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frank
 
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Default Cutting pullies on a rotary table on a mill

For a long time now I have been looking for a reasonably prices set of
primary pullies
for my Atlas 10" lathe. No luck for more than a year. It seems really dumb
to pay
$100 for two pullies since the lathe already has a set of usable, but
incorrect,
pullies.

So I have been thinking about making a set on the mill. I have a J-head
Bridgeport
and a 10" rotary table. Even better, I have all the parts to make a
variable speed
power feed for the rotary table. My goal is to make the pullies using as
few
passes as possible; this means getting a cutter to cut the pullies in one or
two passes.

After looking for a while I have not found a cutter for the job.

Since the material is 5/8 6061 T6 aluminum, I have been tempted to put the
mill in the highest speed, fill the mist system with WD40 and use a (wood)
router bit.
Come back in 20 minutes and the first groove is cut.

But if anybody can recommend a usable, if not pefect, cutter for this sort
of task, I am interested in hearing about it.