# Tooling for a new BP Series 1 owner



## MyLilMule (Apr 25, 2021)

I recently acquired a BP Series 1, variable speed head. I have never owned a milling machine. For general machinery, what should be included in a "starter kit" of sorts for tooling? I have a 6" vice for it, and that's pretty much about it, aside from the tooling and metrology gear I have for my lathe.


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## T Bredehoft (Apr 25, 2021)

You're asking us "How to spend your money?"

Does it have collets, or use patented tool holders and do you have them?


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## markba633csi (Apr 25, 2021)

Well you'll need a few R-8 collets and some endmills, a flycutter (which you can make), perhaps a tramming device (which you can also make),
and a bunch of metal to rip thru! 
A DRO is almost mandatory these days. A dividing head if you want to make gears.  How much you wanna spend? LOL
-Mark


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## Shootymacshootface (Apr 25, 2021)

The most important thing is a set of parallels. 
From there would be a 13pc collet set.
An edge finder.
You probably have a good set of drills, with both number and letter sets.
A set of end mills. A 3/16 - 3/4" set would get you started.
A 2" boring head with 1/2" boring bars.
That is just to get started.
How much do you have to spend?
Everyone's budget is different, and that makes a bid difference.


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## MyLilMule (Apr 25, 2021)

T Bredehoft said:


> You're asking us "How to spend your money?"


Not even close.


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## MrWhoopee (Apr 25, 2021)

All the stuff mentioned above.

For the most part, you will only need certain size R8 collets, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8 & 3/4. 

A quality drill chuck, keyless is nice but a keyed chuck is almost essential for power tapping. I like mine with a straight shank (rather than R8) which I shorten to about 1/2 the standard length. Cranking the knee up and down for tool changes gets old.

Indicol or some other means for holding an indicator to tram the head and indicate the vise.

Endmills and drills and taps, oh my!


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## mmcmdl (Apr 25, 2021)

Let me open my drawers .  ( that didn't sound right )


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## Technical Ted (Apr 25, 2021)

The things I use most frequently:

1- R8 collets - I hardly ever use tool holders
2- drill chuck - I prefer a 1/2" short shank that is used with a collet
3- a set of parallels
4- end mills
5- fly cutters, various sizes

I could go on and on, but these are the "essentials". Bare minimum and most frequently used in my home hobby shop.

You do need a way to hold an indicator to tram the head, but you can hold a pin in a R8 collet and clamp onto that without the need for some type of "tramming" device, which I own but never use by the way....

An edge finder would be next on that list, but you can use the end mills with a slip of paper, dowel pin, or other means of doing the same thing.

Check out Craig's List and Facebook Market place daily and look for package deals. This is how I built up my tool box!

Ted


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## hman (Apr 26, 2021)

You'll also need a hold-down kit.  Here's one on Amazon.  Shars, CDCO, and lots of other suppliers also sell them.





						HFS (R) Hold Down Clamp Clamping Set Kit Bridgeport Mill (5/8"Slot 1/2" Stud) - - Amazon.com
					

HFS (R) Hold Down Clamp Clamping Set Kit Bridgeport Mill (5/8"Slot 1/2" Stud) - - Amazon.com



					www.amazon.com


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## MyLilMule (Apr 26, 2021)

Thanks for the replies. I have a hold down kit, parallels and indicators already.

I'm going to order a 13 piece set of collets with the bracket that mounts to the side of the mill. And I think I found a drill chuck with an integrated R8 shank that I like.

I'll be on the hunt for a set of end mills next. But there are so many options between HSS and carbide, there are 2 flute and 4 flute, roughing, etc. It doesn't make sense to get one of each - especially for a home hobby shop. I'm not making parts for the Dragon crew capsule, so what would be the go-to for general machining?

I'm also looking to get a complete set of drill bits, including letter and numbered bits. What's the difference between a JOBBER bit and just an ordinary drill bit?


