Harold,

Chuckle! Mortising? If you could see my red face (embarrassment), maybe
you'd understand.

I hate wood work, and I know almost nothing about it. I'm not sure I know
what a mortise is. The wood work I've done is for pattern making, and I
work like a machinist, not a wood worker.

Not to worry. At the risk of over simplifying, a mortise is a slot. I
made a couple of nice ones by plunging and hitting the feed. One can
then square the ends with a chisel or simply round the ends of the
corresponding tenon, which you have no doubt figured out is the thing
goes into the mortise.


End mills are available in a huge array of configurations, starting with
stub models that are intended for slotting, right up to the long ones (dies
[snip]
shanks if they are. They have greater relief angles, and often polished
flutes, so they are better suited for wood than would be steel cutting
tools.

Thanks!


Key is the file, which must not cut aggressively. I've posted more comments
on this addressed to Karl. I really don't recommend a stone, although it
certainly can do the job, albeit with a caveat.

I like the file idea, but am in no hurry.


No offense taken. The whole time I was wrestling the mill over the 30
ft from my driveway to its current location, I was feeling pretty good
that I did not go for the knee mill, at least not right away - not that
I would even attempt to move one myself.


Moving such things isn't a problem if you incorporate some pipe (and it's on
concrete). Once you have a machine on a few pieces of pipe, assuming you
have concrete as a floor, you can move it anywhere you desire, usually
without assistance. You have to keep juggling the pipe as it moves under
the rolling machine, so having extra hands can be useful, but not necessary.
You can move a machine that weighs tons by that method.

I will file that for the future, but there was a slight upward slope
toward my garage. The 1/2 inch lip seemed like Everest. I used a $140
engine hoist that is no-frills but very serviceable. Interestingly,
pipe solved the problem. I used it against a wood block on the ground
(to protect the concrete) and then pushed against the back of the crane
and over the lip it went. This reminds me that owe I the crane some
rustoleum.


Yep. All depends on the work at hand. I don't care how large one's
machine may be, a job always comes along that won't fit. Murphy's law!
Still, in general, I understand your comments and agree. Sounds like
you've given this some good thought before jumping.

I hope so. If not, the worst I've done is buy a seriously good drill
press; I suspect it will be able to do a lot better than that.


Not in your table! Good machinists don't drill holes in
machines------especially not by choice.

I've never knowingly drilled a hole in a machine (I once discovered one
in a shared vice and had to wonder) and have no plans to do so. Rest
assured I mean a reference hole in the work piece.


Cool! You do understand! g




You don't really need that reference hole, not as long as you have some
fixed datum points as I suggested.

I started out asking for an example, but unless you find problems below,
I think I am starting to follow. My main concern now is having enough
room to get a DTI in and out with enough spindle left to mill. However,
I suspect that a DTI and my rubber mallet will give me a way to recover
from moving the head.


If you had to make parts to print,
you'd understand that you're not always at liberty to stab in a tooling
hole, so you learn to work from surfaces that are available to you.

Ok, I think I am on the right track. It helps to be the guy who makes
the print. If I want a reference hole, there will be one, maybe two


In
keeping with that thought, when you do multiple pieces, it's really nice to
hold them identical in size (deduct from that, *on size*, not from one end
of the tolerance to the other), even when it doesn't matter. That way you
can use any edge as a reference point, a situation that often arises.
That's all a part of the things you learn as you progress in the trade.
Might not make much sense to a beginner, but it will the first time you
encounter a problem that can't be otherwise solved. I have the T shirt on
that one.

It makes sense from a woodworking perspective. The tolerances are
laughably larger, but I suspect the idea is the same.



Oh yeah! An indicator held by anything but the spindle won't help you make
setups as they relate to the spindle. You can find center of anything that
you can span using an indicator. Even square or irregular stuff. Hex,
octagon, etc. You can locate dead center of a shaft, or your vise, and do
it reliably. Using the drill chuck, as you've already suggested, you
sweep sides of items, locating the low point, then make them identical @ 180
degree intervals---which often necessitates moving the indicator off the
part by raising the quill so you can index to the opposite side. It's like
sweeping a bore, but working on the opposite face. Get creative. There's
really no rules on how you can use your DTI---and it doesn't matter if you
introduce error by offsetting the probe-----not as long as you're making
comparative readings, one against the other. You don't care if the reading
has any particular value, you're just trying to get surfaces to read the
same. Center.

I think I am following. So far, I have a dial indicator but not a DTI -
to be corrected shortly. If I can arrange to get that on and off the
spindle with depth left to mill, then I think we've solved the
registration problem (as I think you were saying from the beginning).


Welcome! Hope some of my ravings help. Do rely on others, especially if
they're skilled. Learning from self taught people can have its own set of
problems, depending on where they got their information. Learning how to
do something stupid from someone that does it that way doesn't make it
right, or good. At first, it might be hard to differentiate those that know
from those that don't, but your experiences will help you sort them out.

Thanks again!

Bill