Bought a mill now what - Help a newb.

[Hack]

Well finally decided to pull the trigger on a mill. Bought it used but heres the identical one new. http://www.wttool.com/p/3006-0005

Now I need to tool it.

Need recommendations on the following good yet cheap items:

Vise, clamping set, end mills (carbide? how many flutes?), edge finders, 1-2-3 blocks, parallels, any other have to have accessories (already have measuring equipment). Keep in mind I am a newbie and am not rich. Would like to buy a few items now and then buy as I need it type approach.

Materials to be milled will be primarily Mic6 aluminum at first and will need to basically square the material and do some minor milling / facing.

Thank you

Dan

[nervis1]

I used one of those for a while, they are good mills, and can do some nice work.

Get the best vice you can afford, a cheap set of parallels, stick with HSS end mills as they can be had super cheap from places like ENCO and you don't have to shed a tear when you ruin one. After you learn your way around get some carbide 50-100$$ EM.

Back to the vice...the cheap ones will lift the work and ruin every job you are trying to keep square, can be very frustrating. Kurt makes a nice one but there are companies that have knockoffs that are less dough but work just about the same.

The clamping set should be your first project, use scrap and it's free. Make some T nuts, get some 1/2-13 studs from home depot and make the straps.

Get a spray bottle and some coolant / lube to spray on there, get some cheap brushes to get the chips out, don't use your fingers.

Need some way oil and an oil can to keep the ways oiled.

You can get an R8 end mill holder set for less than 100 bucks from ENCO / KBC and others or you could go the collet route and be able to throw drills reamers and anything in there too.

[Ken_Shea]

To add to Nervis1 excellent advice here are some additional considerations.
If/Until you get some sort of pressure coolant I have used a 50-50 mixture of kerosene and oil in a spray bottle with great results, as far as flutes go, just for starters use 2 flutes for aluminum 4 for steel, you can use the 4 flute effectively for finish cuts on aluminum, after you get professional you can get some of the fancy carbide coated specifically made for particular material. There is a world of difference between these and the cheap HSS cutters but for pricing sake the Chinese imported HSS cutters are a good starting point. A dead blow hammer is a must for seating parts in a vice.

Keep in mind that most every dollar spent on most of (not All) the Chinese items will be in the end a loss, but they are cheap and most work acceptably, so until you can afford better they are a something to consider. I was very glad they were available because they do get you started with out spending a lot of money.


Don't kid your self, you get what you pay for.

I have been down this edge finder road so don't even waste your money on the Chinese edge finders, they just do not work, get a single .5 shank .200 diameter quality unit.

The economy 1-2-3 block work fine.

[DareBee]

I will only use Starrett edge finders and WD-40 (although a little pricey in the long run) makes an excellent cutting fluid.
A newbie doing bits and pieces of work will do quite well with a Chinese endmill set. KBC has 14 pc set 1/8 - 1 for $73 CDN.
I usually keep a few sets of these around just so I have a good selection of counterboring tools.

[Hack]

Thank you for your suggestions.

Does anyone have any idea where I can get a good article on setting up a mill? I'm sure I will need to adjust everything when I get it. Also any suggestions other then the clamps as to good first projects?

TIA

[ViperTX]

Originally Posted by Hack Thank you for your suggestions. Does anyone have any idea where I can get a good article on setting up a mill? I'm sure I will need to adjust everything when I get it. Also any suggestions other then the clamps as to good first projects? TIA

Get yourself a dial indicator preferably 2 (0.0001 and 0.001), a spindle located holder for the indicator so you can measure if the spindle is square to the table, a magnetic holder so you can measure spindle runout (bearing adjustment to some extent), measure backlash on each axis (lock the table and turn the handle). Belt tightening...that's about it. I suppose you could measure the accuracy of the screw for each axis....

[Zoff]

Is this for bussines or fun. Because if it is for bussines then I recomend not buying anything more but get experience on how to hire right person for the job. When you find him pay him good (min 70k/year) or it will cost you more if you continue what you started.

[Ken_Shea]

70K a year, no problem, right Hack ?

Where in the world would we find someone willing to work for just 70K year ?, would they have their own micrometers ?

[Hack]

Yes this is just a hobby.

What size vise do you folks reccommend for this mill? Are the so alled "precision milling vises" from grizzly any good? (Model G7156 4" , G7154 5" , G7155 6") Those Kurt vises are a touch to expensive for me.

Are there any advantages to either using endmill holders vs using collets?

Thanks

[Ken_Shea]

I believe Grizzly does a better job of attention to reasonable quality.

Personally I would be inclined to get a Kurt type knock off in a 6" with rotating base, then later you can add one of the smaller precision vises later if needed.

At the speeds your mill will turn either a end mill holder or the collet will work fine. With the common end mill holders the bit is typically secured with a socket head bolt, end mills shanks are usually .0005 - .002 under-size and the holder about the same oversize so when you tighten the bolt it shoves the cutter offside to tighten. Collets grip equally (attempt to) when tightening eliminating this offset. There are other issues as well with the non collet end mill holders since they stick down further on the R8 type.

Respectable R8 collets can be had at very reasonable cost and changed very quickly, to me would clearly be the way to go.

Here is something you can start saving for and you will wonder how you ever got along with out it, A digital read out (DRO) in at least X,Y axis.

[nervis1]

There is not any super cheap way around the vice issue that I know of. If you look at Enco, KBC, Travers and other tool supply cats you'll see Kurt knock offs that don't lift but expect that they will be $300 and up (it's a get what you pay for situation). A 6" vice fit's real well on that table you have. They come up on e-bay, but usually fetch a pretty good price.

Another option is just clamping everything till you can get a good vice.

My take on collets vs end mill holders: EM holders are just fine, I use them all the time.

Collets are nice to have around if you want to hold a drill, reamer, or anything that does not have a corresponding EM holder shank size. (Can use a chuck for the drills too if you want)

I've heard that collets are more accurate but I have not been able to tell any difference myself.


Agree with the DRO idea. That's a toy worth every penny, like a good vice.

[Hack]

Could anyone give me a prt # and source for a good Kurt Knockoff?

Sorry, looks like someone already did - Thanks

Any particular part #