# Fly Cutters are cool



## Janderso (Sep 10, 2022)

All I have is a small 1/4” shank import fly cutter. 
I’ve seen the finish that can be achieved by a properly made tool.

I finished this today. It works beautifully!
This is a 5/8” shank insert holder. This appealed to me for two reasons.
Changing an insert is quick, cheap and easy. I also wanted some stability for this size of cutter.

If you haven’t made one, put it on your to do list.


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## MrWhoopee (Sep 11, 2022)

Just received the tool holder for the "free" corner of a CCMT.


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## matthewsx (Sep 11, 2022)

Cylinder heads


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## Karl_T (Sep 11, 2022)

I certainly see the appeal of an insert, but HSS is far better at getting a good finish with very small depth of cuts. Anyway my fly cutter uses an HSS bit and has a six inch swing. It works great at removing just a thou or two with a finish as smooth as glass.


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## 7milesup (Sep 11, 2022)

Karl_T said:


> I certainly see the appeal of an insert, but HSS is far better at getting a good finish with very small depth of cuts. Anyway my fly cutter uses an HSS bit and has a six inch swing. It works great at removing just a thou or two with a finish as smooth as glass.


Not necessarily.  It all depends on nose radius, although I can see where HSS has the advantage there.


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## 7milesup (Sep 11, 2022)

Janderso said:


> All I have is a small 1/4” shank import fly cutter.
> I’ve seen the finish that can be achieved by a properly made tool.
> 
> I finished this today. It works beautifully!
> ...


@Janderso Hey Jeff, where did you purchase the carbide cutter from?  I already have a couple of fly cutter bodies but looking for insert cutters.

Same thing @MrWhoopee.  Could you provide a link as to where you purchased yours?  I have a  bunch of CCMT tooling, and it would be nice to utilize the "free" edge.


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## markba633csi (Sep 11, 2022)

Fly cutting is fun, especially aluminum.  What's not fun is cleaning up all the chips!


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## MrWhoopee (Sep 11, 2022)

7milesup said:


> Could you provide a link as to where you purchased yours?  I have a  bunch of CCMT tooling, and it would be nice to utilize the "free" edge.





			https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804179435561.htm
		

It's the left-hand version, SCKCL1212H09

The shank is 12x12mm (haven't been able to find smaller). I had to cut it down to 10mm to fit my fly cutter.


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## Janderso (Sep 11, 2022)

MrWhoopee said:


> https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804179435561.htm
> 
> 
> It's the left-hand version, SCKCL1212H09
> ...


Thank you Mr. Whoopee!!


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## Janderso (Sep 11, 2022)

Karl_T said:


> I certainly see the appeal of an insert, but HSS is far better at getting a good finish with very small depth of cuts. Anyway my fly cutter uses an HSS bit and has a six inch swing. It works great at removing just a thou or two with a finish as smooth as glass.


I have some 5/8” HSS blanks. I plan on grinding a left hand profile to give me options with this tool.


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## Janderso (Sep 11, 2022)

markba633csi said:


> Fly cutting is fun, especially aluminum.  What's not fun is cleaning up all the chips!


They do go sailing. Fortunately the direction is pretty predictable so you can be ready with a shield.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 11, 2022)

matthewsx said:


> Cylinder heads


Indeed!  I roll my own now.
This type of cutter is the way to go, set up with a gauge block for roughing and finishing with two cutter points:   https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/08253270


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## Janderso (Sep 12, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Indeed!  I roll my own now.
> This type of cutter is the way to go, set up with a gauge block for roughing and finishing with two cutter points:   https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/08253270
> 
> View attachment 420116
> ...


Beautiful mill table!!


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## Janderso (Sep 16, 2022)

Looks better blued.


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## Flyinfool (Sep 18, 2022)

Fly cutters scare me, a lot. 
I still use one all the time but they scare me. 

When spinning, that tool hanging out there becomes invisible. It is way to easy to run it into something or put something like a chip brush or finger into the danger arc just because you can not see it. I now paint all fly cutter bits white so that there is a visible white disc when spinning. Black is a popular cutter color, black is also the worst possible color for visibility, that is why the back of an airplane propeller is black, so it disappears and does not block the pilots view, but the tips are always white or yellow so the the prop arc can still be seen. This is also why many window screens are black, it makes them less visible. I still give my fly cutters all the respect they deserve, I just feel better being able to see exactly where it is at all times 
The paint on the cutting edge will wear off within one revolution, no need to waste time masking it..


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