PM-30 face milling

advmaker

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My PM-30 is on way, can't wait to set it up within a week.

I have projects lines up already. Made a 2" hot rolled steel dice the other day by cnc plasma cutting the sides with hex holes, welded them up and did a little experimental facing on the PM-1127 lathe. I was not very comfy to have the partial tool contact at the outer edges so saving it up for the mill to arrive.

Now the question is shall I get a fly cutter or a carbide insert face mill. If face mill then how large?

IMG_20190818_165005.jpg
 
I vote for fly cutter. If you get a facemill I'd say no larger than 2" for this size mill if even that. You could use larger but you won't be able to hog material except maybe in aluminum or plastics. And if the mill wouldn't be able to hog with a facemill, no point in spending all that money on a FM & inserts when a fly cutter will do just as good, even better for surface finish in most cases.
 
Thanks for the prompt response. Getting a simple fly cutter set from amazon -- the one under $30 with 1/2" shank to use in a collet. I will learn to grind the hss tool bits myself.
 
If this is your first mill, I'd definitely go with the fly cutter first to save some money for other stuff.... oh and there will be plenty of of other stuff that you need. Once tooled up comfortably then you can get the facemill later if you still want one. I have 2 facemills but I like fly cutters cause they usually give me a better finish.
 
For Aluminum the PM-30 will do just fine with a 50mm face mill. The lost cost ones on ebay have 4 flutes. You could always run 2.

Steel is always a different story. Still a 2 flute should be more balanced on steel than a single flute.

You don't want to skip the face mill process. Every piece of stock you grab will need to be faced on at least 1 side often both depending on your style of cutting parts.

I have used a 2.5" on almost every block of metal for years. It's the most used cutter in my box.
 
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