How To Mill Slots In Steel Magnolias
How To Mill Slots In Steel Hole

I spend some time with a large, sharp mill file using that procedure to clean that part up, in and among a whole lot of t-slot scraper, mineral spirits, maroon Scotchbrite, etc. To get the crud out. I also did a bit of chamfering on the t-slots with a sharp triangular saw file. Milling slot in plate with a Bridgeport Milling machine for austinpace from Weldingweb.com. Please note: I mis-spoke at 14:50. It should be.40625'. Slot Machine/ Poor Man's Mill - posted in Homemades: Preface As a blaster manufacturer, it behooves me to make slots, quickly, efficiently, and accurately. As a poor college student, I need to perform these operations on the cheap. So this is my documented adventure at making a light-duty vertical mill for use on nonmetals. Such a machine could be useful for those in the hobby that make slots. Choosing the correct tooling for your application is crucial when machining stainless steel. Roughing, finishing, slotting, and high efficiency milling toolpaths can all be optimized for stainless steel by choosing the correct style of end mill. Traditional Roughing. For traditional roughing, a 4 or 5 flute end mill is recommended.

Having that leg of the angle iron that you are milling unsupported really isn't the best setup. I'm glad that it worked for you but you should really hold pieces completely.

That formula for calculating spindle speed is wrong too. This is the real formula

(PI * DIA X RPM) / 12 = SFPM

Using your formula it says to run a 5/16 inch cutter at 550 RPM which is only 45 SFPM, less than half the speed you should run. You should mill steel at 100 SFPM or more.

How To Mill Slots In Steel Magnolias

How To Mill Slots In Steel Hole

I'll mock up a better setup. Ignore the burn holes in the steel. It is the first piece of scrap angle I found laying around. Anyhow, the hold down on the leg keeps it from fluttering around. Chatter is a bad thing when machining.