Barrel fluting

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Earl

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Anyone done barrel fluting on a small mill? I have a grizzly g0695 mill. I believe the size is 8 x 30. I have done a lot of barrels on my Buddy's Enco mill (Bridgeport Clone) with no problems. My junior mill has a 1.5 hp motor and I am having trouble using a quarter inch cutter (2 1/2 inch) at a hundred thou depth of cut. Using a 3/16 cutter, I can cut a 15.75 inch flute in under 15 minutes. (175 rpm) I gave up on the quarter inch cutter after about 15 minutes and only had about a 5 inch cut. (175 - 235 rpm). Had to go very slow or the cutter would jam.
What are your experiences with fluting on less than a full sized Mill?
 
I've used a Granite 3-1 machine to flute barrels....Sharp tools, good cutting fluid, and go slow. Too fast an not only wiull it not cut well, but you might heat up the barrel and warp it. Cut one side, turn 180 degrees and cut another, turn 90 degrees, etc etc..... I don't cut the full groove in one pass. Usually at least three passes per cut, but not all one groove at once......Not sure what RPM I cut at, but it seems much faster than 175 RPM
 
175 rpm is pretty slow for a ball end mill, the SFM at the center is close to nothing and the tool has a hard time removing material and getting it out of the way.

It could also be the quality of the 1/4 vs 3/16 cutters, one may be a lot sharper than the other or have better flute geometry.
 
Flyinfool said:
175 rpm is pretty slow for a ball end mill, the SFM at the center is close to nothing and the tool has a hard time removing material and getting it out of the way.

It could also be the quality of the 1/4 vs 3/16 cutters, one may be a lot sharper than the other or have better flute geometry.
Click to expand...
It is a 2 1/2 inch cutter, not a ball end mill. I have only fluted 2 barrels with the 1/4 inch cutter (on a bridgeport clone) and the 3/16 cutter is new.
 
rbertalotto said:
I've used a Granite 3-1 machine to flute barrels....Sharp tools, good cutting fluid, and go slow. Too fast an not only wiull it not cut well, but you might heat up the barrel and warp it. Cut one side, turn 180 degrees and cut another, turn 90 degrees, etc etc..... I don't cut the full groove in one pass. Usually at least three passes per cut, but not all one groove at once......Not sure what RPM I cut at, but it seems much faster than 175 RPM
Click to expand...
I know how to flute barrels, I have done 30 or so on a bridgeport clone. Those have presented no problems except boredom. I cut at couple hundred rpm and go between an inch and an inch and a half a minute. I use flood coolant (rustlick 255). I am good with that. I am now trying to do the fluting at home in on a much smaller mill (1000 pound mill, half the weight of the Enco mill my friend has) using the same cutter, the same speed, same depth of cut and same coolant. I am disappointed that I can't cut 1/4 inch flutes in a reasonable time with a 1.5 hp mill. My time to flute a barrel in the past had been 2 1/2 hours - setup, cut, clean up. My question is does anyone have experience doing this on a small mill, your granite seems to fit that description. So what size cutter do you use, how fast do you feed?
 
That Granite was many years ago. I now have a Bridgeport clone. But I understand you are using a rotary cutter and not a ball end mill. Never used one of those. Sorry.
 
rbertalotto said:
That Granite was many years ago. I now have a Bridgeport clone. But I understand you are using a rotary cutter and not a ball end mill. Never used one of those. Sorry.
Click to expand...
thanks for the response. I'd have a bridgeport or a clone if I had the room. That would surely solve the issue.
 
I cut them all the time with a 1.5 hp mill. I use a 2-1/2" carbide face cutter, at 300 rpm and 5" per min. Also use a mister for coolant, and the shop vac for sucking up all the vapors.
 
derf said:
I cut them all the time with a 1.5 hp mill. I use a 2-1/2" carbide face cutter, at 300 rpm and 5" per min. Also use a mister for coolant, and the shop vac for sucking up all the vapors.
Click to expand...
How deep are you cutting per pass? I was taught to go to full depth and only make one pass. I don't think you could go 5 inches per minute at full depth. My full depth is around 100 thou. I have tried mister and flood cooling. Flood cooling seems to work best. I is a real PITA to clean up afterwards.
 
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