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Marv & Kevin,
At Cincinnati-Milacron, we had some remarkably good
results machining AL with two 'lubricants."
We used 1. a water-based oil in a spray mist, and 2. we
used compressed air. The oil mist was the standard method - a
bit dirty, but it worked OK. A relatively high-speed air jet, on the
other hand, directed at the point of contact between the cutter and the AL
material was cleaner and allowed some pretty high-speed metal removal.
Jack
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 11:13 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: hand router milling
"Mark R Steitle" <mark.steitle@austin.utexas.edu>
wrote:
"""
Kevin,
I keep a block of bee's wax near
the table saw to help with cutting
aluminum. Also, I purchased a
special aluminum cutter for my die
grinder from the local machine tool
supplier (Dixietool.com). It has
many fewer, but deeper flutes
than ones made for ferrous metals. It
works really great on
aluminum. My experience showed that it gives a
much better
finish than a carbide wood cutter does and it was easier to
control
(you still need to pay attention).
"""
The attack and relief angles on
cutters meant for wood vary dramatically from
those used on metal
cutters. A [wood-cutting] router bit will get you
through in a
pinch, but a real milling cutter or burr will perform much
better. I
use WD40 for all my aluminum machining, works really well, although
a bit
messy. It's excellent for lubing taps when cutting aluminum. I buy
it
by the gallon and dispense it with a plastic squirt bottle.
FWIW.
<Marv>
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