My first "milling"

I always use 2 or 3 flute end mills when making slots.

I have made slots with 4 flutes but under about 10mm diameter they always snapped, so I just don't do that now.

Stu
 
So if your going to do lite milling on a lathe, like this, a 2 flute end mill set is a better choice than a 4?
Just checking as I intend to do similar stuff and have no end mills yet.

I also recall something about step climbing the mill is a no no. Something to do with only taking cuts in one direction depending on the way the bit is spinning to prevent pulling the work out of the clamp?
 
The basic formula for rpm = (CSx4)/dia. Memorize it! The number yielded by the LMS calculator is at the high side but in the range.
I use 80 sf/m for mild steel, which is on the low side. This yields (80x4)/.25 = 1280 rpm.
I generally use 300/600/1200 for 1" , 1/2" and 1/4".because I can easily remember them.
 
I wanted to thank everybody for all the help. After some detours (income taxes, a week away, etc), I finally got acceptable results on the parts I wanted to make. Photo here.

BTW, most people recommended 600 to 800 RPM. On my machine, the nearest options were 540 and 835 RPM. Vibration was much less at the slower speed and so that is what I used for the bulk of the cutting.

I won't be doing any heavy-duty milling with this set up but it is nice to have at least some basic capacity.

Thanks again,

Craig
 
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