Beginner Milling Necessities

[Bray D]

I did some general searching, but didn't like the results I was getting so I thought I'd post up a fresh thread. I know there's a sticky regarding "useful milling tools", but that list is quite extensive and compiling all of those tools would take years for a garage guy like myself.

I'm new to home machining, as I currently have my first machine tool en route to my place. I opt'd for a Precision Matthews PM-932M mill/drill and I'm looking for some tooling so I can start making chips.

The first order of business for the machine will be getting everything tramming true. I can handle sourcing the indicators/holders/etc.

I ordered a vise, collets, and a clamp set with my machine, but I currently don't have any cutters on order. I don't have a chuck or a dedicated drill bit set either (my hand drill bits are less than ideal, so I may as well upgrade while I'm looking to spend some money).

Cutters:

My first real project will be making aluminum fixtures for my fab table. From what I've read, 2-3 flute center cutting end mills should work well. Any advice regarding material, spiral, etc. for cutting aluminum?

Chuck:

I need a chuck too. Jacobs is the name that I frequently hear/read about, but man are they expensive! I did some more research and found that Glacern Machine Tool has some keyless chucks that are more in my price range. Any advice regarding keyed vs keyless? Any reviews on GMT tool holders or suggestions for other manufacturers? My machine has an R8 taper, for what that's worth.

Drill bits:

I'll be using them mostly with mild steel and aluminum. Is high speed steel sufficient or should I opt for cobalt or coated bits? Any thoughts regarding 118* vs 135* drill angle for a general drill bit set?

Additional tooling:

An edge finder is on the list as well. Is there anything else I absolutely need to get started?

Perhaps I should've left this more open eneded: What would be your suggested "Machinist starter tool kit"?

Mods - feel free to move this if it's not in the appropriate forum. I'm a newb.

 

[David S]

I am a hobby machinist that fixes clocks. Most of my work is in brass or aluminum for fixtures. I find a set of parallels is quite handy along with v-blocks if you are working with round stock.

David

 

[GA Gyro]

I took delivery of my PM935 mill in October... was in a similar place.

I was thoroughly surprised to find Amazon has lots of stuff available, and at reasonable prices.
Some of it is name brand, some of it is off brand... and I learned to shop it, as there are multiple offerings of similar tools.

Might go to Amazon and look around.

 

[dracozny]

Fairly well rounded list....

As far as the drill chuck, it's all personal preference. Most people like the keyless since it's one less item to get lost on your tool tray. GMT is fine, especially since Drill chucks are not used for accuracy anyways.

A fly cutter or Face mill may be a good suggestion. I use my 90 degree Face mill quite a bit on large parts.

Other End Mills. There is a huge variety on these I sometimes find it ridiculous. You can literally spend a small fortune in no time on this side of things. Aluminum can take some heavy cuts with 2 -3 flute as you are already aware. Your mill is around the size of a 45 so Cobalt and Carbide are both good choices here. when working with steel I tend to like my Cobalt 4 flutes better.

I don't know what kind of work you're doing, so I might as well throw in reamers, boring head and, boring bars. If you need an accurately round hole those tools are gold.

If you don't plan on CNC conversion, a rotary table will come in handy when you need a radius on a part. Honestly, don't cheap out here. There is another thread asking about some Ebay tools and suppliers and the rotary table shown in there is the one you want to stay far far away from. Plan on spending around $300+ in this category.

A nice Brass Hammer! all too often your going to need to beat (or gently tap :whistle a part into submission on that vise or table without destroying anything in the process. You can easily make this, and it's a nice first project. It also comes in handy for tapping the draw bar to change your tooling.

I hope that helps you in any way. I am by no means an expert, but those are the items I have come to appreciate over the last year when dealing with tooling.

 

[randyc]

Boring head and set of C5 boring tools.
E Bay for end mills, you can score solid carbide mills for less than $4 if you're patient. HSS for less than 1/2 that.
Set of screw machine drills (much shorter to preserve the limited headroom of the mill/drill).
Gallon of cutting oil - pipe threading oil works good on almost any material.
Dozen acid brushes.
Shop vac, if you don't have one already.
Angle plate.
It goes on and on and on. You'll encounter problems that require special setups and new tooling.

 

[mikey]

For aluminum you should look at the 2 flute Hi-helix end mills in HSS. Cobalt is fine and carbide is great but you don't need them for this application, especially in a home hobby shop. I highly recommend you purchase roughing end mills (I use only fine pitch for aluminum but my mill is small) along with your Hi-helix finishing end mills; the latter will last much longer. Center cutting end mills are the most useful, to me anyway, and I prefer no radius on the cutter tips for most things. If I need a radiused edge then I buy them that way.

The same goes for steel - get some roughing end mills. 3-4 flute finishing end mills will work well in steel. HSS is cheapest but buy good stuff - Regal, Niagra, Brubaker all work well.

I agree with a fly cutter - you will need to square almost everything in your mill before you can work on it and a fly cutter makes this go quickly.

Drill chucks: I prefer keyless chucks and Albrechts in particular. You can buy a used one on eBay for a fair price. Rohm Supra keyless chucks are also quite good and much cheaper than an Albrecht; they perform just fine. I would stay away from Jacobs Super Chucks unless you are sure it is an older US-made model. Most of the new Jacobs chucks are made in China and are not worth their cost.

Either 118 or 135 drills will work. Most of your work will be spot or center drilled first anyway. Jobber drills are cheaper, screw machine drills are shorter and will work better if Z-travel is at a premium. I use both, mainly the jobber drills, but the screw machine drills are lifesavers when you need a short drill. I would buy good bits in sets: numbered/wire size first, then fractional, then letter, then metric. Again, ebay is your best bet. Precision Twist Drill, Chicago Latrobe, Triumph are some good brands.

