[axolotl[_2_]]

I am making some rack mounts out of (presumably 6063) 2x2x1/4 angle. My
results are not good. I am using a new, sharp, two flute 3/8" end mill
with WD-40 as cutting fluid. Spindle speed is about 2800; I started
slower and went up to get better results. I am cutting both sides of the
slot.
I am experiencing tearout, vibration and a lousy finish.

Motherly advice?

Kevin Gallimore

[Snag[_3_]]

axolotl wrote:
I am making some rack mounts out of (presumably 6063) 2x2x1/4 angle.
My results are not good. I am using a new, sharp, two flute 3/8" end
mill with WD-40 as cutting fluid. Spindle speed is about 2800; I
started slower and went up to get better results. I am cutting both
sides of the slot.
I am experiencing tearout, vibration and a lousy finish.

Motherly advice?

Kevin Gallimore

Use a 5/16" end mill and cut it in two passes after you chain drill . I like
NAPA penetrating lube in the spray can for cutting aluminum . Seems to lube
a bit better than WD .
Worst I ever had was some .125" slots in some 304SS . Pieces were for a
dog harness so the dog could pull a small wagon . Chain drilling them helped
a lot .
--
Snag
"90 FLHTCU "Strider"
'39 WLDD "PopCycle"
BS 132/SENS/DOF

[[email protected]]

On May 2, 2:49*pm, axolotl wrote:
I am making some rack mounts out of (presumably 6063) 2x2x1/4 angle. My
results are not good. I am using a new, sharp, two flute 3/8" end mill
with WD-40 as cutting fluid. Spindle speed is about 2800; I started
slower and went up to get better results. I am cutting both sides of the
slot.
I am experiencing tearout, vibration and a lousy finish.

Motherly advice?

Kevin Gallimore

If it's unmarked extruded hardware store stuff, it'll be really
gummy. Only way I've ever gotten clean threads with the stuff is to
use some purpose-made cutting fluid for aluminum. With anything else,
it built up on the cutting edge and tearout and a lousy finish was the
result. Sounds like you're getting the same problem with buildup. The
stuff I used was called Alumicut, was clear and kind of oily stuff,
didn't smell much like any straight petroleum distillate, though.
With this stuff I got threads that looked like mirrors, no tearout and
no buildup. Sometimes it pays to go with the Right Stuff instead of
what's on hand.

Stan

[Kevin(Bluey)]

On 5/3/2010 6:19 AM, axolotl wrote:
I am making some rack mounts out of (presumably 6063) 2x2x1/4 angle. My
results are not good. I am using a new, sharp, two flute 3/8" end mill
with WD-40 as cutting fluid. Spindle speed is about 2800; I started
slower and went up to get better results. I am cutting both sides of the
slot.
I am experiencing tearout, vibration and a lousy finish.

Motherly advice?

Kevin Gallimore



Generally I use kerosine as a lube for aluminium .Work well and prevents
the stuff from sticking to the cutting tool.
I have used it on my milling machine and with the wood router with
carbide cutting edges .

Also on the router to keep the mess down I have used an ordinary wax
candle ,just rub it along the line you are cutting on ,it will melt and
lubricate the cutting edge.

--
Kevin (Bluey)
"I'm not young enough to know everything."

[Don Foreman]

On Sun, 02 May 2010 16:49:49 -0400, axolotl
wrote:

I am making some rack mounts out of (presumably 6063) 2x2x1/4 angle. My
results are not good. I am using a new, sharp, two flute 3/8" end mill
with WD-40 as cutting fluid. Spindle speed is about 2800; I started
slower and went up to get better results. I am cutting both sides of the
slot.
I am experiencing tearout, vibration and a lousy finish.

Motherly advice?

Kevin Gallimore

The cutting fluid I usually use on aluminum is Goo-Gone. It contains
naphtha, citrus oils and D-limonene. Works a treat with aluminum,
even smells good.

[Wes[_5_]]

Don Foreman wrote:


The cutting fluid I usually use on aluminum is Goo-Gone. It contains
naphtha, citrus oils and D-limonene. Works a treat with aluminum,
even smells good.


Interesting. Goo-Gone didn't work so great removing latex paint from some work clothes.
Maybe I get some use out of it yet.

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

[axolotl[_2_]]

On 5/2/2010 11:22 PM, Don Foreman wrote:

The cutting fluid I usually use on aluminum is Goo-Gone. It contains
naphtha, citrus oils and D-limonene. Works a treat with aluminum,
even smells good.

