New Mill - Starter Tooling

I'll look forward to it Jason

Thanks Lionel

Vice stop in this new thread.

I also took these couple of photos to show how much longer the long series cutters mentioned the other day are compared to standard length ones.

Thanks Neil, I will take my vice off the mill in the morning and have a look.

Thanks for the photo Jason, I cant see me needing one of the long reach just at the moment, looks useful though when you have larger jobs to consider.

My £2.99 oil tray, I think it will do the job, its "non stick" too..

The vice location blocks supplied with the vice are a no go. Compared to the 8mm T nut you can see they would need most of the sides and counter bore milling away. It would be a simple job to modify a pair of T nuts but as Jason said they seem to be pretty hard. Another option I thought of was to take some square steel bar and produce an elongated T nut shaped block which spanned across to both fixings. The fixing screws would need their heads turning down to fit through the table slots. Also the block would have to be removed to fit the vice to its swivel base but thats not an issue.

That tray will catch any oil that drips off the machine, but I find the problem is the coolant and chips that fly off!

I realise that John, I just wanted to catch the drips/runs off the machine, flying swarf/coolant is another issue.

I forgot SX2 t-slots are tiny compared to the 1/2" nominal slots on the X2.

Ron, an elongated tee nut does not need fixing to the vice. If you have one you could just fit it in a slot with the wide part (matches the vice slot) upwards and then position the vice over it before clamping the vice down. 

Martin C

Edited By Martin Connelly on 21/10/2018 12:33:40

Hi Martin, of course now why didnt I think of that.

Many thanks

Ron

Ron if you want to machine the locating blocks down to fit your 8mm slots it does not matter if you cat into the counterbore. They are not too hard to mill

You can also turn down the screw heads so they are a shade under 8mm. or make up a couple of sleeves threaded M6 on the outsid eto fit the vice and M4 on the inside so smaller M4 screws can be used either cap head or CSK

I took these ones down to 10mm to suit the SX2.7

Less than 0.01mm runout over the 80mm jaw width. Although I normally don't bother with the location blocks.

For holding the vice I would suggest making some M8 Tee Bolts rather than using tee nuts, studs, etc. A thick turned washer will also be better under the nut than your clamping plates. If you are not sure what the tee bolts should look like just ask

Edited By JasonB on 21/10/2018 13:39:13

Hi Jason, thats helpful, I will it a go and no I am not sure what the T bolt should look like.

Thanks

Ron

Hi Jason, you were quite right the blocks do machine ok, did one this afternoon. I was going to double up in the vice and do the two at the same time but there is a 3 thou difference in thickness and worried one may break loose so I chickened out and then I got called away so will do the other in the morning.

Edited By Ron Laden on 21/10/2018 19:17:16

Mill cutting tool speed..? Quite some time ago when I started to consider getting a mill, I read somewhere and for the life of me cant remember where, a quick speed calculation that is said to get you in the right ball park for cutter speeds.

3.82 (or rounded to 4) multiplied by material SFM divided by tool diameter in inches = cutter speed. It stuck in my memory, does anyone recognise it and more the point is it something like correct.

Your 3.82 is simply 12/Pi

It basically converts SFM to inches and uses Pi D as the circumference of a circle of diameter D to calculate the rpm.

Obviously leads to 400rpm for a 1” cutter at 100SFM. That may well be what is used by commercial outfits cutting low carbon steel with HSS. Hobbyists might reduce the speed a tad, because the cutters will last longer, and time is not money.

Your choice, once you remember that 400rpm, whether you double it for carbide cutters, double it for aluminium cutting with HSS, double it for a 1/2” cutter, etc - or change your factor of four and work out the same numbers, but differently.

Personally, I prefer metric but once you know the surface metres per minute, the calculation is simple enough for a 10mm cutter. Then go from there.

Not surprisingly, the 100fpm converts to 30.5m so that divided by Pi gives ~10. Converting through the maths, a 10mm cutter would work out to 1000rpm, 20mm would be 500rpm and 25mm (1&rdquo would be 400rpm

Now, do you use imperial or metric cutters and does it make any difference?

Carry on with your conversions and I will do it my way. We will both get the same result and then alter it to suit the actual conditions (chatter, surface finish, tool wear, etc).

Thanks ndiy, good to know it is close enough with some adjustments for various conditions.

Ron

Well despite having to reduce the location block width from 14.0mm to 8.0mm they worked out ok, had to increase the depth of the thread in the vice to fit plus turn the screw heads down.

A bit of a bonus with the swivel base removed from the vice, a gain of 30mm plus the vice doesnt look like such a big lump on the table.

Hi Jason, When you have a minute would you mind showing me how the Tee bolts should look , I do know what the very basic ones look like but wondered if you meant something a bit better.

Hope thats ok, many thanks

Ron

Just something like this Ron, turn from say 20mm Mild steel, thread the end M8 and then mill the "head" down on either side so it fits your tee slots.

‘‘ had to increase the depth of the thread in the vice to fit plus turn the screw heads down.”

Shortening the screws would have been easier? Presumably the original threads were deep enough for security?

The mounting holes in the vice were deep enough just not very well threaded, 3 or 4mm short plus what thread was there felt rough. The screws I used are the ones supplied with the blocks so you would assume they should fit, they are not overly long.