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Recent content by trochoidalpath

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    Advice Needed- First CNC Mill for prototyping and small batch mfg in home shop

    Only you can answer whether you are better off doing the work in-house vs sending it out. But as far as machines go... I'm really happy with my Speedio, but it's not going to be a $60K problem (especially if you need tooling). Have you looked at a used Haas Super Mini? The standard Mini-Mills...
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    Small CNC advice

    I have a Brother S500X1 in a space smaller than yours (4.8 meters on a side, 2.6 meters tall). It is a close fit but entirely workable — it takes up about half the space, with some room for storage behind and a shallow-depth counter in front. The machine is fantastic. The challenge would be...
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    FS: 2x OV 6x17.5 Gen4 bases + carriers

    (Sorry, for some reason I didn't see the reply notification!) I'd like $1k + shipping apiece. I think that's fair since they are $1600 new and they're in such good shape, but I'm happy to work something out. The other one has been sitting packaged up in VCI paper, but I'll pull it if you want...
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    FS: 2x OV 6x17.5 Gen4 bases + carriers

    I'm selling two Gen 4 OV vise bases. 6x17.5, includes the base and screw but no jaws. Condition is used but very good. I'd prefer a local (NorCal) sale but will ship at cost. Only selling them because I needed to get new ones with a 96mm pattern on the bottom.
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    Advice needed on buying a new or used Tormach CNC Mill

    For small scale stuff the Tormach is okay but not great. Here is why I liked my 1100 Series 3: it fit in the space I had available, it was hard to crash it so hard I broke anything but tools, it had a tool changer, and Tormach support tried their best to take care of me. Here is what doesn't...
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    Who Makes the Absolute Best Roughing Endmill for Aluminum?

    I can confirm, I hate money, and the Fraisa tools are fantastic. The through-hole makes them fantastic for pocketing. I only replace my AX-FPS endmills when they break, and that's almost always because I did something stupid. I have one 12mm reduced neck that I put in a shrink holder over a...
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    Questions about my Orange Vises

    Whoah, I never thought of that! Great tip.
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    To go all Dual Contact, Standard or both?

    Impossible to say conclusively. I will say that for shallow (<1") pockets in aluminum on my Speedio, BT30 worked fine -- but BBT30 was nicer (a little quieter, better wall quality, just worked a little better). For pockets over 1" deep, BBT30 was worth every penny of the new upgrade.
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    Surface Finish Issues on New Machine

    Maybe dumb question: how's the subgrade underneath the slab? I have seen awful surface finishes at high feed rates because of a void, which makes the slab act like a cantilever. Sounding the slab with a 2x4 should give you enough info to rule it out quickly, it will sound hollow if the soil has...
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    To go all Dual Contact, Standard or both?

    I think non-dual contact holders work great for drills and taps. The big advantage of dual-contact toolholders is in increased rigidity. That rigidity only comes into play with lateral loading on the end of the tool/toolholder assembly. Tools that go straight up and down do not load the tool...
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    Metric square drive sizes?

    All my Hazet and Stahlwille stuff is standard American drive. I don't remember seeing a metric drive standard.
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    Speedio W1000XD1 rigidity/capability in 4140HT....Oh, and chip handling in 6061

    I did something like this a while back. If my notes are to be believed, on my 16K S500X1 I roughed with a Helical 1/2" 5-flute, 0.045 stepover, 1.575 DOC, left 0.006" for a finish pass (again full depth). Worked out great. If you want, I'll go pull the CAM for it.
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    Looking for insight milling tubing

    Can you flip it against a stop or put it on a fourth? That would save you the unpleasant depth of cut problem.
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    carbide rougher cutting info needed

    OK, got it. I would go into my stock bin and grab a 4" square piece of stock, 0.500" thick. That gives 0.150" for a carrier and facing which is more than enough. I keep a lot of plate/rectangular bar and not a lot of round bar, so I would grab square stock. If I only had round stock, I would...
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    carbide rougher cutting info needed

    I don’t like this approach because it makes it too easy to break concentricity. I would do this with a carrier; put it in Talon jaws, do the entire part from the top (drill through, inside profile to 0.010 over depth, outside profile to 0.010 over depth, etc) then flip it over, hold it in soft...
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