CM10 Mill Gears

I got the gears this weekend and fitted them. The mill rides again!

Mind you I've not tried the carbide cutter so perhaps another failure lurks round the corner. This time I have spares though.

I noticed a couple of issues. The first is that the idler gear (the one not on the spindle) has an orientation. There's about 0.5-1mm more spacer on one side than the other. I turned it round to make better contact with the spindle gear. The gears are still not fully engaged with the idler standing a couple of mm proud of the spindle gear.

Secondly, the gears do not mesh fully. It's quite hard to see with a mirror, but I would say that the gears could be 2 mm or so closer together - which would improve their contact and robustness no-end. Has anyone seen this or am I imagining it? The bearings, by the way, are solid.

Martin - I looked on ebay as you suggested but the listings were beyond me. I don't really know what I should order. Most of the inserts have cryptic numbers rather than descriptions and from what I can see they're all larger than I would need. Furthermore mostly they talk about cutting hardened steel and having negative rake angles which I think mean that it more scrapes than cuts, which doesn't sound like it will put less stress on the mill. Is there a specific link or cryptic number you could suggest to me,

Also, in an earlier post I asked if a flycutter would also stress the poor thing. Does anyone have an opinion on that - I was hoping to get one for Christmas.

Thanks

Iain

Hi Iain

Fly cutting usually involves an interrupted cut, or even 2 interrupted cuts per rev of the spindle. Taking light cuts should not cause damage but if you go overboard with DOC and speeds I guess it could case a problem.

Emgee

Iain, if you look at the thread Postman Cometh Part 2 near the end Nick G. has a photo of a button tool mounted in a flycutter. It may be worth you trying this sort of setup. A small flycutter that can hold a 6mm square (or 1/4" square) tool and a Ø6mm button tool can be used quite satisfactorily for interrupted cuts. It does not require sharpening like a piece of HSS would, just rotate to a sharp edge or replace the insert as required. You will probably need a flycutter at some time if you have not got one yet anyway. Just don't go at it like a bull in a china shop, small depth of cut will do the job with time.

ArcEuroTrade and others sell a small set of flycutters with a Ø12mm shank that would suit a small mill.

Chronos sell 6mm lathe profiling tools (ref 773851)

Martin

Thanks, Martin.

The one on my Christmas list was from Chronos (FCE2) which has a 2MT shank. That fits right in the mill. The set you recommend looks good, but is pricier and I would need to get a 12mm collet (my sets only go up to 10mm).

Of course it doesn't say what the tool size is. I might get it anyway (with the tool) - I quite enjoy grinding tools and I can move on to a button tool later if I need to...

Iain