Tom's Tips & Tricks #3 - Plunge Milling

I made one years ago and funny enough found it again this weekend,so I’m sure to use it. Great stuff

Very interesting. Nice work. Thanks for sharing your experience.

It's called a shop vac for Christ sake

I have been following you for many years now and I have learned alot from you, and I am Grateful. I wish you the best of Luck in what ever you do and lots of Good health and happiness. Thank you for making these videos and sorry my english :)

Some of the best advice I have recieved yet.
I was a mechanic by trade, fell in love with the sea and worked on tugs for a while. Now, I am shoreside with an office job.
I say all this to say, I am not a machinist, not even close. Wasn't even a hobbyist till 2 weeks ago.
In 2 weeks I made a few mistakes. Your video here straightened me up enough to actually mill the needed components.
I am building a sawmill from the ground up. I needed to machine 2 bearing guides.

I humbly thank you for sharing what you know 🙏 looking forward to watching your other vids!

Just curious you mentioned heat, why not show down your speed a little bit? I found slower speeds are better. I clear chips better at slower speeds without the need to plunge cut.

Hope we see you come back someday Tom!

I really hope you are not done making videos and all is well. Just found your channel and will be watching all of the episodes. Thanks much for passing on your knowledge!

What type of milling bit is that? I'm not a machinist but I have a project where I have to plunge and mill an aluminum block about an inch wide and 2 inches deep but not all the way through the piece. Any info would be appreciated.

Again Tom, great video, do you have any videos on setting a point on a new part using a DRO and then setting the drill points in the SDM ? Really impressed with your work shop.

Outstanding!👍👍👍👍

Any know how this gentleman is doing? I’ve learned so much from him

Very useful technique. Thanks for sharing this!

I have watched a few of your ciders and found them very educational. Are you still machining?

awesome tip, thx!

This is common practice for milling out pockets in injection mold making.

Hi Tom, I just found your channel and really enjoy your techniques and processes. I’ve learned quite a bit from you and hopefully by the time I get through your library of videos you’ll be settled into that new shop you’re building in MI. Wishing you a safe and successful move & looking forward to more videos in the near future.

Good morning TOM I’m the 71-year-old newbie and I’m finishing up setting up my shop at home mainly to do hobby work. I do have a LeBlond leave and a Bridgeport along with the surface grinder. I was wondering what your opinion is in reference to should I prepare my shop for the process of using coolant on the Lathe the Bridgeport Milling Machine. I’d be really interested in your opinion. I guess the question boils down to why do you need coolant I understand you use cord to keep things cool but if you’re a hobby shop and time is not actually the most important thing do you still need coolant

Hi Tom I just found your Chanel are you still doing videos

Tom, we no longer see anything from your channel. Everything Ok?

for plunge milling (aluminum) 2 flute or 3 flute best option?

If you’re going to show something, bloody well show it and stop talking so much crap!

Great video- thanks!

Thank you

nice , and for beginners like myself you get to save some extra metal for other projects since some probably dont have melters

Tom thank you for all you do. Not many of us left although I’m not a machinist I’m a heavy mech. We possess skills given to us by our Lord JESUS Christ. Have a blessed day if you do believe it may be time to invest a bit of scripture in the vids. Tubal Cain comes to mind.

Tom is the fucking man

Thanks for sharing all these tips.

What happened?

Great video.

How you doing Tom? Miss you. All the best.

How much price facing for this job

Same speeds and feeds as regular depth cut pocketing? Or do you calculate it as a hss or carbide drill with the endmill diameter being used? Thank you

I built prototype injection molds for 25 yrs. I wouldn't recommend clamping a part where you are taking out the center wider than your vise jaws. There's a chance when you take it out of the vise the center will bow and the pocket could actually flex out larger than you wanted. It might only be a couple thou but that's still bad if you have to be dead on.

What coolant do you use?

would that be the same as drilling it out?

Thank you

Hey tom hope you are ok ...

Hey Tom, hope all is well! Whats the odds of a video soon or ever? lol

Great video Tom, I have to make a series of holes (24) on 3/16 plate, with ID of 1.25". It does not have to be precise , just the spacing in between. Using a vertical mill, what cutting tool would you use for the job?

That overhead heater must be some hot to stand so close to!

your the best thanks

He uses it for roughing out such as can be done in slots by stepping over however with a cnc plunge milling is of super importance for many reasons especially angled walls. It should almost always be done cut down only and rapid back up and stepover for a few reasons. It produces perfect accurate angle walls and tapers where as going around and around--does not. The benefits are many and is analagous to making a lathe cut--the cutter cuts on the end but produces the finished surface as the tangency of the radius of the insert moves along--just like a lathe. Another huge benefit is truly astonishing roughing rates because you can step over 1/4 inch and be hacking off .100 deep to rough! (that by the way shows why you must plunge cut only ONE WAY--DOWN) and rapid back up just like he did in the video. yet another benefit visualize a 3/4 insert cutter producing a million machine taper inside or even a straight wall or big round bore?--note that since inside the cutter can step over .030 OR MORE each time finishing the taper perfectly in a couple minutes.. if you do the match the cusp is almost nothing even with massive stepovers. Yes it works and is done daily in industry. Another benefit is that the insert and cutter hardly care if the material is aluminum or hardened steel.. however going around and around stepping down it certainly does--THE CUTTER WILL PUSH AWAY A HUGE AMOUNT AND GO DULL.. you will not even reach the bottom.. Plunge milling in hardened h-13 is how we cut hewlett packard printer body molds and other things. Also you can plunge cut straight deep walls even in hardened steel and the walls will be perfect and straight--but be aware you have to relieve the side of the insert so that only a small land is hitting you cannot have the insert scrubbing against the walls. Anyone interested I just created a FB group--shapers and zlinear plunge milling techniques and tools. If you type in all one word SHAPERINFO it also will come up It is also based upon the shaper attachment that goes on the back of bridgeports..

Another useful video, again thank you. Also, some guys like to use WD 40 on aluminum. Do you recommend it?

Could just use a horizontal mill. The chips clear much easier.

Great videos and channel young man!

Thanks

Thanks very much for that tip.