# Large Endmill Use



## kplyler (Nov 21, 2016)

With nothing else better to do with $15, I picked up a 2" x 10" end mill.  Its about the size of a brick (except for being cylinder shaped  ). 6 flutes, and new (still in the waxy coating).  OK, it's too big for my BP J-head.  I thought about making a 2" to 1/2" adapter, and use it in an R8 in the BP, and on the Lathe (largest drill bit I have is 1 & 7/8", so 2" end mill would get me to 2" ID on tasks before I have to start using a boring bar). I assume when its worn out I can grind it and use it for HSS (not sure how to clamp it in the QCTP unless I ground it down significantly or made yet another adapter).

Any other thoughts on what it could be used for?

Thanks


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## Bob Korves (Nov 21, 2016)

Is the shank 2" all the way to the end?  Or what?


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## rgray (Nov 21, 2016)

Could be handy on a horizontal mill. Both ends supported.


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## 4GSR (Nov 21, 2016)

Man, there's no way I would mount that in my Bridgeport type mill.  That big endmill was made to run in big heavy No. 5 mills and larger.  No. 3 or 4 mills maybe.  I could see someone coming up to a part to slab mill an edge and the end mill catching the corner and pow! It would bend over and break off and fly across the shop, if it didn't hit you first!.  Everything on the mill would get knocked out of wack, if it doesn't bend the spindle, first.  And if that endmill did hit you, the ER doctor would mark it down as another interested case.  And trying to explain that to insurance, no way!

BTW- I was watching a so called machinist running a No. 5 vertical mill in my younger years.  He was rapding up to an edge of a work piece, went too far and caught the corner of a 2-1/2" two flute end mill.  Kaboom! That twenty thousand pound mill shook the entire shop when the edge of the endmill broke off.  Even the owner came out to see if anyone got hurt.  The chunk that broke off flew out hit the sheet metal on the building and put a sizable dent in it.

Be practical and use some com and sense with what you are thinking of doing.


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## Tony Wells (Nov 21, 2016)

I've got a #3 universal mill and that's about a mouthful for it, as Ken said. And that's got a 7.5 hp motor on it and weighs nearly 7,000 lbs. Just an opinion, but you could have used that $15 more wisely. I don't know what practical use you have for it if you only have a bp style knee mill. As far as lathe use goes, since you have a 1-7/8" drill, that 1/8" size gain won't be worth all the trouble to build something to hold it. Assuming of course that you have the lathe that will pull the load. 

Not trying to criticize, but even at that price I probably wouldn't have bought it, even though I can use it.


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## John Hasler (Nov 21, 2016)

kplyler said:


> With nothing else better to do with $15, I picked up a 2" x 10" end mill.  Its about the size of a brick (except for being cylinder shaped  ). 6 flutes, and new (still in the waxy coating).  OK, it's too big for my BP J-head.  I thought about making a 2" to 1/2" adapter, and use it in an R8 in the BP, and on the Lathe (largest drill bit I have is 1 & 7/8", so 2" end mill would get me to 2" ID on tasks before I have to start using a boring bar). I assume when its worn out I can grind it and use it for HSS (not sure how to clamp it in the QCTP unless I ground it down significantly or made yet another adapter).
> 
> Any other thoughts on what it could be used for?
> 
> Thanks


Use it as a boring bar.  Don't clamp it in the QTCP: make a holder for it.  You could also make an adapter for the tailstock and use it sort of like a core drill.


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## JimDawson (Nov 22, 2016)

Leave the wax on it and use it for a paper weight.  Way too big for anything I have here.


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## Uglydog (Nov 22, 2016)

Make sure to do the RPM calculations and run it slow enough.

Daryl
MN


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## kplyler (Nov 22, 2016)

Yes, the shank is 2" all the way.  It has three Weldon flats, two on one side, and one on the other. no I'm curious, Does the larger diameter set up vibration in a smaller Mill?  The Mill is ~1800 lb, and 2HP. The posts above seem to indicate some stored spring energ that can go baddy if un-sprung?


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## JimDawson (Nov 22, 2016)

I have seen end mills that size used on 50,000 lb mills with 50 HP spindles.  The problem is the amount of twisting force it applies to the machine.  I get nervous when using a 3/4 x 4 inch end mill on my 3,500 lb machine.  It is not heavy enough to overcome the cutting forces imposed by the cutter when using that end mill to capacity.  With a 2 x 10 inch inch end mill, the amount of stick out would be huge and the twisting torque applied to the head would be immense.


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## John Hasler (Nov 22, 2016)

JimDawson said:


> I have seen end mills that size used on 50,000 lb mills with 50 HP spindles.  The problem is the amount of twisting force it applies to the machine.  I get nervous when using a 3/4 x 4 inch end mill on my 3,500 lb machine.  It is not heavy enough to overcome the cutting forces imposed by the cutter when using that end mill to capacity.  With a 2 x 10 inch inch end mill, the amount of stick out would be huge and the twisting torque applied to the head would be immense.


You'd just have to limit your depth of cut and feed per tooth appropriately.  After all, flycutters work.

And don't climb mill.


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## Ulma Doctor (Nov 22, 2016)

maybe i sinned a little, 
i have used a  1" 4 flute endmill to mill 3/4" 6061 aluminum plate in my Trans World Steel VHM-728 vertical head  (347 rpm, .020" DOC).
it only has a 1 hp motor


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## JimDawson (Nov 22, 2016)

John Hasler said:


> You'd just have to limit your depth of cut and feed per tooth appropriately.  After all, flycutters work.
> 
> And don't climb mill.


