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  1. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by blackburn mark View Post
    i find it a bit of a dilema when cutting small slots... adding coolant tend to make the chips stick in the slot so theres a lot of re-cutting of chips going on or cut dry and clear the chips with a bit of air
    I use both methods when I care about the finish (either that or use a smaller cutter / cut wider slot). After the first few passes put coolant in the slot with pippete, wait for it to go round then blast the chips out of the slot with compressed air then put coolant back in slot and wait... repeat. Depends on the depth and size of the part you may not have to do this for every pass. If it's small part you do as otherwise the billet heats up a lot, then the chips start sticking.

    Obviously the best way it to pump the coolant directly over the cutter, but that's not going to end well with an MDF bed!

    Quote Originally Posted by blackburn mark View Post
    and use WD40 in alli like you say, a couple of dabs on each pass
    I use the white soluble oil coolant from the lathe.

  2. #42
    This discussion has got me very interested.

    I have a sherline mill, ive currently got hss 4 flute roughing end mill and i can safely goto 0.3 DOC at 350 mm/min. so cutting ally takes forever and the finish is shit tbh...

    Do you think a single flute carbide cutter will be good for me??

    Edit: i use WD40

  3. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by cooliced View Post
    This discussion has got me very interested.

    I have a sherline mill, ive currently got hss 4 flute roughing end mill and i can safely goto 0.3 DOC at 350 mm/min. so cutting ally takes forever and the finish is shit tbh...

    Do you think a single flute carbide cutter will be good for me??

    Edit: i use WD40
    Yes they will perform far better in Ali than 4Flute hogger. . . . Also don't be afraid to go higher on the FR and DOC.
    Depending on Max spindle speed you should easily double those figures.! (If machines upto it.?). . . Chipload is the key to cutting Ali (And most other materials) send the heat away with the chip and you'll be surprised just how deep and fast you can cut in Ali.!
    Most of my work is cutting Ali and find blown air to clear chips mixed with the odd squirt of WD40 type fluid works best.

  4. #44
    my spindle is 2700rpm max

    if thats the case i will buy some.

    will it give better finish to the work too?

  5. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by cooliced View Post
    will it give better finish to the work too?
    Well with out knowing what finish you get it's hard to say but I dont have any complaints. I very rarely cut less than 1mm Doc often it's 1.75mm @ 1100mm/min 10-12000rpm and still get a nice finish. Even when I'm being greedy and cutting upto 3mm Doc the finish is ok but it does wear the cutters quicker so found the best balance is around 1.5-1.75mm mark.
    If I need fine finish then I just use a finish pass of 0.2mm and moderate feed rate.

    Really you will need to play with your machine for the best balance regards ideal cutting speeds as every machine is differant but don't be affraid to let rip.!. . . You'll know when you've hit the sweet spot by the sound and the nice stream of chips flowing off the cutter.! . . . When a single flute is cutting sweet it's like taking a piss after you've been busting for hours.!! . . . Strong flow and nice Arghh sound. :rofl:

  6. #46
    4 flute end mill doesn't leave much space for chips at all, so they're going to get re-cut / rub etc causing the poor finish you describe. 0.3 DOC at 350 mm/min is pretty pathetic ... as Jazz said you should be able to get a lot more than that.
    On my router, which compared to a mill isn't very rigid, I've been using 1.2mm DOC (sometimes 2mm for short periods) at 700mm/min and 12000rpm. Clear the slot of chips and put some cutting fluid in it before the cutter gets round.
    Since your max spindle speed is 2700rpm, not 12000rpm, you want to reduce the feedrate roughly proportionately for the single flute cutter to get the same chip load and increase the depth of cut.

    The video I posted earlier in the thread should give a reasonable idea of what it looks/sounds like. Finish is generally good - here's an example where I didn't do a finishing pass as such. 23mm thick if I recall correctly:
    Click image for larger version. 

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    And another with a different grade of aluminium (showing how grade can make a big difference):
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #47
    Thanks for the replies guys. ive hated watching the slow shitty speeds ive been running.

    Gonna get some on order

  8. #48


    that took about hour n half

  9. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by JAZZCNC View Post
    . . . When a single flute is cutting sweet it's like taking a piss after you've been busting for hours.!! . . . Strong flow and nice Arghh sound. :rofl:
    I often wondered what the mist setting in Mach3 was for ;-)

  10. #50
    dont suppose anybody has one of these spare i can buy, china are gonna take forever to get here and i wanna get cracking on!

    PM me

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