On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 01:28:05 -0500, Gary Coffman
wrote:

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 04:00:32 GMT, "Peter Grey" wrote:
Has this been tried and rejected, or not tried for some reason that's not
obvious to me?

The problem is that your vertical doesn't have an overarm (side arm?)
to keep the arbor from flexing under the load of the ganged cutters.
In other words, instead of maybe 0.020 of cutter engaged in the
material, your ganged setup would have *inches* of cutter engaged
at once. That's a lot of load to be supported only on one end. You'd
get flex and chatter.

Gary

Absolutly correct. While the bearings will support that sort of side
load..the arbor will not. It will indeed flex or deflect. The bigger
and more agressive the cutters, the bigger the deflection.

I love ganging cutters in a horizontal mill thats rigid. You can
generate a LOT of chips very quickly. I have a job to do this weekend
for a magazine fed automatic slitting machine I designed and am
building, and Ill snap a couple pictures as it will be largely cut
with ganged cutters.

I keep a helical slab mill on the arbor most of the time and keep a
pair of matched cutters and spacers at the mill. (Clausing 8540)

Anyone in California want some GREAT horizontal Mills, Greer Machinery
in Huntington Beach, has a pair of K&T #2s, (complete with the
optional vertical heads) for $400 each. Tom told me they were in good
running condition and so far..he has yet to fib or exaggerate.

Gunner

"Gun Control, the theory that a 110lb grandmother should
fist fight a 250lb 19yr old criminal"