Using a Metal Cutting Disc on the SX2 Mill

I still havnt got myself a power saw yet and with my dodgy right arm using the hacksaw is often painful and a bit limited.

I am in the process of making up 8 off steel axle boxes for the class 22 loco and having machined the running slots in each side of a length of bar I needed to cut them to length. I did consider using a slitting saw but that would have been long winded so I thought it will have to be the 4 inch grinder with a metal cutting disc. I was looking at one of the Bosch cutting discs I use and by chance found that for all but 1.0mm they fitted my arbor, just needed to file a key slot for location and fixing.

I had my doubts as to if it would work as the grinder runs at 10,000 rpm and the max on the mill is 2,500 and even if it did cut the feed would probably be dead slow. Worth a try though as using the mill it would give nice square cuts with minimum clean up. I used the RT to set it up and to my surprise it worked a treat and found the feed was not that slow, quite quick in fact.

A bit of video below and yes I did fit a filter to protect the camera lens

When i first got my X2 mill it came with a cheap junk vise and the jaws were not remotely parallel so i mountd a grinding stone in the chuck and used the mill to lightly grind the jaw faces and was surprised of how well it worked - i did of course wrap the machine up to keep the grinding dust well away from the slideways though !

A slitting saw has the advantage of not spreading hot sparks and abrasive dust around and over the machine/work area!

Used as a cutter grinder for splitting off cast iron piston rings before now, but avoided if possible.

Were you using a power feed?

Got the job done, mind.

No power feed just manual and it was the feel of it that gave me the feed rate. Has you can see 99% of the sparks travelled to the back of the machine and I,m not to bothered with it, certainly no worse than cast iron, that just goes every which way. I will give the mill a good clean down when I,ve cut the 8 parts but much quicker than the slitting saw.

I use 100mm carbide tipped circular saw blades for cutoff in the mill.

I was looking at some carbide blades on line, a solid carbide 100mm x 2mm fine tooth...£139.. I dont think so.

Memo to myself....must get a power saw and soon.

Horrified by the thought of sparks and abrasives flying around the shop and over the machined surfaces of the machines.

Hope that you REALLY cleaned up thoroughly afterwards. A power saw will be a good investment, if you won't use a Slitting Saw,. Far cheaper than a worn machine, (and a relatively new one at that! )

I try to keep all abrasives away from the machines. The Bench grinder is on a bench, on the opposite side of the small shop, away from the the lathe or the mill. Angle grinding takes place outside, in the garden where the rust spots are hidden by the grass

Howard.

I think it looks more dramatic than it actually was Howard and yes I fully cleaned the machine afterwards and to be honest there wasnt that much. I wonder though is it any worse than when machining cast iron..? that goes everywhere, apart from the grit you find black powder well away from the machine and in places you wouldnt think it would get to. What do you guys do, wrap or protect the unused surfaces of the machine, probably wrong but I dont, I just thoroughly clean the machine when I finish the job.

Ron

It might be worth fixing a couple of powerful magnets from old loud speakers in plastic bags line of fire, to collect some of the debris flying about. I have one of those welders angle magnets in plastic bags below my metal cutting band saw, which collects up the metal debris. From time to time i remove the magnet from the saw and pull the magnet out of the bag over the waste bin. I do the same when machining cast iron on the lathe or mill, works a treat.

Off subject, Cast iron filings/chipping can make a MESSY but simple toy for children. to play with Two clear plastic trays back to back and one above the other, the lower one has a magnet inside whilst the top one has the cast iron filings in. Carefully moving the magnet around produce interesting shapes, be care not to spill any filing as they are really messy. John

When machining cast iron, to minimise dust problems, a strong magnet is placed under a plastic sheet, or newspaper, where the dust is likely to fall. Either, when the dust has reached a high level, or after the work is finished, the sheet is carefully lifted away, and the dust dumped in a suitable place, (Often a clean tin, used as a receptacle for swarf, - ready for recycling ).

Howard

Using a abrasive cutting disc on a milling machine (or lathe and drilling machine) is an abosolute NO NO . ALL abrasive cutting and grinding including tool grinding should be done in a completely separate part of the shed or workshop.abrasive grit no matter how carefull the operator is ,will get into machine slides and ruin them.

OK, I will take it that my wrists have been slapped but I,m going to cut another 4 pieces this evening using the same method, I need to crack on and get parts made. I will however put some protection in place to shield the column.

I know it will be quicker to cut this way, but how much time do you actually save? I suppose I do have the luxury/advantage of a nice steady power feed - and as hobbyists we are not usually in too much of a rush as to have to get a job done in double-quick time.

I’m like as Nigel wrote - grinding and cutting is carried out remote to my machines, although there is one belt sander in the same area and I occasionally use abrasives to shine up parts.

I used to use a grit blaster in one garage and that got abrasive dust absolutely everywhere! Slitting saws only make swarf, not abrasive dust. Especially if flooded cooling is used.

I have used a 1mm cutting blade in my 115mm angle grinder, which was fixed into a cheap stand (from L*dl I think). I would now use the band saw (will I ever build a mechanical hacksaw along the lines of the ETW plans - like Mark Elam documented on the forum?).

For larger cutting jobs, the 200 or 225 angle grinder with cutting disc would be brought out.

The method obviously works but, for myself, I'd not be too happy with a cutting disc in my mill. Also, at the low spindle speed, i'd expect disc wear to be fairly high giving lots of grit.

For such a job, I'd probably go for mounting the bar in a 4-jaw independant chuck in the lathe and parting off to just over the required length for subsequent facing off. No pricey slitting saw going dull and no grinding grit.

Tailstock support using a small centre hole in the r/h end of the bar might be helpful.

Just my two-penn'orth

Clive

I cut the last 4 axle boxes last evening and you will be pleased to know I used the slitting saw, I know, I know, thats what I should have used in the first place... oh well.