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## Weldingrod1 (Apr 26, 2021)

Long center drills and good quality stub length drill bits in 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4" are handy because they fit your favorite collets. This saves daylight and time...
+1 on shortening the 1/2" chuck arbor... there's no value in it being any longer than the clamping part of the R-8.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


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## markba633csi (Apr 26, 2021)

You want an assortment of endmills in both HSS and carbide.  The number of flutes is a tradeoff between chip clearance, cutting speed and surface finish- usually 2 flute works best for deep cuts in aluminum or steel.  Rougher bits are good for hogging a lot of material when the finish isn't critical.
3 and 4 flutes are good for finishing cuts and give a very nice finish, almost like spot polished.  For plunge cutting you need center cutting types; some endmills cannot plunge cut to the very center of the cutting tip and are made to cut sideways only, like a flycutter.
Starting out I saved a ton of money by buying estate sale lots on ebay.  I got a great selection of new and nearly new endmills for about 10% of new cost, all good USA brands like Putnam, DoAll and Morse.  Avoid the import cheapies.
-Mark


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## hman (Apr 26, 2021)

Standard length drill bits are sometimes called "jobber." Shorter versions are known as "screw machine" or "stub" length (see @Weldingrod1's post).  Center drills or "combination center drill and countersink" are good for locating and starting holes, especially if you're using a long or thin drill bit, which can try to wander.
Try http://www.cdcotools.com and search for center drills
-or-




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						#1-5 60 degree M42 Cobalt Center Drill Combined Drill & Countersink 5pcs Set
					

<!-- <ul><li>Size: 1-5</li><li>Body Dia: 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 7/16"</li><li>Drill Dia: 1/32, 3/64, 5/64, 7/64, 1/8, 3/16"</li><li>60° Right Hand</li></ul> -->




					www.shars.com
				







__





						#1-5 82 degree HSS Center Drill Combined Drill & Countersink 5pcs Set
					

Shars Tool




					www.shars.com
				



-or-




__





						Center Drills, Cobalt, Set of 5 (Numbers 1-5) 4859 - LittleMachineShop.com
					

Drills 4859 Combined drill and countersink; Sizes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; M42 (8% cobalt) high speed steel; 60° included angle; Right hand cutting direction;...




					littlemachineshop.com
				



(also item numbers 2990 and 1230)


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## Janderso (Apr 26, 2021)

Did anyone mention a good milling machine vise? Not a drill press vise.
A work pallet you can fasten to your vise to clamp parts to for machining.
Clamps other than t nut kits. Like Kant twist clamps for example.
We can come up with more......


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## BGHansen (Apr 26, 2021)

I haven't read through all of the responses in detail, probably lots of repeaters here.

Vise for work holding.  My BP has a Kurt vise on it with steel jaws.  I also have sets of aluminum jaws with a milled step about 1/8" deep by 0.200" wide on the jaws.
Parallels.  I have 1/8" thick, 1/32" thick, adjustable and wavy parallels.  Use the 1/8" thick ones 99.9% of the time.  Also have some magnetic parallel keepers to keep them from tipping over.  Guys will use styrofoam, or a piece of steel banding strap bent in a "V" set between the parallels to keep them upright.
Edge finder to establish your coordinate system.
Z-AXIS POWER FEED ON THE KNEE!!!!  I think mine cost around $300 from All Industrial Tool in CA.  
DRO's are VERY nice.  My BP has an Anilam CNC controller on it which allows for manual milling, the display is my DRO for X and Y.  I have a separate single axis scale for the Z.
Indicol type dial test indicator for finding the center of a boss or hole.  It can also be used to tram in the head of your mill.  I use a new brake rotor just for that purpose, or 1-2-3 blocks.
T-nut clamping kit.
Drill chuck.
R-8 collets.  I have an ER-32 collet chuck on my BP and frankly never use the R-8's though I have a set.  
End mills in various diameters, 2 and 4 flute.
Chip brush
Cutting fluid
For tapping of holes, I usually power tap with a chucked tap.  I also use tap wrenches with a sliding arbor on the back.  There's a name for them that escapes me, but it's basically a rod that slides in/out of the wrench on the center axis.  Chuck up the rod and the tap is on center, free to turn and extend.
I primarily use stubby drills on my mills.  Jobbers work okay since I have the power feed on the Z.
I use 120 deg. spotting drilling for starting holes, center drills will work also (tips are usually 120 deg.).
I've got a flycutter some place, but use a 2" head for surfacing.
Have a 2" boring head that takes 1/2" diameter boring bars.
Chip shield is nice too.  Mine is a piece of 1/8" thick plexiglass about a foot long by 8" tall.  It's sandwiched between some 1/4" aluminum bar stock with magnets Loctite'd in one of the bars.  
Dedicated 3/4" ratcheting box end combo wrench.
Machinist jacks can come in handy if your work is hanging outside of the vise.

