I have never really used a side mill cutter before and could use a little information. I have to remove a 3/16 radius around a bend in a corner on a low carbon steel. To do so I have to side mill cut around the bend. I could use suggestions. I need to decide if a staggered tooth cutter or straight tooth cutter would be better, how many teeth and what speed and feed. It will be 3" diameter and 1/4 wide cutter.
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Help with Side Mill Cutter
- Thread starter septooth
- Start date
- Replies 7
- Views 1,474
DMF_TomB
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2008
- Location
- Rochester, NY, USA
what is side mill ? you mean a wheel mill or even a woodruff cutter ?
NAST555
Stainless
- Joined
- May 23, 2008
- Location
- Gauteng, South Africa
Sure he is correct, a side and face cutter. Or slitting saw
NAST555
Stainless
- Joined
- May 23, 2008
- Location
- Gauteng, South Africa
To the OP I don't speak Imperial but If I was you the wider the better. To take the rad out in one go would not be a problem.
If it matters that you touch off on the already machined surface... back it off and take skim cuts till you just touch it off. Or else make a Fixture in a lathe so you can dial it in manually till you reach full depth.
If it matters that you touch off on the already machined surface... back it off and take skim cuts till you just touch it off. Or else make a Fixture in a lathe so you can dial it in manually till you reach full depth.
Does it need to be so large? I would run a woodruff at 1-2 thou per tooth and 150 SFM for HSS for a starting point.
A straight tooth will handle that just fine.
Is that part surfaced? Next time using a flat endmill down the ramp might get you close enough where this can be done in the previous op.
A straight tooth will handle that just fine.
Is that part surfaced? Next time using a flat endmill down the ramp might get you close enough where this can be done in the previous op.
Larry Dickman
Titanium
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2014
- Location
- Temecula, Ca
If there is any quantity to this, I would look at an insert cutter.
sfriedberg
Diamond
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2010
- Location
- Oregon, USA
So large??? 3" OD would be a rather small milling cutter. 4" or 4.5" would be more typical OD, and I have a drawer with some in the 6" and 7" OD range.
The photo doesn't have a scale, but that's a 3/16" radius to be removed, which means the slot is (by eyeball) at least 3/4" deep. A standard milling cutter is going to be way cheaper that a Woodruff cutter of the required diameter.
I do agree with those speeds and feeds to start. I think a plain (no side teeth) cutter would work, and would prefer a straight side-tooth cutter over a staggered tooth cutter for this situation, where the cutter is narrower than the existing slot and there is more than ample room for chips.
Last edited:
Y'know you're right I do similar work and without something for scale in the picture I just had a brainfart.
