New to Milling, looking for tooling recommendations

I have got an Emco FB2 bench mill and over the years I have bought quite a lot of tools and accessories, some looked good to me at the beginning but I never used them much. The others looked unnecessary but they turned out to be cant-do-without stuffs.

Just some suggestions base on my experience :

- a GOOD vice. The vice does not just hold the workpiece but provides important horizontal and vertical reference surfaces for measurement. - VERY important for accurate machining
- V blocks for holding round workpiece in the vice
- a set of parallels to go with the vice
- a set of good clamps. I prefer those having a screw instead of a stepped blocks at the back. Adjustment is so much easier
- a quality DTI with good stand. I prefer the Noga type stand.
- edge finder. The conventional mechanical finder is the best for me.
- center finder
- touch detector like this : https://rick.sparber.org/AnalogElectronicEdgeFinder.pdf
- protractor / sine bar / tiltable vice
- try square
- slitting saw
- roughing mill
- facing mill accepting inserts or fly cutter
- boring head
- spot drill - VERY important for accurate drilling
- chamfering / countersink tools
- taps and tap holder
- DRO
- rotary table
 
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I've got some nice collections of drills, HSS endmills and taps for sale that will get you up and running quickly. I should have some drill chucks that might fit the bill too, if you let me know what you're after.
 
Go big.

You can hold small stuff in a big vice but not big stuff in a small vice, even hold a small vice in a big vice.
I would go for an 8" vice, it is probably the tool you will use the most. Also a 5/8" keyless chuck.
Forget flycutters there are plenty of cheap tipped facemills about - leave one insert in if you need a flycutter ( you won't though ).
Take time to make an accurate datum retaining end stop.
Forget indicator holders - get a lever indicator with a pivoting stem - it will always be set on centre, great for small bores to tramming the head.
A set of R8 sidelock holders will be very useful.
Start to collect a set of reduced shank drills 13.5 to 26 in 0.5 increments and make a stand.

These are items that save me time and frustration on all my jobs.

There will always be stuff you need, so concentrate on what suits your projects.

great white said:
I've got a new CX600 (BF20, G0704, etc) on the way.

I have some tooling, but it's mostly just small end mills and an er32 collet holder that I used with my lathe.

I'm looking for some suggestions for a few basics I need to start practicing just general milling operations.

I've ordered and old B&S vice, which may or may not work after a resto.

I've ordered a set of R8 collets.

I've got an adjustable boring head on the way, although I'll need to change it to an R8 shank.

So, any suggestions? Perhaps a clamp kit or maybe a fly cutter?

I'm just looking to get started and develop a few skills on the mill. I can fill the "need" for "more stuff!!" follow later on......I just need some basics for now.
Click to expand...
 
macardoso said:
I have a CNC'd G0704.

You need a decent 4" milling vise. Decent, not crazy. I bought a $150 import one that is plenty good for me. A set of parallels would be a really good purchase to go with the vise. Don't go crazy, a set of 5 sizes, 3" across has lasted me 10 years. I wouldn't get anything more than a 10 size 4" wide parallels. The CNC style vises (flat sides) are nice because you can put them on their sides to gain 2" additional Z height on tall parts. Not commonly needed, but the G0704 is limited to 9" of Z clearance to the table.

This is the minimum I'd get: https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/vise/4-x-3-93-lock-down-precision-milling-machine-vise-1

Better: https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/vise/4-440v-cnc-milling-machine-vise-0-0004-1

Best: https://www.glacern.com/gpv_412

If machining steel, stick to 1/4" or smaller endmills. If aluminum, use 3/8" or smaller. These machines have relatively low rigidity and can't utilize larger cutter very well. They work, but you can machine faster with a smaller tool. HSS is fine for manual work. Polished carbide endmills give top performance in milling aluminum with great finish.


