Thread: Face Mill Fly Cutter

So where's the dumb part? Well done I say.

With what inserts cost it's not dumb or cheap.
As usual ray, well done.

Phil

+1 on the well done. I like it very much and can see myself doing ditto.

Greg

Hi Ray
I have no problems with cheap if it works.
Good idea.

Stuart

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Hi Ray
I have no problems with cheap if it works.
Good idea.

Stuart

Hi All, and thanks all for the comments.

Sometimes I get addicted to cheap, and go too far, it almost always ends up costing more in the long run.

Still, it's nice to have a use for all those inserts, I've been saving, hoping they will "come in handy someday"

Regards
Ray

As the old TV advert said ...not all inserts are the same quality . SECO are a good brand, so I have read

Looks like you got a good finish Ray, what depth of cut was it?
It's not real economical with these inserts only having 2 cutting edges instead of 4, but I will give this a go with my old ones. I am always looking for ways to save money as well, and am the same as you with not throwing any out.

A few guys recommend taking 3 cutters out of those cheap face mills that come with the mill drills, and say they get a better result using it like a fly cutter.
I have sharpened a couple of carbide lathe tools when it was my last insert and needed it, and it seemed to work for lighter cuts, but wasn't great. I think the shape of the milling ones gives a better chance to be sharpened, as the lathe ones have a small chip breaker.

Dave

That is a great finish on that mild steel BTW ..we can almost see your smiling face in it. Thanks for the excellent tip MIKE

Originally Posted by Dave J

Looks like you got a good finish Ray, what depth of cut was it?
It's not real economical with these inserts only having 2 cutting edges instead of 4, but I will give this a go with my old ones. I am always looking for ways to save money as well, and am the same as you with not throwing any out.

A few guys recommend taking 3 cutters out of those cheap face mills that come with the mill drills, and say they get a better result using it like a fly cutter.
I have sharpened a couple of carbide lathe tools when it was my last insert and needed it, and it seemed to work for lighter cuts, but wasn't great. I think the shape of the milling ones gives a better chance to be sharpened, as the lathe ones have a small chip breaker.

Dave

Dave , If you are lucky, you can pick up cheap inserts on EVILBAY , but its somewhat of a lottery with so many different types out there. Sometimes a engineering business will sell a box of 10 with just 3 or 4 new inserts left in the box, they sell it off cheap .

My face mill uses SPG 422 inserts . The Chinese ones may not last as long as the better inserts MIKE

yep good tool saving idea that...gunna tuck that one away

great finish on that also......might forget about remembering that idea and send all my milling jobs over to you...you do a much better job than me

Originally Posted by Dave J

Looks like you got a good finish Ray, what depth of cut was it?

Dave

Hi Dave,

Just a light finishing cut, less than 0.1 I think, ran at the lowest setting I could get on the X axis power feed. When I reground the insert, I kept the same shape as the original and tried to reduce the nose radius.

I've seen face mills that use those CCGT diamond inserts on their side, so you use the other 2 corners that the lathe doesn't use.

Regards
Ray

Hi Ray,
Clever fella like yourself should be able to grind a wiper edge(or does it have one already?). Not that it looks like you need it.

Stuart

Nicely done.

May I ask what size is the face mill?

Cheers
Jon

hi you said that you used the slowest feed is that because there is only one cutting tip.
i think ill read all the posts again before any more questions
aaron