Originally Posted by fourperf  Oh, I see I forgot to put in my post that I currently have a face mill for aluminum. I need to buy one only for steel and stainless. I thought when I bought it that different inserts would take care of steel but this particular face mill is only for aluminum.
thanks
mark |
It is possible that you do not need to worry about buying anything new, not even the inserts.
For mild steel try something like 400SFM, and depth of cut around 0.10" to 0.15" and a feed of around 0.005" per tooth, or more, with air blast not coolant.
Stainless is a different ball game: Drop the speed to around 150SFM, the depth of cut to 0.05" but keep the feed above 0.003" but maybe not above 0.005".
Stainless work hardens so you need a DOC and feed that gets underneath the work hardened surface from the previous cut.
Mild steel loses strength when it gets hot while carbided tools can handle high temperatures so you want conditions that create a hot chip, bright blue in appearance.