Originally Posted by impact  Fly cutters do amazing work when your machine is set up properly.
I dont know why you would really use anything else for strictly facing, minimum material removal. |
True dat. I used to use fly cutters all the time when I ran a Bridgport. One real advantage I can see with these insert cutters is that you get 3 fresh tips per insert, with no tool grinding. With a fly cutter, the home machinist would need to have a bench grinder with a green wheel to regrind the carbide tool bits used with a fly cutter, although high-speed would work fine for aluminum. Not to mention they'd have to have experience with tool grinding to know how to grind the tool bits.
With a carbide insert cutter such as those, you can cheat 7 ways to Sunday if you know what you're doing with them. For example if you do have a green-wheel, you can regrind the carbide inserts (as long as the cutting edge remains set off from the cutter body). You can also cut with 1 insert if you remove the other clamps, and adjust your feed, speed, and cut depth accordingly. Some of the most agressive insert cutters I've used on a Bridgeport were small diameter, single-insert cutters.