Mag Chuck on a Mill

L

lindse34

Active User
Registered
Hello Gents,

Has anybody used a Magnetic chuck on a Mill before? I came into possession of a Reid surface grinder on another deal but really don' have much use for it. The magnetic chuck on it however would be really convenient for some oddball milling of plates from time to time especially with a rotary table. Before I drag the thing off the grinder I wanted some opinions. My intuition is that depth of cut is going to be very limited. Would it even bee worth trying?

Thanks,

Matt
 
No,No,a thousand times NO!!!!!. Or,as my mother said once:"N-O,N-O,NAW" That got a laugh.:) A magnetic chuck is only suitable for the minor forces exerted upon it by grinding. Even then,they can sometimes slip,requiring extra means to hold the work. Maybe there is some new hi-tech magnetic chuck I haven't heard of (or couldn't afford),but nothing you'll take off a surface grinder.

You will possibly have a damaged cutter,possibly a bent arbor(if the mill is horizontal),and a messed up job to risk.
 
i'm not a machinist but i see a problem
a grinder wants to push the material away and the endmill wants to feed into the material and could pull the part up and into the cutter
steve
 
Haha.

That got the response I was expecting.

Yea, assuming climb milling is out of the question, I am still having a hard time coming up with a situation that doesn't risk massive problems or at least the part moving everywhere.

Thanks,

Matt
 
I help my wife make brass master patterns for her jewelry business. I have gotten by pin these non magnetic,odd shaped items by super gluing them down. I have a brass block. I chuck it up and take a very light pass to true the surface and remove glue traces. The part is easily removed with a little heating with a torch. Soak in acetone may be done after getting the part loose. Always clean the part and the holding plate with acetone before gluing.

Mitee Bite makes a product that looks like waxed paper. You put it under your part and heat it to melt the glue in the paper. I don't trust the stuff as it looks wax based. super glue has never failed,but I only ever have taken light cuts with small diameter end mills due to the nature of the work(being jewelry).
 
I agree with everyone's recommendations to not use a mag chuck on a mill.

I have another thread there discussing mag-chuck repair and in that thread, I discuss how the bottom of the chuck is surfaced by flipping the chuck face down, activating the magnet and then doing a light re-face of the bottom. Please do not interpret this to mean a mag chuck can be used for general milling purposes. It is not advisable and dollars to donuts says something will go wrong.

In the case I describe, the entire face of the magnet is in contact with a steel surface. That has tremendous gripping power and for the very light passes I'm taking, it holds well. For all other practical considerations, a mag chuck is not suitable for milling.


Ray
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top