Hi Cannonmn:
When a cutter like that starts to scream and chatter, you want to turn the speed DOWN...not up.
Also, you want the cutter hanging out as little as possible and the workpiece hanging out as little as possible.
If I was making that piece, I'd do your second cut first. and then reach in with a tee slot cutter using the same setup...even if I had to make a single point flycutter with a stubby boring bar and a round HSS drill blank for it.
I'd never do it in two separate setups as you guys have done
I'd find a way to clamp the part so it wasn't hanging out in space like your second cut shows...even if you had to C-clamp a pair of scrap blocks to the sides of it while it was set up in your second cut orientation, just to keep the part from vibrating and screaming.
Last, I agree with other posters: this kind of job isn't going to make a mill like that even breathe hard...you're never going to hurt it with cuts like these.
Now if your first cutter had snagged on the corners of the workpiece and jammed and ripped all the teeth off, I'd be a bit more concerned.
Long reach cutters have a tendency to do that...they're pretty floppy compared to a stubby.
I think the stiffness decreases as the cube of the length (engineers correct me if I'm wrong) so stubbier is always better than longer, if you can find a way.
Cheers
Marcus
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