I agree with Opie, slow and low speeds and feeds. Just did this this morning. No need to leave it undersized, just hog it out so there is less for the dovetail cutter to do. I took .025" at about 300rpm and as slow as I could feed by hand as the dovetail cutters are pricey and fragile. Good luck, you'll do fine
Hello from Spain..you should start from the beginning with the milling cutter that you have with a larger diameter since it is more rigid and will allow you to give more depth and will take much less time..the normal thing is to use a milling cutter with roughing teeth until 1mm remains. on the bottom and 1mm or less on the sides and then change to a 3 4 6 lip finishing bur and that's where you adjust your final measurements...another piece of advice I want to give you although until now you haven't listened to any of my advice is that you buy a DRO with its scales and that you can buy it in China at very good prices and with that you will obtain precision in the milling and time savings in addition to a lot of functions that the DROs bring that are very important in milling . pdta, on my channel I have many milling videos that I think would be very useful for you to learn at least the milling concepts that you don't know now. michael
lol on the advice of thing. Sometimes I just don’t understand what the messages doesn’t take much to to go over my head. I do appreciate your comments. Please don’t stop. One day, they’ll make sense to me
If you're shooting for some accuracy , try using MICROMETERS ! * Measure the thickness of the stock , & subtract the depth of cut , * unless you've got a DEPTH MIC. - - - then it's just a direct reading . 'Would be handy / PRUDENT to use some form of coolant . . . ( though it's a bit messy , it WILL LENGTHEN the life of your cutting tools ! HSS can take a little abuse , but not a LOT ! ** I concur with Randy , a roughing end mill is the way to go , then add a bit of 'finesse' . ) Ideally , a FULL DEPTH CUT would be the thing to do , but you don't have POWER FEED , nor COOLANT - so 'nibbling' the bulk out is your option . Controlling the feed rate is also key to getting a good finish , & 'hitting the numbers' you're aiming for ! ( * chip load per tooth of the cutter , RPM , & feed rate all play an important part in getting the results you WANT ! ) Your face mill cutter could be used to 'rough in' the dovetails - it can take the bulk of the material out , while sparing the dovetail cutter all that extra work ! *** You could very easily make a 'tool holder' that takes a carbide insert , to match the dovetail angle . . . * Even a 'FLY CUTTER' could easily be ground to take out the bulk ! Just a few tips , facts , & OPTIONS !
I agree with Opie, slow and low speeds and feeds. Just did this this morning. No need to leave it undersized, just hog it out so there is less for the dovetail cutter to do. I took .025" at about 300rpm and as slow as I could feed by hand as the dovetail cutters are pricey and fragile. Good luck, you'll do fine
Hello from Spain..you should start from the beginning with the milling cutter that you have with a larger diameter since it is more rigid and will allow you to give more depth and will take much less time..the normal thing is to use a milling cutter with roughing teeth until 1mm remains. on the bottom and 1mm or less on the sides and then change to a 3 4 6 lip finishing bur and that's where you adjust your final measurements...another piece of advice I want to give you although until now you haven't listened to any of my advice is that you buy a DRO with its scales and that you can buy it in China at very good prices and with that you will obtain precision in the milling and time savings in addition to a lot of functions that the DROs bring that are very important in milling .
pdta, on my channel I have many milling videos that I think would be very useful for you to learn at least the milling concepts that you don't know now.
michael
lol on the advice of thing.
Sometimes I just don’t understand what the messages doesn’t take much to to go over my head. I do appreciate your comments. Please don’t stop.
One day, they’ll make sense to me
When I make tool holders I just use a hss roughing end mill to rough it out then finish it out with plain 4 flute end mill..
Are you still selling dovetail cutters?
@@kimber1958 That would be Randy Richards in the shop. me no
If you're shooting for some accuracy , try using MICROMETERS ! * Measure the thickness of the stock , & subtract the depth of cut , * unless you've got a DEPTH MIC. - - - then it's just a direct reading .
'Would be handy / PRUDENT to use some form of coolant . . . ( though it's a bit messy , it WILL LENGTHEN the life of your cutting tools ! HSS can take a little abuse , but not a LOT ! ** I concur with Randy , a roughing end mill is the way to go , then add a bit of 'finesse' . )
Ideally , a FULL DEPTH CUT would be the thing to do , but you don't have POWER FEED , nor COOLANT - so 'nibbling' the bulk out is your option . Controlling the feed rate is also key to getting a good finish , & 'hitting the numbers' you're aiming for ! ( * chip load per tooth of the cutter , RPM , & feed rate all play an important part in getting the results you WANT ! )
Your face mill cutter could be used to 'rough in' the dovetails - it can take the bulk of the material out , while sparing the dovetail cutter all that extra work ! *** You could very easily make a 'tool holder' that takes a carbide insert , to match the dovetail angle . . . * Even a 'FLY CUTTER' could easily be ground to take out the bulk ! Just a few tips , facts , & OPTIONS !
Thanks