Mills
 

I'm planning on getting one of the HF Micro Mills and was wondering who on here has experience with them. (or just mills in general)

I think I have it pretty much figured out except for how to hold the bit in place and clamping my work to the table.

To hold on the bit I've heard that its better to use a collet rather than a chuck.? Say if I was only using 3/8 in bits this would be all I need?


And on the clamping part I'm completely clueless. Any help there would be gladly appreciated.

Is there anything else that I would absolutely need to have?

And wheres the best places to buy Aluminum sheet? I bought a piece off of ebay a while ago, but since then it seems the selection has gone way down.

Thanks

Most definitley use a collet. Chucks are only good for vertical forces, collets are made to also hold horizontal forces.

Your table should have long slots in it. A bolt head will fit into the slot (such that the bolt is upside down). You can do several things with these - drill a couple holes in the work piece, and bolt the workpiece down, or you can purchase clamping systems for it. Your owners manual should have some tips on this.

As fas as where to obtain aluminum - locally in the northwest we get it from Grainger, Ryerson, and other local metal suppliers. Maybe call some of your local welding shops and see where they get theirs, and they may have scrap they will sell you.

If you're just drilling holes, a chuck is fine as long as it's good quality. When using end mills you always use a collet. You may also want to invest in an indicator and edge finder if you're looking to do precise work. I'm hoping you already have a good set of calipers.

I've never used a micro mill, just the old school Bridgeport at work. If you've got a good eye, steady hands and fairly good at math, you should be able to pick up machining pretty quickly. #1 rule when working with a mill: don't wear gloves. latex or nitrile is fine, but cloth gloves can get caught on the bit and twist your fingers around the bit.

For tooling I buy from Rutland. (although my company picks up the bill.) McMasters has some aluminum stock if you don't have a local metal supplier.

Have fun!

Whoops, thought the title said milfs....

Can I just exchange the chuck for the collet? Or is there more that I would have to do?

Yes, they are (or should be) interchangeable. You never know about some of the crap you can get off ebay these days though.

Haha:lol:

holy crap, i swear thats what i thought it said :neutral:

:rofl::lol:

and you still have your talking privileges:na:?