Shear Hog - tips, advise, recommendations?

[RussMachine]

I have a job coming up that requires a pocket to be milled out of Aluminum.
Pocket will be 6" x 4" x 1.5" deep.
Since I can't use big indexable thru-coolant drills on my 770 to rough it out, I'm leaning towards the Shear Hog.
For you Shear Hog owners, I ask, How does it perform?
Can you push it pretty good?
What speeds & feeds have you achieved in Aluminum? And depths of cut?
I'd like to know your real-world experience before dropping $200 on it.

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[menzzer37]

I'd skip it. I'm not impressed with them. You're better off with a 1/2" Destiny Carbide cutter or YG1 alupower.

[Michigan Ed]

I'd skip it. I'm not impressed with them. You're better off with a 1/2" Destiny Carbide cutter or YG1 alupower.

+1, I use a hs 5/8 2 flute end mill, even a 3/4 with no issues.

[Steve Seebold]

I would develop a hole pattern that would leave about .015 on the side walls and the bottom. AND USE FLOOD COOLANT.

A Shear Hog works great if you have 15 or 20 horsepower. They're not that great on a Tormach. I worked for a company where I used a 3 flute 2 inch diameter Shear Hog, and that was cool. I used it on a Haas VF7 that had 30 horsepower so I was able to take a cut 1.75 wide, .250 deep at 9000 RPM and 100 IPM.. That cutter didn't make chips, it made CHUNKS.

I made a part that weighed 1300 pounds when it went on the machine and 18 (eighteen) pounds when it came off.

Shear Hog is a wonderful tool IF you have the horsepower to pull it.

I would start with a drilling a hole 1/2 inch hole in one corner then follow that with a 1/2 inch 3 flute end mill using a 40% step over at 5000 RPM AND 40 to 50 IPM feed rate. I would use a G73 drill cycle to go 1.475 deep.

I do pocketing this way all the time, and it is WAY faster and than side cutting.

If you need help I'll be happy to show you what I'm talking about.

[CadRhino]

I really like the MariTool 3/4" corn cob rougher.

I have a job coming up that requires a pocket to be milled out of Aluminum.
Pocket will be 6" x 4" x 1.5" deep.
Since I can't use big indexable thru-coolant drills on my 770 to rough it out, I'm leaning towards the Shear Hog.
For you Shear Hog owners, I ask, How does it perform?
Can you push it pretty good?
What speeds & feeds have you achieved in Aluminum? And depths of cut?
I'd like to know your real-world experience before dropping $200 on it.

[menzzer37]

I would develop a hole pattern that would leave about .015 on the side walls and the bottom. AND USE FLOOD COOLANT.

A Shear Hog works great if you have 15 or 20 horsepower. They're not that great on a Tormach. I worked for a company where I used a 3 flute 2 inch diameter Shear Hog, and that was cool. I used it on a Haas VF7 that had 30 horsepower so I was able to take a cut 1.75 wide, .250 deep at 9000 RPM and 100 IPM.. That cutter didn't make chips, it made CHUNKS.

I made a part that weighed 1300 pounds when it went on the machine and 18 (eighteen) pounds when it came off.

Shear Hog is a wonderful tool IF you have the horsepower to pull it.

I would start with a drilling a hole 1/2 inch hole in one corner then follow that with a 1/2 inch 3 flute end mill using a 40% step over at 5000 RPM AND 40 to 50 IPM feed rate. I would use a G73 drill cycle to go 1.475 deep.

I do pocketing this way all the time, and it is WAY faster and than side cutting.

If you need help I'll be happy to show you what I'm talking about.

Well their performance is significantly decreased. I ran my in a VF2 SS, 10,000 RPM with a much less aggressive cut and got a terrible resonance. I had their apps guy give me the info before programming. I called back, sent them pics and issues. They had me back it down so far and thin...it's too slow. This was a single tooth tough, not a dual insert. The single tooth are laughable. I've yet to dabble in a double insert unit.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

By all reports, the ShearHog that Tormach sells works extremely well, and will give you a higher MRR than most other options. I think it would be a good choice: You can ignore the absurd comments about it requiring 10-20 HP. Here is an example of it running on a Tormach:



Regards,
Ray L.

