This Milling Cutter is Da Bomb!

[ChazzC]

After being unhappy with a 2 in. cutter head that uses the APMT inserts, I bought one of these on a recommendation from another member (who I would like to thank if I could remember his name).

9.1US $ 35% OFF|Sekt1204 Aftn Lt30 10pcs Carbide Inserts + Km12 50-22 1pc Milling Cutter Cnc Turning Tool Lathe Cutter Tools Cutting Tool Set - Turning Tool - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I've been using it for roughing down some prehardened 4140 and I'm truly impressed with the cutter AND the inserts. At 660 rpm and up to .060 DOC it is amazingly smooth and quiet. Above .060 DOC it begins to chatter some, most likely due to rigidity issues with the mill. I'm still running the first set of edges on the inserts and the edge and coating still look fine. It doesn't leave quite as good a finish as I want, so I do the finish pass with a small inserted fly-cutter. Three thumbs up!

Late reply (sorry!).

I picked up this on eBay late last year:



Came with "Aluminum" inserts, but no arbor, so I worked a deal for the head, inserts, arbor plus an extra 10 inserts. Here's the current listing for the head & inserts (eBay item 224459253339):




I've only used it on 6061, but it does a nice job:


Should have used some cutting fluid on the final pass.

 

[rodm1]

The finish is very nice on those cuts.

 

[Chips O'Toole]

How do you tell them to give you R8?

 

[ChazzC]

The finish is very nice on those cuts.

Thanks, would have been better (no/less smearing) if I had used cutting fluid for the final passes. The round, "Aluminum" inserts do a great job on 6061 and Delrin/Acetyl. I've seen it reported that they also work well on steel, but haven't attempted yet.

 

[ChazzC]

How do you tell them to give you R8?

I messaged them about the arbor (7/16"-20 R8 in my case), and they pointed me to the correct one in their eBay Store. I was able to get the head, two sets of inserts and the arbor for $96 including shipping (extra inserts were $25). It was missing a retaining screw, but they quickly sent a replacement and extra clamps & screws from LA:



Overall a good deal and transaction.