Pm727m and face milling

Yeah, Mike tricked me into buying a Tormach Superfly before I knew that his mission in life, like mine, is to ruthlessly spend other people’s money. We have that common bond. Try it, it’s a blast.

But, to the topic at hand. I have an LMS 5500 (Sieg SX2.7) bench mill that weighs in at ~220 lbs. The Superfly works like a champ on it. When I first got it, I tested it to .035” DOC in 6061 and I’ve gone deeper with it since then but can’t quote the numbers offhand. When unleashed in all its glory, it will throw chips to the far end of the county in rapid succession. And leave a very good finish while doing it.

For the full story of Mike’s devious ploy to spend my money, see this thread.
www.hobby-machinist.com

Tormach Superfly Cutter On 1hp Machine?

I only got one response for this question in the Tormach CNC subforum, so I'll try again here. Tormach touts the Superfly as being ideal for machines under 3HP, but I don't see where they say how much under 3HP. My LMS manual bench mill (basically a SIEG SX2.7) has a 750 watt (1 HP) brushless...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com

Bottom line is… buy one. You need it. It’s science.

Tom
 
Okay, if it's science, then I need to buy it!

How about the inserts? Tormach sells them in units of 10 which may last me a lifetime. Plus, they're not cheap! A set of each costs more the the tool!

So, it's SEHT1204AFFN-X83 for Aluminum and SEHT1204AFSN-X45 for steel? Where can I get these at better prices that won't take months to get?
 
So, which one is "better"? The Tormach or Sherline? I can't buy both just to see for myself!
 
devils4ever said:
Okay, if it's science, then I need to buy it!

How about the inserts? Tormach sells them in units of 10 which may last me a lifetime. Plus, they're not cheap! A set of each costs more the the tool!

So, it's SEHT1204AFFN-X83 for Aluminum and SEHT1204AFSN-X45 for steel? Where can I get these at better prices that won't take months to get?
Click to expand...
I haven’t needed to buy any more inserts yet. The Superfly kit comes with 2 general purpose inserts and 2 polished inserts for aluminum. That’s 8 general purpose (a.k.a. steel) cutting edges and 8 aluminum cutting edges.

Tom
 
Oh, I guess I misread their website. I thought they only gave you one of each.

Did you buy directly from them?
 
I need to correct myself. I bought my Superfly from LMS in 2016 for $118 and inserts were extra, not included.

Currently, LMS lists it the same way, no inserts, but for the same price as Tormach, but Tormach includes 4 inserts. LMS may have just not updated their description. They usually sell Tormach stuff at Tormach's list price. but I’d call to make sure they include inserts before I would buy it from them. The Tormach kit, directly from Tormach, says it includes 4 inserts.
“The TTS SuperFly Cutter includes: fly cutter body, tool bar, two general purpose carbide inserts, two polished carbide inserts for aluminum machining, insert Screw, wrench and anti-seize.”
tormach.com

TTS™ SuperFly Cutter Kit

The TTS™ SuperFly Cutter includes: fly cutter body, tool bar, two general purpose carbide inserts, two polished carbide inserts for aluminum machining, insert Screw, wrench and anti-seize.
tormach.com tormach.com

Tom
 
Yeah, I noticed the same thing. LMS doesn't include the inserts.

I'll just order directly from Tormach.

EDIT: grammar
 
Last edited:
devils4ever said:
Okay, if it's science, then I need to buy it!

How about the inserts? Tormach sells them in units of 10 which may last me a lifetime. Plus, they're not cheap! A set of each costs more the the tool!

So, it's SEHT1204AFFN-X83 for Aluminum and SEHT1204AFSN-X45 for steel? Where can I get these at better prices that won't take months to get?
Click to expand...

I would buy the inserts on ebay. Buy one of each in boxes of 10 and in most hobby shops, that should last you the rest of your life.
 
parshal said:
So, which one is "better"? The Tormach or Sherline? I can't buy both just to see for myself!
Click to expand...

Without knowing your machine and needs its hard to say but for most hobby shops I think the Superfly or similar fly cutter is the best choice. It will allow you to quickly surface and flatten a work piece up to 6" per pass and larger in multiple passes, and smaller work pieces just as well. You can bring a work piece close to dimensions with this tool too because it can hog off material, trust me. For smaller mills like most hobbyists own the Superfly is a good choice because it cuts with such low HP requirements and it will give you are pretty decent finish. For all these reasons, I think the Superfly or similar fly cutter is a good all around choice. Insert life is actually quite good; I've been using this fly cutter for several years now and am still on the same inserts I started with. Given that almost every work piece I've made since I bought it was squared with this thing, that's not a bad track record.

I think the Sherline tool is a good choice for those of us who need a small tool that can cut ledges. This is an important capability in my opinion. It is also good for when you are squaring smaller work pieces and you don't need a big fly cutter whirling around. I choose it when I need to square a work piece that is an inch or two wide. The inserts have only two usable tips but they last quite a while in a hobby shop. The same insert will cut steels and aluminum, brass, plastic and can last for years when working with soft stuff. It will take a 0.05" deep cut in steel on a Sherline mill; it will go much deeper on a bigger mill.

These tools are not the only ones out there and many folks make their own. I use these because they use inserts that have a good service life and they perform well for me.
 
I've got an 833TV. I ordered the Sherline after reading this thread. I'm curious about it. I've got the larger "fly cutter" I posted earlier in this this thread along with a smaller version. Both of those will seriously remove some material.

The Superfly looks pretty interesting. I may have to try that one, too.
 
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