End Mills for cutting shafts

[JerseyBill]

Any suggestions, I want to cut shafts on my CNC storm machine by LEEEE,
what size bit would you use for hogging, and would you change size for finish cuts? Any input welcome.
Bill
thanks,

 

[pescadoman]

Any suggestions, I want to cut shafts on my CNC storm machine by LEEEE,
what size bit would you use for hogging, and would you change size for finish cuts? Any input welcome.
Bill
thanks,

I believe this has been discussed and the conclusion was that wing cutters were still the best option...

 

[pdcue]

Any suggestions, I want to cut shafts on my CNC storm machine by LEEEE,
what size bit would you use for hogging, and would you change size for finish cuts? Any input welcome.
Bill
thanks,

1/4 inch should work fine for any and all cuts. I would advise against
any depth of cut that could be considered "hogging" on a shaft.

Turning shafts requires patience - IMHO.

Dale

 

[tsp&b]

I would advise against
any depth of cut that could be considered "hogging" on a shaft.

Turning shafts requires patience - IMHO.
Dale

That's about it!!:thumbup:

 

[GBCues]

Bill,

I have to agree with all the above.

I personally use a 6-wing 1/4" thick 2" dia slot cutter and I get finishes that are 220 sandpaper smooth or better.

Hogging for me is a .05" pass at 8-10 ipm. Final pass at .001-.002" at 5 ipm.

My 2 cents,

Gary

 

[cueman]

I used end mills for tapering in the early days and was not happy with them. The wing cutters or even a 3/4" straight bit did better for shafts and butts. I now carry a 6 wing cutter that is only 1.25" diameter so it give less vibration on the lighter weight machines than the 2 inch wing cutters do. It is great fot shafts. I still use the 3/4" straight bit in vertical position for tapering butts as they are cheap and do a good job.

 

[scdiveteam]

Any suggestions, I want to cut shafts on my CNC storm machine by LEEEE,
what size bit would you use for hogging, and would you change size for finish cuts? Any input welcome.
Bill
thanks,

Bill,

Some very good advice here for sure. I would add that your feed should be 6 minutes for the shaft no matter if you are hogging or taking a .002 cut as it does not shock the wood at the very slow feed rate and you will obtain a very good RMS finish. The rpm should be about 150 for light cuts. You will have to go higher in rpm when initializing the taper when you are hogging so you get more torque. I use a shaft tapering table saw machine so my 60 tooth blade will be different that your wing cutter concerning # of hit per minute. Trial and error will tell you the way to go. JMO. It took me some time to figure out that one.

Also you want to have as little tail stock pressure on the stock as you can get away with. That is very very important so you don't get any deflection bounce in the center of your shaft while taper turning. If you listen to the sound of the curf cutting and it is consistant you have the right tail stock pressure. If it is oscillating you have too much pressure and it is bouncing . Listen very carefully in the center third of the tapering process and your ear will tell all. I fought some inconsistency on my beta cues before I resolved that issue also. When you all dialed in, your cue shaft will not have a blur in the middle when spinning between centers and a higher lathe speed when sanding.

Good Turning,

Rick

 

[pdcue]

Bill,

I have to agree with all the above.

I personally use a 6-wing 1/4" thick 2" dia slot cutter and I get finishes that are 220 sandpaper smooth or better.

Hogging for me is a .05" pass at 8-10 ipm. Final pass at .001-.002" at 5 ipm.

My 2 cents,

Gary

Good info.

Thanks for sharing. Are you tapering on a Cuesmith type cue lathe
or a full sized metal lathe?

Dale

 

[CamposCues]

End mills work great for cutting the wrap groove but not for shafts in my experience.

 

[GBCues]

Good info.

Thanks for sharing. Are you tapering on a Cuesmith type cue lathe
or a full sized metal lathe?

Dale

Dale,

Mine is a Cuesmith knockoff from A. Gotti/Taig-based lathe with a CNC taper bar add on that I designed and built myself. It allows me to have both worlds on one platform. I don't claim it's the best of both worlds, but it works pretty well.

See pictures

Gary

 

[Brickcues]

Bill,

I have to agree with all the above.

I personally use a 6-wing 1/4" thick 2" dia slot cutter and I get finishes that are 220 sandpaper smooth or better.

Hogging for me is a .05" pass at 8-10 ipm. Final pass at .001-.002" at 5 ipm.

My 2 cents,

Gary

I also use the same 6-wing 1/4" thick 2' dia slot cutter but I cut at 50 ipm and 400 rpm on shaft and get really smooth also. Hogging is about the same at .05 at most and final pass is done twice at 50 ipm and slows to 10 ipm at rings. The first pass takes off about .005 and the second pass just cleans up. Have run it at slower speeds but there is little difference in finish.

 

[JerseyBill]

end mill question

I should have mentioned I'm trying to use the Storm cnc which i use endmills on for cutting inlays, so was thinking in that direction. On the metal lathe was using three wing cutter.
thanks for everyone, good stuff to know.
Bill

 

[JerseyBill]

both worlds

Dale,

Mine is a Cuesmith knockoff from A. Gotti/Taig-based lathe with a CNC taper bar add on that I designed and built myself. It allows me to have both worlds on one platform. I don't claim it's the best of both worlds, but it works pretty well.

See pictures

Gary

very nice, i'm jealous

 

[GBCues]

I also use the same 6-wing 1/4" thick 2' dia slot cutter but I cut at 50 ipm and 400 rpm on shaft and get really smooth also. Hogging is about the same at .05 at most and final pass is done twice at 50 ipm and slows to 10 ipm at rings. The first pass takes off about .005 and the second pass just cleans up. Have run it at slower speeds but there is little difference in finish.

Wow, 50 ipm - you don't waste any time bud!!! :thumbup:

I agree with the 400 rpm on the shaft - any faster and they can start whipping and then you end up with the neatest little barber pole you've ever seen - useless, but cute!

Thanks

Gary

 

[dzcues]

End mills? I love 'em.

4 flutes, helical engagement, positive rake, perfectly balanced...what's not to like?

This video shows some serious roughing using an end mill. First cut is a minimum of .085" deep (per side!) - much deeper at the warped areas - yet it cuts it nicely at around 35ipm.

This video shows how well they handle very light cuts: first pass is .002" @ 35 ipm and finish pass is .0005" (yes, that's 1/2 thou) @ 11 ipm. No chatter, no barber poling, no deflection. Finish sanding starts with 400 grit paper.

I just want to show that end mills can do the job very well. Don't take everything you read here as Gospel - including anything I say. Experiment. Find out for yourself. Even if something doesn't work, you've learned something important.

 

[cutter]

cutters

4 flutes, helical engagement, positive rake, perfectly balanced...what's not to like?

I just want to show that end mills can do the job very well. Don't take everything you read here as Gospel - including anything I say. Experiment. Find out for yourself. Even if something doesn't work, you've learned something important.

Tap, Tap, Tap. Knowing how is one thing, knowing why is another.