mill questions

SE18

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I recently bought a 8530 Clausing Mill and am trying to get the hang of milling.

First, I accidentally ran the end mill in reverse. This seems to have affected the cutting ability. Correct?

another rookie question. In using the end mill to side mill a piece of steel (conventional milling), I'm seeing the mill actually move upwards from the work.

The work is not moving in the vice and I locked down the up/down levers; and, I tightened the acorn nut holding the collet; and I ensured the set screw holding the end mill is tight. Also, I ensured that the up/down quill is locked so the mill is not supposed to move from it's set position. What is causing the end mill to rapidly climb up?

I did unlock the quill and was able to manually hold the end mill in place and mill but that is not a good solution.

Thanks
 
I had a mill that even though I had the quill locked it could slip up . I would just put the quill all the way up and lock it .
 
Is this the same end mill that was run in reverse? a loose end mill generally pulls out of the collet, downward.
 
Tom, yes.

Mark, that did the trick, but still, I'm wondering how it moved up on its own.

Thanks
 
Likely it moved up because the pressure just naturally pushes the quill up . On my mill the spindle lock had just worn out , I shimmed it and that helped . But after scraping some parts I never trusted it . When I needed the quill down while milling I would use a quill stop but instead of using it to stop the quill from going down I would put on top of the mills quill stop .
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...quill+stop.TRS0&_nkw=mill+quill+stop&_sacat=0
 
Don't feel bad, we've all been there. :) Running an end mill in reverse will pretty much destroy the cutting edges instantly. Either grind a lathe tool out of it or sent it out for resharpening.

Normally a standard right hand spiral end mill wants to pull down when cutting. Never seen one try to push up. Don't know what's going on there.
 
Mark, thanks for pointing me to these devices. So yes, it appears that the quill lock has worn out on mine. I'll get one of these stops; yours are Bridgport so I'll have to look for Clausing.

Jim, thanks for the tip. Yes, it would make a nice lathe tool and now I don't feel so bad about doing something so stupid.
 
Yes, it would make a nice lathe tool and now I don't feel so bad about doing something so stupid.
don't ever feel bad for making a mistake.
if it were not for making mistakes, i would not have learned half of what i know. (that couldn't fill a thimble anyway)
make the mistakes, you will not be less than if you do
i was told long ago, that a master makes mistakes, but is really good at covering them up
 
Making mistakes is the best way to learn, even though it can get expensive. But, the more expensive the mistake, the better the lesson!

I have seen end mills move up when face milling a surface. I've seen them move down, too, for that matter. R8 collets have much greater clamping pressure on end mills than #2 morse taper collets do, as used on the Clausing 8520, so end mill creep is less common on machines that use R8s. For that reason, I no longer use collets for milling on my 8520, but have purchased end mill holders in the various sizes that I need. No more trouble with end mills creeping up or down. MT2 end mill holders with the 3/8" drawbar thread can be hard to find, but they are out there. I've found them on eBay and Shars carries some as well.
 
Just a random thought here but is fine feed engaged? A lot more resistance to movement. As above with reference to direction of movement.
 
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