new user questions

[alchemist]

I am a happy owner of a new IH mill. After I figured out what an R8 collet was and how to put an endmill into, I started out cutting up a bunch of plastic pieces to learn how to operate it. Now I have started cutting up chunks of aluminum into rectangular sections. It was at this point that I encountered the notion of what to do about coolant / lubricant. It seems that the table on the IH mill should have a "drain" or something similar in it in order to get the coolant down into the reservoir container. Can I just drill and tap the table in the ends somewhere in order to install a barbed fitting to attach a drain line?

Thanks for any suggestions you folks might have.

[Dirt Rider 3006]

Drill and tap the npt holes indicated by the red arrows. That is the most common place for drain holes on most machines I have seen.

Good Luck ,

Tim

[BobWarfield]

Alchemist, you can go a long way without pumping so much coolant you need any plumbing.

For aluminum, a spray can of WD-40 works pretty good. You can get mist-style coolers as well, and the fogbuster is one of the best as it doesn't fill your shop with coolant vapor. You can also get some chip brushes and use those to apply coolant.

You can also try an air stream to blow the chips away.

Best,

BW

[alchemist]

Thanks to both DirtRider and Bob for their insight. I got brave last night and tapped the back right hand end of the table. I used a 7/16 drill bit and put a 1/4 NPT street elbow into the hole so that I could attach a 3/8 hose barb and hose. Now onto the pumps and reservoir.

Bob, I wish you could have seen my first attempt with the a little brush and and oil, I did not realize that you could sling a slick little brush that far with such short notice..........

[MIKE JEFFERS]

aye yer learnin laddie

[ViperTX]

Yeah, what's bad is when the brush is wrapped around the endmill and the device you're machining.....so you brush at the exit of a cut.....

[BobWarfield]

I like a brush with really long bristles, and I don't hold onto it too tightly either!

Cheers,

BW

[Randall]

I love this site I learn so much.
I purchased a coolant tank from enco about 100$ and it works great. I now know why you need some barriers around the machine makesmquite a spalsh.
Randy

[wildcat]

Have you considered one of the non-misting or non-flood coolant methods such as a Micro Drop system? I personaly find coolant to be a big mess but I am not working in the shop everyday. So, water soluable stuff is out completely. It always seem to rust something.

[alchemist]

I think that I would like the Micro-Drop setup if it were cheaper. I keep thinking that I should be able to improvise something similar for a lot less money.

Ideas anyone?

[MAX711]

You could buy a 5 gallon can of WD40 and run it through something like a modified airbrush. That would spray a very fine mist of coolant/lubricant that would work well on Aluminum. The airbrush should be able to control the fluid flow anywhere from generous to barely nothing. Never tried it but seems feasible and cheaper than the commercial products.