Subject: How to run a vertical milling machine?

From: Martha Adams <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 1996 21:33:24 -0800

Does anyone out there know if there is a good book on how to operate a 
verticle mill?  There are plenty of books on lathes, but I can't find one 
on mills. I have questions on cutting depths, feeds, speeds and the 
different types of cutters available.  Any help would be appreciated.
Richard Adams

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From: [email-masked] (Jonathan M. Elson)
Date: 28 Jan 1996 06:12:29 GMT

Martha Adams ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Does anyone out there know if there is a good book on how to operate a 
: verticle mill?  There are plenty of books on lathes, but I can't find one 
: on mills. I have questions on cutting depths, feeds, speeds and the 
: different types of cutters available.  Any help would be appreciated.
: Richard Adams

Many of the RPM <=> surface speed conversions, and optimum surface speed
for various materials are the same, whether turning or milling.  The 
difference is defined as turning means the work rotates, milling means the
tool rotates.  Any general metal working book would cover both types of
work (as well as shaping, where NOTHING rotates).
A very good guide to cutters is a catalog from MSC, Enco, KBC or the like.
A book more than 10 years old may get you all worked up to buy the 'perfect
tool' for some project, only to find that nobody makes it anymore.

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From: [email-masked](Dale A. Keltie )
Date: 28 Jan 1996 12:59:24 GMT

>different types of cutters available.  Any help would be appreciated.

Richard - 

You'd think there would be books out there somewhere that would qualify
as "how to" type texts, and I'm sure there are, but (now that someone
has asked) I really can't think of one.  There are a number of sources
however for speed and feed data.

Machinery's Handbook (Industrial Press)
Hardly a tutorial with respect to how to run a vertical mill, it does
contain a lot of speed and feed data for nearly any machining
operation.  It can be a little tedious to wade through the massive
amount of detailed information it contains and it presumes a quite a
bit of the reader sometimes.  The data is there though.

Most of the manufacturers of indexable carbide tools/inserts have
catalogs containing speed and feed data pertaining to their products. 
Any industrial supply house carrying the tooling can provide you with
these.  I would offer a few words of caution here however; (1) the
recommendations contained in these catalogs are specific to the inserts
contained in same, and (2) I find these recommendations to be at least
a little optimistic sometimes, particularly for a manual mill.  If
you're just starting out, I'd suggest waiting a bit before you get
into carbide tooling anyway, carbide tools can be downright picky about
what they eat and how they eat it, they're not very forgiving, and they
are expensive.

Now that you've waded through all the discouraging stuff above, here's
the best part.  Sossner, a manufacturer of (primarily) HSS cutting
tools, makes the handiest little slide rule type speed/feed calculator
I've seen.  It will give you suggested depth of cut, spindle speed, and
feed rate based on end mill diameter, material, and type of cut (i.e.,
roughing/finishing, side/slot milling).  The doggone thing is just
downright spiffy AND it's free.  If you have a nearby industrial supply
that carries Sossner (I think most do), he can probably give you one of
these or get it for you.  I will e-mail you Sossner's part no. for this
little marvel from the shop tomorrow (Sun.), as well as Sossner's phone
no. in case you want to deal with them directly.  For whatever it's
worth, I use the spindle speed and depth of cut data as given by the
calculator and multiply the feed rate by 0.75 for an initial test run. 
Based on the results of that, I then (usually) increase feed rate
somewhat.

While I'm not trying to write a tutorial myself here, I will suggest
that the actual speeds and feeds that will work best for you are very
often highly dependent on the machine you're using (ridgidity,
condition, etc.), coolant type and quantity, and, as important as
anything else, what you're comfortable with.  The last point is most
easily understood after one becomes intimately familiar with the Law of
Selective Gravitation (i.e., the first hot chips find their way down
your shirt collar).

Regards, Dale

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From: [email-masked](Wm. Congreve (Sr.) )
Date: 28 Jan 1996 16:44:24 GMT

>different types of cutters available.  Any help would be appreciated.

You're right! I've got a whole little stack of lathe books, and the
only milling book I have (and it's good) is "Milling Machine Work,"
part of a "Machine Shop Series" published by Delmar Publishers in
Albany NY in 1953.  It' 8 1/2" x 11" paperback. A lot of the
illustrations are showing horizontal work, but 99% of what you need to
know applies to both, so I do recommend it if you can find a copy.

               Alan Heldman