On 26 Jan 2006 15:55:04 -0800, "Hari Seldon"
wrote:

Today I had a hot job that needed to get done but we didn't
have the correct size (3" x 2.5" aluminum) stock on hand, so
I had to use what was available (3.5" x 3.5") and saw cut as
much off as possible and finish it with a face mill.

Problem is that the shop only has a 1.5" dia. face mill so I
had to make twice the number of passes to finish the job
and while this wasn't really a big deal, it was an added
annoyance.

The other problem is that getting the boss to buy any tooling
is like pulling teeth, so I figured I'd buy my own larger dia.
face mill (with the boss springing for the inserts) but I don't
want to spend an arm and a leg on one ($50 would be cool).

So does anybody know where I can get an El-Cheepo 3"
dia. R8 shank face mill / indexable end mill?

By the way, what's the preferred term for this tool? I've
always called 'em "face mills" but I see the same tool being
labeled as an "indexable end mill" by some vendors. This
is the type of tool I'm talking about;

http://www.otmtools.com/standards/facemills.htm

http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/pr...ategoryID=4860

And ya, I know a fly cutter would have had a large enough
dia. to have cleaned up the surface of the part in one pass
but I wouldn't have been able to take off as much material
in one pass with it and.... I just hate those things.

Ain't gonna happen for less that about two hundred plus, new. And
make sure to check if that includes an R-8 shank.

Or follow Ebay for "face mill", like this one, which uses a very
common type insert.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Criterion-3-inch-face-mill-R8-shank-SNMG-inserts_W0QQitemZ7584773459QQcategoryZ12578QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem