Fly cutter

Never used one before. Bought one from Arc and a cutting tool

not sure which way the tool should be in the cutter

this is how it is atm

Edited By petro1head on 08/06/2023 11:45:13

Edited By petro1head on 08/06/2023 11:54:45

Tool needs to be turned through 90 degrees.

I never got on with flycutters for producing "flat" surfaces: I prefer face mills. I use a homemade flycutter only for creating curved surfaces:

Andrew

roatate it 90 degrees clockwise looking at your last image

Edited By JasonB on 08/06/2023 12:01:28

Cheers guys, felt silly even asking

If you don't know then it's not a silly question!

Like Andrew J I never had much success with flycutters, and now always tend to use indexable carbide end mills. I'm sure many folk get on fine with them, just personal experience.

Regards Mike

If you don't ask, you never learn. And don't feel silly asking.

Roy

I used to use them quite a lot mainly smaller ones but like the others now use indexable shell/face mills.

Remember you will need to run at quite a low rpm to suit the HSS at the diameter being swung and also a slow feed rate a sit is a single point tool.

Carbide can be run around 3 times faster and depending on how many insert fed 6 or so times faster. so a cut may only tale 1/18th the time it would with a flycutter. The FC does work out quite cheap though as you can sharpen the tool many times provided you don't go near chilled cast iron with it. Compromise is to put a left hand lathe tool into the flycutter so you can at least spin it faster and feed accordingly.

As others have said, it is Not a silly question !

A silly question is when you already know the answer, but waste other peoples time answering it.

You dont know the answer, it,s Not a silly question.

Seldom use flycutters myself, like Andrew, I find a face mill works better.

I have never used a fly cutter ! Far from being silly it has told you what you needed to know. As for speed I would use standard cutting speeds for the material being cut. Tables or others on here will give you the figures. Multiply the dia of the cut in inches/12 by Pi (3.1416 ) and then by the revs ! if using imperial it will be Ft/Min. If you want the calc done give me the dia. Noel.

I use a fly cutter quite a lot. You can sweep a fairly large part and the finish I get is really good, better than a face mill. They are also incredibly cheap to use with a piece of HSS. There are of course commercial ones with inserts like this.

**LINK**

Lots of good info here Petro.

**LINK**

I have a fly cutter I made when I was an apprentice. It has a 1 inch body with a 1/2" shank with a 1/4" round solid carbide cutter. I use it regularly and now it is roughly 55 years old and still going strong.

David

You set it up so the toolbit cuts just like a lathe tool, except in this case the tool is moving and the job is staying still. But the basic cutting action is the same.