I like the Starrett 827A Edge finder. Mine is over 20 years old and works as well as the day I bought it.

Parallels are a necessity. Buy them in sets. Here, imports are fine for hobby work. For general work, the 1/8" thick ones work well but you will find the thin sets are often more handy. The thin sets go up in size in 1/16" increments instead of 1/8" increments like the standard parallels do. They also allow you to drill up close to the edge of a work piece and this will happen far more often than you think.

A boring head is an absolute necessity. There are some really good ones, Criterion being the one I like. Like the rotary table, this one can wait awhile.

That should get you started and you can build from there.

Be sure you understand the difference between conventional and climb milling. Your tooling will thank you for it.

 

[compsurge]

Shars has end mills for cheap. I've only really used a cheap Grizzly set I got at a fire sale price off of Amazon. I haven't broken any yet and I'm sure I can get better end mills, but I am still learning. I have Made in USA Shars brand drill bits (screw machine/ stub length) that I have found work well.

I have the GMT keyless drill chuck, some of their ER16 and ER25 holders and collets, two 4" vises, and a face mill. They're all great.

Eventually you'll want to get a boring head. Keep an eye on eBay for a Criterion or some of the other old heads that pop up regularly. I have a Shars 3" head that I find works well, but if I did it again, I'd get a used Criterion for the sake of fit and finish (they do come on eBay for around $50 every once in a while). I can't complain on the cut quality of the Shars even when using manual downfeed, however. If you have the PDF version of the PM-932, boring will be painless.

Don't forget some cleaner and lube (grease for the screws and way oil for the ways) for the mill. You will want to clean it. Plan a whole day to get it torn down, cleaned, and back up on the stand. I helped a buddy out with setting his PM-932 up. When placing it on the stand, I found that putting the PM-932 on with the back of the mill toward the engine crane worked best. We bolted the mill to the cast iron table, then lifted from the front and put the mill in its final place. I used a HF 1-1/2 ton engine crane.


OH, and Enco has a 20% off sale for cutters... Enter Promo Code: TWYCT | Offer Valid Until 2/11/15
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPAGE?PMPAGE=enco-cutting-tools.html&cm_mmc=Email-_-021015-_-NA-_-R

 

[Jim2]

I've got an older, used Jacobs 14N super chuck that I'm quite fond of. I have it mounted on a 1/2" shank that I use with a 1/2" R8 collet. I find that to be a versatile set-up that makes tool changes a little quicker especially if going from 1/2" end-mill to drill chuck. I also will step drill with the reduced shank silver & demings in 1/2" shank, so everything works with the 1/2" R8 collet. If you're not familiar, the 14N is the smallest super chuck that closes all the way down to the smallest drill sizes (0"-1/2"). Larger super chucks only go down to 1/8". I've not had any need for any larger chuck than 1/2", but if you plan to use a larger reamers ("3/4"?) you may want a larger chuck. I wouldn't want a Chinese Jacobs either, though!

I've never used the hand-tightening chucks, but people seem to like them especially the Albrecht--so probably would be a good choice as well.

I have a Chinese boring head, and I've used a Criterion once at tech school. I've found the Chinese boring head to work well. The only obvious differences were that the set screws were very poor quality, so I had to replace them. Other than that the adjustment screw has very light printed lines that are difficult to see. The Criterion had engraved lines that were nicer. Personally there are areas where I don't want to compromise, but I think the Chinese boring head was a good value.

I did buy a cheap rotary table of Indian make, and that is the single worst purchase I've made in tooling up. Only one of the table locks did anything. The worm and wheel is far enough off-center that the table will bind during part of it's 360 degree rotation and then be excessively loose 180 degrees away from there. The screw also had other binding issues with the scales, which are cheaply made of aluminum. The castings themselves are of good quality, but that is little consolation given the poor quality of machining. If I was to buy a rotary table, I would buy used, older American or Yuasa (Japanese), Vertex or possibly Phase II. I would *not* buy anything without a brand name! A rotary table is too expensive to buy cheap and then step up like some expendable items like end mills.

I bought a 115 piece drill index of USA make from Enco on one of their % sales w/ free shipping when I was getting started. It has the 118 grind, and it is generally serviceable. I don't think the quality compares to Triumph or Precision Twist drill. I find that the edges chip easily. I have other drills and have never experienced that with other sets. OTOH, I don't have any issues with poor sharpening or drills failing in other ways that you often hear about when discussing cheaper, foreign drills. I've replaced any broken drills with Triumph 135 degree points. Those are nice drills! The go through steel like it's butter--definitely a noticeable difference. I don't know if they are recommended for aluminum, though they certainly work with aluminum. I don't have any experience with cobalt drills, but wouldn't pay a premium for them. I believe they are supposed to chip/break easier than HSS. I'm a home-shop guy. I try to take everything slow. I treat recommended speeds as an upper limit, and usually go for 50-75% of that. Tools last longer, and my time is my own, so no rush on anything. Cobalt and expensive finishes don't add value for me.

Jim

 

[Uglydog]

All these posts are great and accurate!

But, the cheapest and best is eye protection.
Please be sure that you purchase and use safety glasses.

Daryl
MN

 

[Bray D]

Thanks for all of the advice guys!

I just placed my first tooling order yesterday. I ordered a 20pc endmill set (2 flute and 4 flute), edge finder, center drills, parallels, countersink, and a fresh fractional twist drill set to get me started. I have an indicator with a holder and mag base that I use for setting up automotive gear sets, so I'm hoping that will suffice for a while. I'm sure I'll be picking up more indicators/holders as needs arise.

All PPE is readily available and used regularly. Thanks for mentioning it though - it's worth the awareness.