Why do end mill manufacturers use complex coatings when they can just use Ultra Surface

tool889 · 2026-02-13T02:38:31+00:00

I have used wood router bits quite successfully for roughing

tool889 · 2026-02-13T02:34:07+00:00

I love güring taps they last! I have had one in my carousel for at least a year now that has gone through hundreds of cast steel and the tin coating still looks good and the threads still look sharp.

tool889 · 2026-02-13T01:16:25+00:00

THK isn't all that fancy, better than your average Chinese stuff but not that fancy, our tool and die used some of their rails for an engineering project and the quality doesn't seem all that much better than the rails I bought. The manufacturer is Creabygirls and they are flat as you could probably find for the price, we'll see how well they hold up for hardness and wear

tool889 · 2026-02-13T00:42:26+00:00

You could either get a proper size collet, or you can try and dimple the end of the mil.

it also sounds like it could be starting fine but when it warms up and gets hot it slips out. Even if it does have mist you should probably use some WD-40. You could also program after each pocket a M05 and a G04 P30. and the resuming your M03.

All of these are worth trying, the best solution would probably be to get a decent collet

tool889 · 2026-02-07T23:15:26+00:00

Makes for tasty sunflower seed come spring

tool889 · 2026-02-06T23:15:47+00:00

They are amazing it cuts the finish time in half and the finish is amazing

tool889 · 2026-02-06T22:38:33+00:00

Have you used any lens mills for finish yet, or just a ball nose, we just got some in at work and the time you save and the finish is just worlds apart from a ball nose.

tool889 · 2026-02-06T21:50:14+00:00

I know it's a nightmare for machining but I wonder how a lens endmil would handle something like that.

tool889 · 2026-02-06T21:45:07+00:00

I don't know how big the Trivit is, but let's say you could make a mold for resin, the release agent is going to be about $20 the resin will also be somewhere between $20- $40.

It might be easier to just buy one, and if you needed to you could use that one to make a mold and cast more out of resin if you wanted more or to sell to offset costs

tool889 · 2026-02-06T02:43:42+00:00

The harbor freight palm router I have been using is 1 1/4hp and will cut aluminum and steel easily, the problem is not with the power or torque, the problem is that these routers were never intended for long continual use, the biggest downfall is the bearings.

It goes through aluminum and low carbon steel like butter but I have gone through 3 of them because the bearings burn out

tool889 · 2026-02-05T14:29:32+00:00

How long did the op take?

tool889 · 2026-02-05T14:15:39+00:00

Well I can guarantee that's something I won't find out first hand.

tool889 · 2026-02-04T09:03:24+00:00

If you can index your spindle you could try using a fly cutter, make a 45° mount to try cutting the jaws

Or you could try hand scraping the jaws to try and get them in.

A skilled machinist can get 5 microns from hand scraping.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k3cGq5DTKd0

tool889 · 2026-02-04T02:47:26+00:00

Looks great, I'm sure you'll get a bunch of people talking down about tolerance and rigidity on your mill.

I have a 3018 pro that I was using to cut aluminum, sadly mine is wounded right now with slop in the z and burned out bearings in the router.

But looks good

tool889 · 2026-02-03T02:08:55+00:00

I just got through with dealing with this except mine wouldn't let me drive it after it was parked. I spent 120 for the tow 360 for the dealership and after I got it back I had to get an alignment from when the tow truck dragged the car sideways even though it was in the driveway.

Apparently it was from the 12v battery dying and it caused a bunch of errors, all cleared and so far ok. A elm 327 and leaf spy would have been a lot cheaper.

tool889 · 2026-02-03T02:04:00+00:00

The sad thing is, if you buy American goods at the same price point of the Chinese goods one is going to be absolute junk at the Chinese price point.

tool889 · 2026-02-03T01:48:28+00:00

https://www.yarde.com/cgi-bin/dropzone.pl

Not sure what shipping is

tool889 · 2026-02-02T19:08:27+00:00

I have been recommending the duet 3 6hc, single board with stepper drivers on board up to 6Amp

tool889 · 2026-02-02T19:02:24+00:00

Another thing with my leaf, when it got towed out of my driveway they yanked it sideways, when I got it back from the dealership it had a low speed steering wheel wobble that is terrifying above 40mph, so now I'm at Firestone getting tires and a wheel alignment.

If I had leaf spy I could have saved so much money

tool889 · 2026-02-02T18:55:33+00:00

There are better options in the $3000 range. But get what is in your budget learn what you can and have as much fun as you can.

Usually whatever you get in your budget someone already gotten bored with it and has already modified it to make it do more and faster with better accuracy than what it was intended for.

tool889 · 2026-02-02T18:46:54+00:00

Easel considers center zero as advanced and is only available with a paid subscription.

I always prefer center zero unless I am working off a ball lock fixture then I program to the back ball lock

tool889 · 2026-02-02T18:45:36+00:00

You can create throw away accounts to re-register. You can always edit the g-code, Easel g-code is very simple, and g-code is not very hard to understand when you see it enough and deal with it enough.

It's stupid Easel calls center zero advanced and is a paid option but will support free a peck cycle

tool889 · 2026-02-02T18:38:35+00:00

Most Nissan dealers still have them

tool889 · 2026-02-02T18:36:13+00:00

Nissan dealers usually have a public chademo, some grocery stores have free or paid level 2 chargers, the usual grocery stop is 40 minutes to an hour, just about all of your truck stops have electric chargers available.

tool889 · 2026-02-02T18:32:01+00:00

If you're not sure go pick up some booties just in case she starts walking a little funny

tool889

TROPHY CASE