Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work.

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Default What can a mill be used for?

Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?

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Tim Williams
 
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http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...s.metalworking

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Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?



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Daniel A. Mitchell
 
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Tim Williams wrote:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...s.metalworking

wrote in message
ups.com...

Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?


Yes, but the emphasis is on ***CRUDE***!!

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?


End mills come in many varieties, and cut differently. Some are said to
be 'center cutting', and will drill holes much like drill (but not as
well). Others (the most common kind) need an existing hole to follow, as
they cannot remove the material at the center of the hole. End mills can
also cut on their SIDES, thus elongating a hole, or 'planing' the side
of a workpiece. This is where the drill press falls down compared to a
real milling machine. Such side cutting creates large side forces which
the bearings and quill of the drill press are NOT designed to withstand.
Thus the machine flexes badly, resulting in tool 'chatter' and cuts of
unpredictable depth. Using a drillpress for milling is a very bad idea
(but some get away with it, sometimes, due to luck or skill).

Another problem is that end mills create large AXIAL forces, trying to
pull the cutter out of the chuck, or pull the chuck OFF the machine.
Worse, the shanks of end mills (unlike drills) are hardened, so a drill
chuck cannot really grip them. Drill press chucks are not normally
fastened to the machine ... they are just pressed onto a taper, and be
pulled OFF relatively easy. NOT good! The tool holders on a milling
machine (usually milling cutter holders or collets, NOT chucks) are held
into the machine by a threaded drawbar, grip FAR better than a chuck,
and can't easily come off the machine.

These are just some of the problems.

Dan Mitchell
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