Depending on the complexity of your projects, rotary table and dividing head are handy.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff that others will mention.  

Bruce


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## BGHansen (Apr 27, 2021)

Since I'm having fun spending YOUR money, I ran out to my shop to look over my tooling to help you spend some more!

Nice tool box to store your tooling (I use a HF 26" x 22" roller base and upper chest).
A lot of my projects involve using 5-C collet blocks.  They're handy for knocking 2, 3, 4, 6 sides on a round.
Machinist clamps and kant-twist clamps
Mist coolant with mag base.  I've had good luck with my <$20 import that is a siphon type.  Drop the pick up in a milk jug of coolant, hook up the compressor and spray away.
Rags to clean up the aforementioned coolant  
Machinery's Handbook
Quick reference drill/hole size guide.  Mine is a file off the web that has sizes of numbered drills, letter, fractional and metric.  Also frequently reference a page that has tap drill sizes for various class threads (highlighter run over the 75% common ones) and clearance holes (obvious on fractional sizes, not so much to me on numbered sizes).
Over-under reamer set - mine goes from 1/8" up to 1/2" by 1/32"'s.  Sizes are over/under the target by 0.001".  Handy for press in tight dowels or loose fit.
For edge finders, they are handy to have in 1/2" and 3/8" shanks.  Saves a collet change in a lot of cases.
I use a wiggler with a point end for finding center punched holes.
Blake co-ax indicator.  Used for quickly finding the center of a hole or boss.  Mine also has a spring-loaded center for finding a center-punched hole.
Depth stop on the quill can be handy.
For more edge finding, I also have a Borite electronic (ferrous metals only), and a couple of SDA laser center/edge finders.  I've got one with crosshairs and one with concentric circles.  The circles one is nice for a quick find on a drilled hole.  I'm usually accurate within 0.010" or better.
I've also got a centering scope though I can't recall ever using it.  It has a microscope-like eyepiece and a cross hair to find a feature on a part.
Slitting saw arbor and slitting saws. 
Corner-rounding end mills.
Vise jaw work stop
Miscellaneous cutters that are job-specific like tapered end mills, dovetail end mills, key cutters, etc.
End mill holders with set screws.  I tend to be pretty conservative on my cuts and haven't experienced tool pull-out with end mills in collets.  These holders have a better mechanical lock than collets.
1-2-3 blocks.
T-slot cleaning tool
Magnetic pick-up tool
V-blocks
Micrometers, dial calipers, depth mics, angle blocks, machinist squares.
Toe clamps for work holding
More of a luxury than anything, but I also have a Quillmaster with the QRA head.  Also, a right angle attachment.
Angle plates

I've got photos of my mess(organization) if you'd like.  They'd give you an idea of how to store 200 gallons of crap in a 5-gallon bucket.

Bruce


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## Shootymacshootface (Apr 27, 2021)

BGHansen said:


> Since I'm having fun spending YOUR money, I ran out to my shop to look over my tooling to help you spend some more!
> 
> Nice tool box to store your tooling (I use a HF 26" x 22" roller base and upper chest).
> A lot of my projects involve using 5-C collet blocks.  They're handy for knocking 2, 3, 4, 6 sides on a round.
> ...



No sidetracking here, I think this question in relevant. 
Bruce, I recently acquired a square 5C collet holder, which is great, but I also would like kne that is a hex. Do you think that I should just mill the additional flats on it, or would I be better off to get another that is hexagonal?


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## BGHansen (Apr 27, 2021)

Shootymacshootface said:


> No sidetracking here, I think this question in relevant.
> Bruce, I recently acquired a square 5C collet holder, which is great, but I also would like kne that is a hex. Do you think that I should just mill the additional flats on it, or would I be better off to get another that is hexagonal?


I'd look for a hex, haven't put a file to my blocks but they are pretty hard. My set was only around $45 on eBay.

I wrote the width and center line dimensions on mine for quickly getting on center. Saves mic'ing the block every time I use it.

Bruce


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## Aukai (May 13, 2021)

I have a 12 sided ER40 collet block, maybe you can find that in 5C. Check all listings for the best US made name brands on Ebay for NEW end mills. You will get tired of chipped ones quickly.


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