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Karlloss:
ieezitin, howsitwork,

Thanks for the info. Surely the T-slots in the table perform the same function as a fixture plate, if a clamp set is used??

DavidA:
Karloss,

Hi and welcome.

You wrote:

..Also, excuse my ignorance, but I am not totally sure on the difference between end mills and slot drills and which is better for what.

The crucial difference between the two is that you can't 'plunge' an end mill into a surface. You can do this with a slot drill This is because the cutting edges on an end mill do not extend to the centre of the tool. With a slot drill one of the cutting edges goes to (or passes) the centre and thus removes material pretty much like a twist drill when cutting vertically.

So, if you were to want to cut a slot in a block of steel you can just go down into the block with a slot drill and them start cutting your slot (this is why it is called a slot drill) but with an end mill you would have to first drill a hole to the required depth to get a starting point for the end mill; then do your sideways cutting.

If you look at the ends of the two cutters you will immediately see what the difference is.

Hope this helps.

Dave.

Joules:

--- Quote from: Karlloss on July 04, 2016, 04:34:14 PM ---ieezitin, howsitwork,

Thanks for the info. Surely the T-slots in the table perform the same function as a fixture plate, if a clamp set is used??

--- End quote ---

Exactly, I'm perfectly happy with my vice and you can even use it to hold another vice at an angle if you need too and all done pretty quick.   Each to their own, I have a vice on the drill press, not a tooling plate.  If you clamp directly on the mill bed put some 3mm scrap alloy under what your machining and set your zero for the top of the scrap.  If your intent on drilling through the bed your still going to do it with 10mm of alloy tooling plate.

 :wack:

ieezitin:
kARLLOS.

NOPE.. dont work that way.. you always need to smudge, thats the beauty of a fixture plate 360 deg movement your tee slots dont move with the studs, best advice in the machining world is this: machining is all about removing material, the second is work holding how?,the third is how accurate do i need to be, not necessarily in this order... 

This ounce absorbed will make your life excessively easier ...

Anthony.

AdeV:
Welcome aboard Karlloss! Always nice to see another victim err, member :) :wave:

WRT workholding, there's already loads of great advice here. Personally, I use a mixture of - clamping directly to the bed (these days, with a bit of scrap underneath, as per Joules, so you don't gouge your mill bed); a vice for quick & dirty stuff, and a jig/fixture plate if I need accuracy and/or repeatability. I usually use steel for my jigs, partly because I'm a masochist, but mostly because aluminium is expensive compared to steel...

I'd recommend buying a cheap set of cutters (the cheapest you can find) first - because you will blunt, burn and snap them with alarming regularity... Don't worry about it though, it's all part of the learning curve. Once you've got the feel of your machine, and the material you're milling, then go for more expensive cutters; they are better in every respect & you'll find that your knowledge of how your particular machine cuts means you'll rarely snap or burn another one. Be careful switching from HSS to solid Carbide though, they do need to be driven differently, and carbide is expensive and very easy to break if you aren't aggressive enough with it (DAMHIKT).

Last word from me: This is one of the best, if not the actual best, forum in the world to ask newbie questions on. It's the only totally friendly forum I know of, where even the political discussions peter out rather than end up in a massive row with toys thrown etc. You will not find another engineering forum anywhere which will guide you with such friendly advice. I'm not sure how Eric managed that, but this is now my go-to place for any kind of engineering question. So do ask away, no-one is going to accuse you of asking silly questions!

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