[ScottDW]

Love mine. It makes short work out of a block of aluminum. Watch John's video and decide if you think it will fit your application. I can't see myself not owning one with the Tormach.

[Steve Seebold]

Well their performance is significantly decreased. I ran my in a VF2 SS, 10,000 RPM with a much less aggressive cut and got a terrible resonance. I had their apps guy give me the info before programming. I called back, sent them pics and issues. They had me back it down so far and thin...it's too slow. This was a single tooth tough, not a dual insert. The single tooth are laughable. I've yet to dabble in a double insert unit.

I have a one inch Shear Hog that I occasionally run in my 1100.

If you were getting chatter, how much cutter did you have sticking out of the spindle?

The more shank you have stocking out of the spindle, the more chance you'll have for chatter.

[wildwhl]

The shear hog is ok. Mine unfortunately met an early death (can likely be repaired, but I haven't found the time) when an insert screw snapped and the insert damage the pocket/face of the shear hog itself. I'd probably ship it to someone for the value of my spare inserts if they were interested. Someone smarter than me with more patience can likely repair it correctly. It works now, but chatters due to the insert not setting properly in the pocket.

WW

[AUSTINMACHINING]

I use one a lot. AB tools advertises 6 cubic inches/minute per HP, which I have done, but it is very loud and harder on these small machines IMO. (I have a Novakon Torus Pro,) I rough at .1" deep ,5" step over and 70 inches a minute /3.2 cu "/min. comfortably,. BUT I'm using the native 3/4 shank, not the tormach TTS version. By using the native tool shank I can adjust the tool stick out from the spindle as needed. You want to keep the stick out as short as possible. So if I'm roughing 1.5" deep, I'll adjust the stick out to 1.6". I bought 3/4" locking collar off Mcmaster that I use to adjust the tool stick out for the particular job. AB tools sells a .787" cutter with a 3/4" shank so can can cut beyond the flute height without rubbing the shank on the work piece. I also use it as a mini face mill as it leave a beautiful finish. Get some hearing protection and let her rip. Oh ya, and watch out for the flying chunks of aluminum :-)

Edit: just remembered I had some video.

[Dallas J]

I rough almost everything with the tormach shear hog. 0.2-0.3 DOC, 0.2-0.3 WOC, 40-60 IPM. Variable depend on what I'm doing and to avoid a small DOC at final depth. In my applications, its the best tool for roughing down to 2" deep. My other deep tools can only finish at that depth. Also being single flute it does a great job of throwing chips out of pockets rather than building up like my 1/4" tools even with flood coolant.

For less than 1", I often just use the 1/4" 3flt since I can get 2.5 ci/m at 0.5 DOC, 0.2 WOC, 20 IPM and it just sings.

I don't CNC as much as other here but my shearhog has probably 50hrs at the above rate. I also use it for finishing flat faces after I've roughed. Finish comes out quite nice.

[84scrambler]

I exclusively use my shear hog for roughing.. I have been slowly bumping up my feed rate but I like to walk away from my machine so I stay a little conservative. I run 20IPM, .250 deep, .300 stepover. I also use it for facing like Dallas.
I have used it for over a year now and have done quite a bit of side work with it, and the cutter is still going strong so I would say it has definitely good value. I am currently looking at picking up just the cutting head and putting it on a longer shaft.

[Steve Seebold]

I exclusively use my shear hog for roughing.. I have been slowly bumping up my feed rate but I like to walk away from my machine so I stay a little conservative. I run 20IPM, .250 deep, .300 stepover. I also use it for facing like Dallas.
I have used it for over a year now and have done quite a bit of side work with it, and the cutter is still going strong so I would say it has definitely good value. I am currently looking at picking up just the cutting head and putting it on a longer shaft.

When I had my shop I had a 1 inch Shear Hog that had a 7/8 shank and it was 9 inches long.

[Uman]

I
For less than 1", I often just use the 1/4" 3flt since I can get 2.5 ci/m at 0.5 DOC, 0.2 WOC, 20 IPM and it just sings.

Wow, hook me up with one of these. Where can I get this mighty mini hog?

[84scrambler]

When I had my shop I had a 1 inch Shear Hog that had a 7/8 shank and it was 9 inches long.

Were people impressed with how long you're tool was? Sorry couldn't resist