First Things for a Mill?

[rogerrabbit]

Just browsing through the threads to see what I can pickup and saw this thread:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/show...-Things-You-Need-for-a-Lathe?highlight=things

as a new owner of a horizontal mill, what should the first things be that I shop for?

I have:
a dial indicator & base
6" digital caliper
set of drill bits

for attachments I have:
end mill bit (is that the correct name?)

and an arbor (sitting in the mill tray).. I think its for a slitting saw?


so far I am thinking:
set of parallels
drill chuck adapter
edge finder



thanks,
Roger

 

[yugami]

Parallels can be useful but you can also use HSS lathe blanks in a pinch

plain/side/slab milling cutters (these are the ones that go on the arbor), collets and or end mill holders of whatever style your mill takes. Hold down set.

Thats all i can think off right now

 

[sic semper tyrannis]

Workholding

I have found about 50% of this game is figuring out how to hold stuff down, 25% is measuring (maybe more) and the rest is cutting.

You have to have a way to hold stuff down.

Clamps and good vise

 

[Rbeckett]

An edge finder and a center finder are very nice to have. A good set of parallels and a good quality vice are also nearly indispensible. I have flat tip and round tip end mills that I hold in End Mill Holders that have a set screw to keep them from turning. The flat face end mills have a flute that goes almost all the way across so I can bore full depth on the mills and not run into concentricity issues from chatter and vibration. Look at the facce of the mill and you will see on flute goes almost all the way across, they are built to drill deep, the ones that dont have that are limited to a very shallow boring/hogging depth. Makes it easier to bore and mill pockets in material. I also got a small fly cutter set from LMS that is great for the range of my 5980. I switch back and forth between my lathe on a lot of MT2 and MT3 tooling like live centers and 1/2 centers and some cutters. I also got the 5 piece center drill set that has the 60 degree countersing so the centers match up correctly. Since my machine is a HF 5980 I also bought a riser block to bring the milling vise closer to the milling head to keep from having to extend too much of the shaft and risk losing too much rigidity in the column. I also made a couple of metric and US thread draw bars so I can switch quickly when I run into a difference in diameter and pitch. Welcome to milling, I think I have spent more on tooling than I did on the machine but i did buy the better stuff when I ordered something so I only have to buy it once too. A rotary table with indexing plates is next so I can make gears and cut splines on shafts.
Bob

 

[Tom Griffin]

Roger,

Unless you already have a vertical mill, the first thing you need for a horizontal mill is a big honkin' angle plate so you can get your work vertical for end milling. Then cut some slots in it and mount a couple of keys to fit your T slots so you don't need to indicate it every time you throw it on the mill. Plaza Machinery has a bunch of them reasonably priced.

Tom

 

[rogerrabbit]

ok, sounds like I got a shopping list.. thanks all!

hold down set from hf.. I figure I can return if it doesn't work well.
big honkin' angle plate.. gonna see if they have something like that at skycraft (orlando electronics and industrial recycler aka toy store)

end mill holders or collets.. can anyone explain why I would use 1 over the other?
gonna take a guess here that collets give you more travel as the bit ends up farther back vs the table, but end mill holders are easier to change bits on??

--Roger

 

[yugami]

End mill holders use a set screw to engage the flat on most HSS end mills. They stick out a bit further but are not hollow so the tool sticks out the same amount every time you put it in. And while they stick out further they are also more robust than most collets in terms of flex.

My mill uses 5C collets and you can mimic some of that with collet stops and dedicated collets. However the positive engagement of the set screw makes the end mill hold tight with a fairly quick change ability (just undo the set screw not the entire holder).

I guess the main possible downside on an endmill holder is the hole has to be very tight on the end mill or you'll end up a hair off center when you tighten the screw down.

 

[mitsue]

This is the setup I'm running now

 

[12bolts]

Mitsue, Is that a solid brass/bronze head hammer in your pic?

Cheers Phil

 

[12bolts]

Mitsue - I guess that is what Tom describes as a "big honkin' angle plate"! That thing must weigh a ton.

Nah thats just a coupla pieces of particle board braced together with some form ply.................:lmao:......
....and then you click the thumbnail.....

Cheers Phil