New Member

[Hallettoil]

Hello

I have a small CNC mill dedicated to wooden objects which are more my interest than metal, that is not to say maybe, one day, I will "dabble".

I am looking, at present, to venturing into Slate, which should be interesting as I prefer to make a small "bath" to water cool the bits and keep dust at a minimum.

Anyone with experience in this, I would welcome suggestions, but any such as " have you thought of Psychiatry"... then yes...it had crossed my mind :nevreness:

[JAZZCNC]

Hi and welcome to the Nut house.!! . . . . No one around here will bat an eyelid at your suggestion of cutting slate has it's been done many times.
Personaly I've never cut slate but I have cut Granite and Marble which are along the same lines regards cutting.! . . . Nothing difficult just Loads of water and Diamond coated cutters or burrs. Thou I think for engraving slate you'll get away with Carbide cutters.?
Speeds and feeds took me a good while to get right because of the relatively high spindle speeds and is machine/material dependant.

I found the Secret to success and tool life was loads and loads of water to cool and flush away the slurry.!! . . . Be warned thou it's a messy job and slurry can be quite destructive to machine so prepare well.!!

[Hallettoil]

Hi and welcome to the Nut house.!! . . . . No one around here will bat an eyelid at your suggestion of cutting slate has it's been done many times.
Personaly I've never cut slate but I have cut Granite and Marble which are along the same lines regards cutting.! . . . Nothing difficult just Loads of water and Diamond coated cutters or burrs. Thou I think for engraving slate you'll get away with Carbide cutters.?
Speeds and feeds took me a good while to get right because of the relatively high spindle speeds and is machine/material dependant.

I found the Secret to success and tool life was loads and loads of water to cool and flush away the slurry.!! . . . Be warned thou it's a messy job and slurry can be quite destructive to machine so prepare well.!!

Hello Jazz

Caught me idling my time...many thanks for your reply and I relax knowing that I am in similar company if I'm welcomed into the "Nut House"
Interesting what you say...I take on board. The only obstacle, as I see, is getting a nice "sump" sorted. As fas a the coolant bit is concerned...would you believe I spent the majority of my working life "in coolants".

My slight hesitation is finding the "Happy Medium" twixt a fast enough speed and a low enough splash before the router pulls the consumer unit off the wall!! Watch this space!!

By coincidence, you mention "burrs" and I've just purchased one to try as I feel the "throw" of coolant would be kept to a minimum with this type of cutter.

Thanks again for your valuable help and confidence booster

Richard