"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I needed to get a couple jobs done. The screws need to be replaced
on the Taig so I couldn't use its regular flood oil coolant setup
until I fix it. I used my smaller machine, rubbed a little Tap Magic
on the work piece and hit it with a blast of compressed air. When
surfacing off the aluminum work piece with a 1/4" end mill (largest
that spindle will hold) it got pretty hot, but it worked great when
3D carving with a 1/16 ball mill. I ran full pressure off my
compressor (125 PSI I think) and used a simple ball valve to regulate
flow somewhat, but I let it flow pretty heavily. So... how much air
do you guys use? Pressure? CFM?

My compressor ran continuously when I was running the mill. I'll be
adding an electric shut off valve to the air line to that cabinet,
so my compressor will shut off when I am done with a cut, but I was
thinking if I could consume less air and get a decent job I would
add a flow and pressure regulator too.

I just brush on a little bit of MSC cutting oil for steel or kerosine
for aluminum. There is a noticeable but not serious difference between
completely dry and lightly oiled, but no additional benefit from more
oil as long as I run at HSS recommended cutting speeds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speeds_and_feeds
Those are for dry cutting.

The older $3 Enco end mills dull quickly unless run slower. Otherwise
I haven't had heat problems on mild steel, 303, drill rod and graded
bolt shanks.

Sometimes the super-duper tapping fluids give a better finish. I use
them very sparingly to avoid the fumes.

jsw