"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hello all,

I finally used the cheapo shell/face/whatever-it-is cutter that came
with my mill, and I'm rapidly getting hooked So far, I am cutting
plastic and using it for squaring.

At 3 inch diameter, the cutter is large enough to reveal that my head
leans to the right (fortunately the mill leans much less than its
owner/operatorg). I'm not going to mess with it just yet, but I am to
the point of wanting recommendations for shim material. Is there a
particularly smart (or stupid) way to buy shims?

For a replacement of the cutter, the choices appear to be a flycutter or
an indexable face mill. I am leaning toward a face mill; it strikes me
as being more robust and safer than a flycutter. Indexable mills are a
little more expensive than I might like. The price might get me to
compromise on 2 inch diameter, which would have the side benefit of
reducing the effects of column misalignment.

Any recommendations for a good choice from Enco? Clearly the face mills
are designed for a particular insert type, but I have no clue whether I
should start by picking the face mill or the type of inserts???

Bill

Fly cutters offer a wonderful way to machine without expense. They may be
correspondingly slower than multi-toothed cutters, but there's an offset if
you choose to run brazed carbide tools, so your surface speed can be
increased considerably. You can often get a far superior finish with a
fly cutter than other types, depending on the circumstances at hand.
Bottom line: If you have no money issues, multiple toothed cutters are
great, assuming you have the power and rigidity at hand to justify them.
Otherwise, stick with fly cutters, which are easily sharpened by hand, and
can be tailored to your needs easily.

Don't put off squaring the head of your mill with the table. It's like
painting over rust. Regardless of the size of the cutter, the amount of
error still exists, it's just that the indicator, the step in the cut, is
reduced. Same incidence of angle, though.

It's dead easy to determine how much shimming you need. Spin a DTI on the
table of the mill, mounted in the spindle in a drill chuck, so you have
something to grip. The indicator should be mounted such that it generates
a circle the same size as the mounting boss at the base of the column.
That will reveal not only where you must shim, but how much. Install the
appropriate amount of shim to establish a 0-0 reading in all positions. You
may have to use small strips @ 90 degree intervals to get it right. I
think you get the idea.


Harold