I made 20 tool holders with dovetails in mild steel,cold rolled. No problem. Don't take TOO light a chip. The cutter can get dull from rubbing too much,and making too many passes.
-
Welcome back Guest! Did you know you can mentor other members here at H-M? If not, please check out our Relaunch of Hobby Machinist Mentoring Program!
are dovetails a pain to cut?
- Thread starter jumps4
- Start date
you know george your probably right
slowing down the inches per minute did not help
the deepest pass i took was .010 to start at about 670 rpm 1.5 ipm, it cut most of the first one before becoming dull
when i slowed to 370 rpm i also reduced the depth to .005 and the speed to 1 ipm
by the time i finished i had dulled 4 cutters, not as bad as the first one because i changed them faster but they are dull
i am going to carbide it is more forgiving for us non machinists. until i had the zx45 i had never milled steel, just aluminum and brass and i have to learn how to do it right without destroying my tools. they came out perfect but they cost me $65 in cutters to just get this far.
steve
slowing down the inches per minute did not help
the deepest pass i took was .010 to start at about 670 rpm 1.5 ipm, it cut most of the first one before becoming dull
when i slowed to 370 rpm i also reduced the depth to .005 and the speed to 1 ipm
by the time i finished i had dulled 4 cutters, not as bad as the first one because i changed them faster but they are dull
i am going to carbide it is more forgiving for us non machinists. until i had the zx45 i had never milled steel, just aluminum and brass and i have to learn how to do it right without destroying my tools. they came out perfect but they cost me $65 in cutters to just get this far.
steve
I recently made 10 tool holders . One thing I noticed, after breaking a few inserts, was to take smaller cuts as you increase the depth of the dovetail. The first cut could be as much as .010, but as you progress, the insert is exposed to more material that must be cut, so, reduce the cut, depth. After about 4 passes I reduced each pass a little more and finished with .005 per pass, saves the carbide insert. After I learned this I havn't ruined any inserts. Also use the biggest dovetail cutter that you can fit .