[Newbie] Face Mill Vs Fly Cutter

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kf4zht

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Looking at tooling for my PM-727 and getting confused on the differences between a fly cutter and a face mill. It looks like the face mills used to be super expensive, but seem to be readily available now.

So is one better than another, or do they have different uses? I don't want to spend $20-30 on a fly cutter only to wish I had a face mill, but I don't want to spend $80-100 on a face mill when the fly cutter can do everything I need.
 
To be honest they both have a benefit and purpose. With the multiple cutting edges on a face mill for heavier removal the face mill is the go to tool, if I want a skim cut and want to remove a larger width I use a flycutter. The flycutter is also nice if you have a special profile that you need the cutting tool to possess.

Mike.
 
Quick and dirty, the face mill will remove more material than the fly cutter in the same amount of time, what's your goal, time use or appearance?

The fly cutter will leave a prettier finish.
 
a face mill requires more power and more rigidity than a face mill of the same diameter. For a 727 I wouldn't get a facemill larger than 1-1/2", specially if you plan to use it on steel.
 
Dan_S said:
a face mill requires more power and more rigidity than a face mill of the same diameter. For a 727 I wouldn't get a facemill larger than 1-1/2", specially if you plan to use it on steel.
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A face mill versus face mill?
 
Some machinists and rebuilders have told me that a fly cutter is much harder on the bearings due to the incessant: WHOMP WHOMP of fly cutter. I'm guessing this is all anecdotal. Perhaps not as big a deal if you aren't taking heavy cuts.

The fact that fly cutters have hand ground HSS cutters makes them very affordable. Whereas face mills need to be machine sharpened or have carbide inserts. Also note that there is a difference between a face mill and a shell cutter. At first glance they may appear similar.

Daryl
MN
 
Uglydog said:
Some machinists and rebuilders have told me that a fly cutter is much harder on the bearings due to the incessant: WHOMP WHOMP of fly cutter. I'm guessing this is all anecdotal. Perhaps not as big a deal if you aren't taking heavy cuts.
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I always chalked that up to people being pissy because they have to change spindle bearings. Any type of interrupted cut can be hard on the bearings. A facemill not properly sized for the work at hand will do the exact same thing. IMO spindle bearings are a consumable just like a lot of other things around the shop, they just last longer and cost more.

Daryl
MN
 
fly cutter 2 hrs a day,5 days a week, 1,000 hrs a year hammering on spindle bearings(really). A consumable in a home hobby environment?? It is a worry I don't need.
I can't think of a time I have ever pushed my machine hard enough to stall it, let alone kill bearings.
 
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rick9345 said:
fly cutter 2 hrs a day,5 days a week, 1,000 hrs a year hammering on spindle bearings(really). A consumable in a home hobby environment?? It is a worry I don't need.
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I wouldn't call that a home shop, more like a job shop. I still stand by my view through, bearings are meant to be replaced, you can baby them and try to squeeze every last hour of run time out of them, or you can just use them in a sensible fashion and replace them when they go bad.
 
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