When to Reverse in the Mill?

J

joe_m

Active User
Registered
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
329
My vertical mill has a forward switch and a reverse - written very professionally on the on/off switch in permanent magic marker.
I've only used the forward except for one time when I accidently tried to drill a hole with it in reverse.
Yesterday I had an old-woodworking-tool friend visit and we spent the day doing some metal work on the mill (Made a nice little hexagon hammer head in brass, plane nickers and other small things.) He saw the R and asked me when to use reverse. My only guess was for those end mills with the backwards spirals, but now that I think about it, that doesn't seem right - why make backwards spiraling bits if it means you have to reverse the rotation?

So what is the reverse on the vertical mill really for?

thanks
Joe
 
Mine has a forward/reverse switch, but I only use it when switching back and forth between low/hi gear (which mechanically reverses the spindle, so I have to electrically reverse it to make it right again).

I'm not sure what other use there is unless you are trying to tap under power (better be quick with the switch).
 
How about to climb mill (or not) in both directions of travel; or am I just confusing things?


M
 
I tap under power rather frequently, once you get past the initial "Oh No, this is fraught with peril!", you're fine. Climb milling has nothing to do with forward and reverse. It's a hi range, low range thing.
 
I'm new to this but logic would say that you don't reverse... since the drawbar and other attachment may loosen if you spun a tool in reverse. I really can't think of a use for it. Climb cutting has more to do direction of feed you approach the too;l you can do conventional or climb with the tool spinning in the same direction. Please correct me if I'm mistaken there are some experienced guys in here.
 
Power tapping left-hand threads -and of course, it's handy to occasionally ruin a tool designed for forward operation.
To prevent accidental misuse of the reverse direction, I made a little mechanical lockout that requires a simple yet, intentional defeat to engage the switch in that position.
 
Never inadvertently loosened the drawbar, I go from full forward to full reverse, at slow speed, when tapping. It is a high range, low range thing, put your mill in high range, turn it on in forward, which way does the spindle rotate?, now put it in low range, turn it on in forward, which way does it rotate?
 
I have no high/low range - I change a belt position or throw another gerbil in the tread-wheel if I want to change speeds. So I guess it's just not used on my mill. Thanks.
 
Have to be kind of careful here. Some mills don't do the quick reverse. I have run more than one that if you throw the switch in reverse at speed, it just keeps going the same direction. No good for tapping. You have to let it coast down a bit, nearly to a stop before it actually reverses. I suspect those are the motors with the centrifugal starting coil cutout switch, but I don't know for certain. Before you try to tap using this method, test it for rapid reversal.
 
Ray C said:
Power tapping left-hand threads -and of course, it's handy to occasionally ruin a tool designed for forward operation.
:rofl:

Not you too!!!!!!
I hesitate to point out the problem of which side of the equator you live on. You know, the Coriolis effect.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top