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  1. T

    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...
  2. T

    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...
  3. T

    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...
  4. T

    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...
  6. T

    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...
  7. T

    Questions about my Orange Vises

    Whoah, I never thought of that! Great tip.
  8. T

    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.
  9. T

    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...
  10. T

    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...
  11. T

    Metric square drive sizes?

    All my Hazet and Stahlwille stuff is standard American drive. I don't remember seeing a metric drive standard.
  12. T

    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.
  13. T

    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.
  14. T

    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...
  15. T

    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...
  16. T

    carbide rougher cutting info needed

    I have not had great luck with the Mitee-bite slot clamps with a high depth of cut or a tall part. Too much force and the part can twist out or vibrate. They work pretty well for low profile parts though.
  17. T

    carbide rougher cutting info needed

    I hear you. Tormachs are nice in that there is a reasonable community around them and they fit in a lot of places that bigger mills won't. Couple of thoughts about how I would make this part on a less-than-rigid mill. I have found that mill-to-mill differences on this type of machine makes...
  18. T

    carbide rougher cutting info needed

    I ran carbide roughers in my 1100S3 before I got a real mill. I did not have excessive wear issues in soft steels (unlike in 316). If you can provide more info that would be helpful: stickout, LOC, depth and width of cut, what size ER holder are you using, what kind of tool path are you using…?
  19. T

    Buying first machine. Questions about Speedio vs. Okuma.

    I think I made this offer long ago in the thread but I'll repeat it here -- I'm in the Bay Area. If you want to see/play with a S500X1 + T200A, shoot me a DM. Hell, send me a part and we'll run it.
  20. T

    M8 tap, ER25 standard collet and steel

    I have had good luck form tapping M8 in 4140PH. Structural steels can be a bit of an inconsistent mess but I think you’ll be okay. Make sure everything is clean, assembled properly, and torqued to spec.

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