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| Can the Sieg X2 Mill make T-Slots? |
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| MetalMuncher:
--- Quote from: John Rudd on March 13, 2014, 11:41:33 AM ---One thing you need to remember is that if you go for a practise cut, the that's 'one life' less for the cutter..... As for cutting speed, use tables as a guide and use the sound of the machine more....that is because they are just that, a guide...as you said from your own experience you know the sound of your machines and know when they are labouring... Cutting alloy....use plenty of coolant, paraffin is cheap enough and if it starts to smoke too much reduce the feed rate... GL... :dremel: --- End quote --- Actually I did think about reducing the cutter life just this morning. So I guess I'll make it a short test, just to acclimate myself to how it works. Paraffin......Interesting. I use it on my metal bandsaw. How do you apply it on a milling job? It does help the saw, and may be less messy than oils on the spinning tools. Do you just rub some on? For the saw I touch a block of it to the blade (very carefully) while it is cutting - using the opposite end from what I am holding of course. :) But to rubs some on for a T-Slot job I am thinking cut a bit, reverse and withdraw the tool, add some paraffin, advance back into the cut and go some more. Then repeat. Like drilling aluminum on the lathe. I'd like to start by milling the initial slots tonight. The T-Slot cutter comes tomorrow. It is a 1/2" cutter (I could not find 7/16" on Amazon). But I think it will still use the same T nuts as my mill table, no? So do I mill the slots the same width as the "slot tops" on the mill table? And I think I read somewhere while researching T slots that they did not mill the full depth with the end mill. They stayed up like .020" on the Z axis, so when they ran the T-Slot cutter it is actually cutting on all surfaces of the "T" as it goes across. Is that the right way to do it? |
| ieezitin:
MUNCHER. Milling with a T-Slotter in one pass to mill the head slot does not have to happen, it can be relieved of a 100% milling cut by raising the cutter from the bottom plane that’s been left by the slot cutter. Its using the same principle as milling with a dovetail cutter. Instead of bottoming your slotter on the milled plane raise it up by .005, this will give bottom relief, you need to pay attention to the dimensions that you require and purchase a thinner slotter. The clearance in the slot head cut probably will allow for a standard slotter available. All quality machined dovetails have a slight flat in the female slot for the very same reason of relief. Its remarkable the difference it makes. Enjoy your project. Anthony. |
| MetalMuncher:
--- Quote from: chipenter on March 13, 2014, 03:18:26 PM ---I have an Sieg X1\micro mill and have cut t slots in cast iron , the cutter balances it self a cuts smoothly with a very slow feed , --- End quote --- OK, True Confessions time for me. I used the term "X2" in the title in a generic way. Actually, I do not know if my mill is an X1 or X2. How can I tell? It is a Homier Tools Speedway # 3947, which I know was made by Sieg. I bought it April 17, 2004. Sorry if I mis-stated something in its pedigree. :) Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I'll be able to do this without a problem. |
| Chuck in E. TN:
MetalMuncher, I think the paraffin John Rudd is referring to is what we call kerosene, not canning wax. BTW, pics of X1 and X2 attached. Chuck |
| MetalMuncher:
--- Quote from: ieezitin on March 13, 2014, 04:08:59 PM ---MUNCHER. Milling with a T-Slotter in one pass to mill the head slot does not have to happen, it can be relieved of a 100% milling cut by raising the cutter from the bottom plane that’s been left by the slot cutter. Its using the same principle as milling with a dovetail cutter. Instead of bottoming your slotter on the milled plane raise it up by .005, this will give bottom relief, you need to pay attention to the dimensions that you require and purchase a thinner slotter. The clearance in the slot head cut probably will allow for a standard slotter available. All quality machined dovetails have a slight flat in the female slot for the very same reason of relief. Its remarkable the difference it makes. Enjoy your project. Anthony. --- End quote --- Aha! I was thinking this might be so, because technically a T-Nut has no "bearing" (pun intended) on the bottom of the slot at all. Those in the bottom of the tables on our Sieg mills are not even very flat (which unfortunately contributes to cleaning difficulties). And for that same reason, I don't see why a bit of a taller dimension on the sides of the head of the "T" also would not hamper usage of the slot, would it? When you mentioned getting a smaller cutter, I thought you might be heading toward cutting one side of the slot at a time. I know I have seen this done using a Gingery Shaper (I knew someone who did it) to cut the slots into its own table as it was being made. But, I have already ordered the cutter, so will try to make do with it when it arrives. Worst case scenario, I might have to make custom T nuts for this project if it ends up not working with those fitting the mill table, but there is no reason it can't use the same 3/8" bolts for the clamps. Trying to select the right T-Slot cutter was confusing. Some sites, like Enco, just go by what size clamp bolt you want to use, then give the dimensions of the cutter. Others, like Grizzly, called it a 1/2" cutter but did not provide enough dimensional information to know for sure what size it makes. I ended up buying that one, via Amazon, so I could get it here before Monday. (Love Prime service!). As near as I can tell, the cutter for a 3/8 bolt, sold by Enco, and Grizzly's "1/2 inch" cutter yield the same, or very nearly the same, size slots as my mill table. So, it appears I can mill the slots to the desired depth with an end mill, or even add 0.005 as suggested, (sounds good to me) and then finish them off with the cutter when it comes tomorrow. Thanks! |
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