Thanks,
I would be interesting to try, but in my household the best result of
opening a bottle with d-limonene would be a trip to the ER. d-limonene
is a sensitizer to some people, with effects similar to someone with a
peanut allergy having a peanut butter sandwich. You may want to limit
your exposure.
The company that made Alumicut, mentioned earlier, has apparently gone
to the big refinery in the sky. Someone on the PM board mentioned olive
oil as a substitute. I made identical cuts using olive oil and WD-40 as
a lubricant. Olive oil is clearly superior. Smells better, too.

Kevin Gallimore

[Don Foreman]

On Mon, 03 May 2010 18:52:38 -0400, axolotl
wrote:

On 5/2/2010 11:22 PM, Don Foreman wrote:

The cutting fluid I usually use on aluminum is Goo-Gone. It contains
naphtha, citrus oils and D-limonene. Works a treat with aluminum,
even smells good.

Thanks,
I would be interesting to try, but in my household the best result of
opening a bottle with d-limonene would be a trip to the ER.

Then you should avoid it, as those who are allergic to peanuts should
avoid peanut butter. D-limonene is not generally regarded as a
hazardous substance.

http://www.britannica.com/bps/additi...l-Applications

[Mark Rand]

On Tue, 04 May 2010 00:02:22 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Mon, 03 May 2010 18:52:38 -0400, axolotl
wrote:

On 5/2/2010 11:22 PM, Don Foreman wrote:

The cutting fluid I usually use on aluminum is Goo-Gone. It contains
naphtha, citrus oils and D-limonene. Works a treat with aluminum,
even smells good.

Thanks,
I would be interesting to try, but in my household the best result of
opening a bottle with d-limonene would be a trip to the ER.

Then you should avoid it, as those who are allergic to peanuts should
avoid peanut butter. D-limonene is not generally regarded as a
hazardous substance.

http://www.britannica.com/bps/additi...l-Applications


I bought a jar of citrus based hand cleaner a year or so back. Ended up with
my arms looking like they'd been sprayed with boiling oil. Painful and not
nice at all. I had thought I wasn't one of those people that got allergic to
things :-(


Regards
Mark Rand
RTFM

[axolotl[_2_]]

On 5/4/2010 1:02 AM, Don Foreman wrote:
On Mon, 03 May 2010 18:52:38 -0400, axolotl
wrote:

On 5/2/2010 11:22 PM, Don Foreman wrote:

The cutting fluid I usually use on aluminum is Goo-Gone. It contains
naphtha, citrus oils and D-limonene. Works a treat with aluminum,
even smells good.

Thanks,
I would be interesting to try, but in my household the best result of
opening a bottle with d-limonene would be a trip to the ER.

Then you should avoid it, as those who are allergic to peanuts should
avoid peanut butter. D-limonene is not generally regarded as a
hazardous substance.

http://www.britannica.com/bps/additi...l-Applications

The "Alternative Medicine Review" quoted doesn't have a lot of
application in this instance. d-limonene is a sensitizer, like epoxy.
The more you are exposed to it the greater chance you have of having a
reaction.
But, as my timber framing instructor used to say: "Do what you want, you
will anyway".

Kevin Gallimore

[Jon Elson[_3_]]

axolotl wrote:
I am making some rack mounts out of (presumably 6063) 2x2x1/4 angle. My
results are not good. I am using a new, sharp, two flute 3/8" end mill
with WD-40 as cutting fluid. Spindle speed is about 2800; I started
slower and went up to get better results. I am cutting both sides of the
slot.
I am experiencing tearout, vibration and a lousy finish.
If it starts well, and then gets worse as the cut progresses, then the
work material is heating up. It doesn't take much warming at all for
some aluminum alloys to get gummy. My usual fix is to reduce the depth
of cut and increase the feed as much as I can. i have never liked
WD-40, and use wither thread cutting oil for light work or water-based
flood coolant for more concentrated cutting where the heat buildup is
more of a problem.

The idea of keeping the feed rate up is to spread the heat around the
material instead of letting one spot get hot.

2800 RPM for a 3/8" cutter might be too fast for this situation with
poor cooling.

When slotting, I always use an undersize cutter, plow down the middle
with relatively shallow step-downs in Z, no more than 1/2 the cutter
diameter, but in this case probably .050" per pass. When I get it cut
all the way through, I then move over and clean up the walls and widen
the slot to the desired size. I almost always "climb mill" where the
work is fed "with" the cutting edges, rather than against them. The
problem with doing this is that if the machine has a lot of backlash,
the table can be pulled into the cutter, breaking tools and damaging the
work. On a tight machine, though, you get MUCH improved surface finish
and less heating, as the cutter plunges into the uncut material rather
than sliding along the just-cut surface until it presses through.

Jon