You'll need a drill chuck. I prefer a 1/32-1/2" on a 3/4" shank. Put it in a 3/4" R8 collet. Saves some tool change height. I prefer keyless over keyed, but both are fine. You need to buy the shank separately for most chucks.

www.shars.com

1/32-1/2" JT33 Heavy Duty Keyless Drill Chuck

www.shars.com www.shars.com

You'll eventually want a 115pc drill index. This is used on both the mill and lathe. These are expensive so there are two trains of thought. Buy a cheap index ($200) and replace the drills with high end drills as they break. Or spend more ($400) and get a good set to start with. I did the former, but I find I am not good about buying the replacements and they are missing when I need them.

www.shars.com

1/16 - 1/2 X 64Th #1 - #60 A-Z 115 Pc HSS Bright Finish Jobber Drill Set

www.shars.com www.shars.com

A clamping kit will likely be needed to hold your vise. It will also become invaluable when you move away from only machining square stock in a vise. 3/8-16 is the bolt size you need for the table. You may need to mill the T-nuts a smidge to get them to fit correctly. Some fit fine, some don't.

58 Pc Pro-Series 7/16" T-Slot Clamping Kit Bridgeport Mill Set Up Set 3/8-16 - - Amazon.com

58 Pc Pro-Series 7/16" T-Slot Clamping Kit Bridgeport Mill Set Up Set 3/8-16 - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

Fly cutter is optional. Just faster than facing with endmills. It really exacerbates any issues with column tram.

You'll need these items for measuring (at a minimum): 6" calipers, 0.0005" Dial test indicator, probably a 1" micrometer. Measuring tools are the ONLY thing I go out of my way to buy name brand. They last much longer and just give you a better quality of life.

www.shars.com

.060" Swiss Type Horizontal Dial Test Indicator

www.shars.com www.shars.com

This is the gold standard: https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/06442826?cid=ppc-google-Smart+Shopping+-+MCO+-+Measuring+&+Inspecting&mkwid=|dc&pcrid=534899372863&rd=k&product_id=06442826&gclid=CjwKCAjw-8qVBhANEiwAfjXLrsqdk6q09iowoNgtg4ziIWEG2_iYwQlpFzxMS7HIuh98psXo61s5oRoCNjkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I wouldn't recommend any other caliper than these: https://www.amazon.com/Mitutoyo-Advanced-Absolute-Digital-Caliper/dp/B00IG46NL2?th=1
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Thanks for all that. I have the drill index already, as well as the measuring toosl. My micrometers are all Starrett or Mituoto. Dial guages tend to be Mituoto's.

Verniers are all manual when I want accuracy, but I will grab a digital vernier when I just need "close enough"....
 
Shipper just dropped it off:

fr_3884.jpg

Fun time is over. Now it's time to pull it down, clean the shipping goop and verify it all works as it should. Couldn't resist turning it on, this thing is quiet! Loudest part is the motor humming. Might be a little more noisy when I start actually machining stuff though....
 
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I believe you already have a set of er-32 , in 1/16".
Invest in ER-32 collets in 1/32" and in metric. This way you will cover most shank sizes and not likely need to switch from collets to chuck too often. better quality er- collets are not cheap , I was advised to go with Techinks ,so far I have zero regrets but cheaper collets are also very useable for work holding.
 
If yours is like the Grizzly 0704 and has a plastic gear(s) in the head, now would be the time to order spare(s)
It seems to be the first thing to break from what I hear
-M
 
I've got a set of chucks already, but Chinese stuff. Ran across a couple used Jacobs chucks at a reasonable price (60 bucks for all three, that 50 bucks usd), so I gave it a toss:

ergersg.jpg

I prefer keyed chuck over keyless. A good disassemble, clean, blueprint and reassemble and hopefully they're good to go for another couple decades. At that point, I'd say my wife will be including them in my estate sale.....
 
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great white said:
I've got a set of chucks already, but Chinese stuff. Ran across a couple used Jacobs chucks at a reasonable price (60 bucks for all three, that 50 bucks usd), so I gave it a toss:

View attachment 411041

I prefer keyed chuck over keyless. A good disassemble, clean, blueprint and reassemble and hopefully they're good to go for another couple decades. At that point, I'd say my wife will be including them in my estate sale.....
Click to expand...

Score! And two of them already have shortened straight shanks!
 
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