John, while I agree with you in principal, in this case a 2 x 10 inch end mill is going to be hanging out of a R-8 spindle over a foot by the time you add an adapter.  That is way too much stick out

Fly cutters are normally pretty close coupled


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## JimDawson (Nov 22, 2016)

Ulma Doctor said:


> maybe i sinned a little,
> i have used a  1" 4 flute endmill to mill 3/4" 6061 aluminum plate in my Trans World Steel VHM-728 vertical head  (347 rpm, .020" DOC).
> it only has a 1 hp motor



As long as it's not sticking out too far, you're fine.


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## Ulma Doctor (Nov 22, 2016)

JimDawson said:


> As long as it's not sticking out too far, you're fine.


it's a 1"x 4" endmill


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## tweinke (Nov 22, 2016)

Guys you are all thinking of this wrong, of course he should use the end mill just needs the appropriate machine to install it in. Problem solved.....


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## TORQUIN (Dec 19, 2016)

Consider, if you are running the proper cutting speed, and the HP of the smaller mill, the mill will just stall if the cut is too heavy. I run a 6" indexable carbide shell cutter on my BP when I need a continuous cut across something, but I take light cuts and run it slow. I have a 10" cutter also, but have not yet had a need to cut something that wide yet.
When I was cutting with a 3" indexable shell cutter and the part cocked in the vise (still don't know why, as the vise was very tight), the BP just stalled (J head belt slippage). Yes, it tore up the cutter, broke several carbide inserts, and gouged the part pretty bad, but it was all recoverable. I filed the gouged pockets for the inserts and installed new inserts and it's fine now. I didn't even knock the head out of alignment. Even in this case, I was running slow and taking a light cut, although I guess heavier than I should have been, .040, I think.
While I don't want to do that again, I am not scared away from large cutters because if the narrower parameters on using them on a smaller machine are observed, they work well.

Chris


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## Tony Wells (Dec 19, 2016)

Wonder why no one makes a 2" collet.....hmmm


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## Ortonese (Dec 19, 2016)

kplyler said:


> With nothing else better to do with $15, I picked up a 2" x 10" end mill.  Its about the size of a brick (except for being cylinder shaped  ). 6 flutes, and new (still in the waxy coating).  OK, it's too big for my BP J-head.  I thought about making a 2" to 1/2" adapter, and use it in an R8 in the BP, and on the Lathe (largest drill bit I have is 1 & 7/8", so 2" end mill would get me to 2" ID on tasks before I have to start using a boring bar). I assume when its worn out I can grind it and use it for HSS (not sure how to clamp it in the QCTP unless I ground it down significantly or made yet another adapter).
> 
> Any other thoughts on what it could be used for?
> 
> Thanks


you could use it on your BP if you have an horizontal attachment for it I did,and milled horizontally.


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## kd4gij (Dec 19, 2016)

If you have a surface grinder, you could grind the shank down to 3/4" and use it as a shell mill.


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## Chuck K (Dec 19, 2016)

kd4gij said:


> If you have a surface grinder, you could grind the shank down to 3/4" and use it as a shell mill.


That's some serious grinding right there...lol


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## kd4gij (Dec 19, 2016)

Chuck K said:


> That's some serious grinding right there...lol




Were I used to work we had a wet grinder we could set something like that up and let it run. it could run a 1 1/2"  and had auto feed. Or could turn it down to 7/8 on the lathe and finish it on the grinder.

 Of cores he could buy a big bed mill and use it as is.


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## mlake01 (Dec 19, 2016)

Chuck it in your lathe, build a special clamp to replace the tool post, and cope the ends of 2" tubing for fab projects.  The tube clamp is adjustable for angle, but is a fixed height (on C/L).  

Roughing mills work great for this.  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 682bear (Dec 19, 2016)

At a previous job, I worked with one of 'those guys' that believed you could judge how good a machinist was by seeing how far he could sling chips off a machine...

He had fabricated a 10 inch flycutter that he ran in a BP size mill. He would touch of, dial in .100 or so, lock the table clamps, (to reduce the vibrations) and let-er-rip... wide open...

The poor mill didn't last very long before it was too loose to use.

There is a 'right' tool for every job... and lots of 'wrong' ones.

-Bear


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## Bob Korves (Dec 20, 2016)

Now what am I going to do with the R8 to 1-1/4" end mill holder that fits my Millrite?  C'mon, I could at least do Delrin or HDPE, right?  Actually, the bigger issue is probably the 250 rpm minimum spindle speed...


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## 4GSR (Dec 21, 2016)

Bob Korves said:


> Now what am I going to do with the R8 to 1-1/4" end mill holder that fits my Millrite?  C'mon, I could at least do Delrin or HDPE, right?  Actually, the bigger issue is probably the 250 rpm minimum spindle speed...


That's about the right RPM for a 1-1/4" carbide end mill!


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## sanddan (Dec 21, 2016)

Why don't you send it to Abom79 on YouTube? He has a great channel and has a large horizontal mill in his home shop that he might be able to use it on. Look at it as a chance to support one of the top youtube machinist channels. I accidentally bought the wrong sized hold downs for my mill so I plan on sending them to Adam as I know he can use them on his big KT.


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