PM-727m New mill has arrived!

[Sloth2009]

Quick and easy work stop...

I was thinking about buying or making a work stop for the milling vise. I finally remembered I have an unused magnetic base that came with a grizzly dial indicator I bought some time ago. I wish I wouldn't forget half the stuff I already own! I cut off a piece of hardened 3/8" shafting to use as the adjustable sliding stop.

Seems like it will make a pretty usefull little tool. Mine is a Chinese mag base. You can buy a similar American made Mighty Mag on Amazon or Ebay for around $16. The Chinese ones can be found for about $10-$12.

 

[9t8z28]

Here are a couple sites for the x2 column stiffening. Not sure if this is the same type of column as yours.

http://www.hossmachine.info/Shop_Info.html#x2 column

https://lanzerbot.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/stiffening-the-vertical-column-on-the-x2-mill/

They are the same machine but the difference is they have a tilting column. Mine has a solid column that mounts like your PM with 4 bolts. The tilting column has a large bolt that the column pivots on. I have had both setups and the solid column is far better but still not perfect. Thanks for looking tho

 

[Sloth2009]

Got some money for my birthday. I decided to buy this set of 5-flute carbide end mills with it. I am looking forward to making some chips with them.

 

[navav2002]

I have looked at those Kodiak endmills but have not taken the plunge...Would be interested in a review once you have tried them out...

 

[Sloth2009]

I haven’t used a lot of end mills in my short time with a mill. I had some 2 flute HSS end mills from Little Machine Shop and they were virtually unusable on my machine. They didn’t cut well even in brass and would nearly shake my machine apart when side milling. I have some ball nose 4 flute carbide end mills from Kodiak and have liked them so far. I like these new 5 flute carbide end mills even better. They cut like butter and have impart little vibration into the machine. So far I would have no problem recommending them.

 

[wrmiller]

I found that the smaller mills will perform better with better quality end mills. And I fell in love with roughing (both coarse and fine) end mills as they can literally 'hog' material without shaking the machine to death. If need be, I would follow rougher cuts with a traditional end mill for a better finish on external surfaces.

 

[Sloth2009]

I found that the smaller mills will perform better with better quality end mills. And I fell in love with roughing (both coarse and fine) end mills as they can literally 'hog' material without shaking the machine to death. If need be, I would follow rougher cuts with a traditional end mill for a better finish on external surfaces.

Any particular brands/sources you favor?

 

[wrmiller]

Not really. I looked on Ebay a lot and bought US made end mills when I could afford them. Carbide and cobalt mostly as they seem to last longer.

 

[Sloth2009]

Bought a shars 3” boring head and and HHIP indexible carbide insert boring bar. The boring head is supposed to be a bit better than most import heads. It is fully nickel plated and the lead screw is supposed to have less backlash than most. I used it to bore some id and od steel on some steel tubing so they all slide together along with a bronze bushing and steel shaft. Overall the machining went smooth for my first boring job. The surface finish was rough on some cuts most likely due to poor downfeed speed control on my behalf. I think I may loctite the removable R8 shank onto the head as it is hard to keep tight.

 

[Bob Korves]

You can use a much larger diameter boring bar in that big of a hole, and will have more success with surface finish and with finishing to the desired size.