better make sure everything is very rigid and you don't over feed or it is a more expensive snap. Also, I have found it is important to set up some type of indicator to measure your stop start as eyeballs are tricky with the chips and all. Running your tool into the wall on either end will either break the tool or increase the length of the cut. I am a real hack at this, but, I am learning. I am using HSS 2 flute because I can get them cheap. After I quit breaking them I will go to carbide. LOL Jim
Click to expand...


There are more ways of doing things than what I had described and I did forget the method that you use to do this is a very good way of getting this task accomplished. I do sometimes forget the cost involved in using some tooling like carbide. Of course, even machinists will revise what they must do to make a particular tool work be it HSS or carbide- Use your imagination and be safe!

Bill
 
Milling should be done with a milling machine that has a collet system for holding the tooling bits. You need the mass and tightness a collet system offers compared to a drill chuck. The spindle bearing on a drill press cannot take much side loading. A milling machine has bearings made just for side loading.
 
I think carbide is great, and they way to go in many cases. I just make to many little mistakes right now that cause 1/8" end mills to go pop. I am doing that less and less. So I hope to run carbide more and more. The guys who work in the machine shop at work give me HSS end mills. Sometimes dull or broke on one end. Plus I modified my power feed to have finer control, that helped and I am getting better at my setup and doing things like not turning the lever in the wrong direction. I figure a little out and then talk with my cousin a while then use the machine some more. I will get there.
 
while we are on the subject of belts i bought 3 today i bought a conditioning belt its like a sos pad kinda belt how is it used and is it any good the retail was 20 bucks a belt i paid 10 its a 1 inch x30inch belt i also bought a 1000 grit for the 5 inch disc sander thought it might be good for polishing its a wet paper my other belts ive bought are 60 80 and 120 aluminum oxide and resin bond are they any good i was paying 1.50 a belt. thanks kellyw
 
For belts i use 3m 977 cubitron. in 50 and 120 grit.they are ceramic and will eat steel very well.they last far longer then A/0 belts (imho). i use 3 m-ite in 240 and 400 grit.these are aluminum oxide and generally only last one blade each,but i use the belts after for all kinds.i just find they dont give a great blade finish after a few passes.anything higher then 400 i use shroeder.

I was using the yellow klingspore j flexx belts,but imo they suck!once the initial bite wears off in seconds they tend to only clean the center of the bevel.they just smear.

I use whatever endmills i have on hand.generally cobalt!
 
I think for light milling of guard slots with a compound table you can use a heavy use drill press and be okay. While side loading strains them light side loads will be okay. I have a floor mount drill press from TSC that I put a compound table on and have used it for light milling for 5 years now. You just can't hog the chips and take light cuts.
 
If you are careful you may get buy with a drill press, but drill chucks weren’t meant to hold end mills. I’ve seen carbide end mills come out of drill chucks, always exciting and once when a former boss was making a form out of micarta the drill spit the chuck and mill and sent it bouncing around the shop floor.

Todd
 
My thanks for all who took the time to reply to this thread. Your info is greatly appreciated and I will give your advice a try. Thanks Again!
 
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