I have a new milling machine and my milling machine has a new
operator. That is to say I am very new to the machine tools.

Now before I purchased a milling machine I did some research and read
a lot about specifications, spindle run out, accuracy, backlash, etc.
Some smart people said don't worry about the machine so much as a good
machinist will overcome the machines shortcomings... (What a mouthful
that sentence was) Of course I'm not a good machinist. Yet.

I want to do a practical test with my new machine. Assuming that I
have the mill trammed correctly, I thought a practical test would be
to put a block of 6061 in the vice and use the end of a mill to mill
the top of the block flat.
Then flip the block over and proceed to the other side. Repeat until
all sides have been milled. Now I should have a sample of how
square/flat the machine is capable of, right? Measure the block with
a caliper to see what the tolerance/variance is?

Of course I'm not including the quality of the end mill, 2 or 4 flute,
the vice, etc.

So a few questions:

1) What is the correct procedure to mill a block?
2) Should I be using an end mill or a fly cutter/surface mill?
3) Is this an exercise in futility?
4) Should I clamp the stock down to the table in some crafty way to
elimate the vice as a variable?
5) What is the best way to set the index in relation to the table or
vice with a RF-31? Everyone warned me that you lose the index when
you raise the head, but nobody told me how line it up in the first
place. :-)
6) What is wrong with me? (Besides my mother dropping me on my head
as a baby. And the dent in my forhead)

Sorry if all this seems silly. Thanks for you input. Flame away.
Seriously any help would be great.

-EP