Thread: Recommended bang for buck face mill?

Can someone recommend a face mill - where do us Aussies buy from - ebay or aliexpress I guess are the go to's?

Hare and Forbes is pretty pricey for a non-name brand.

If I was in America I'd just go Glacern or Sandvik as my googling led to those brands, but after researching the cost it's pretty out there. One Glacern was $300, then $200 for delivery.

I have an HM-46 so a benchtop mill, does this mean I should go for something with fewer cutting edges?

For cutting aluminium are the 45 degree face mills still ok? I would also like to mill 200x200 3mm thick aluminium plate to take out the bend in it for my 3D printers (i.e. thin pieces).

Thanks... I've done some reading but I'm still a bit confused, would appreciate any good links too.

Since the relocation of CTC my last few tooling purchases have been from Wenling on AliExpress https://www.aliexpress.com/store/225...608.0.0.GnT4nT

I have a 50mm 4 insert face mill and a box of inserts on its way at the moment for AU$70 posted. The website can be a little hard to follow, but I have zero complaints about the quality of the gear.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MILL...608.0.0.tGIozl

I recently received a 45deg type 50mm diam face mill that was ordered from EBay. I originally ordered one in December, but it did not turn up and the money was refunded. I had to order the arbor seperately as it is an MT4 and these were not available with the face mill at the time. The arbor came from Oz and was sitting around for several months. I reordered the face mill and it arrived as expected, about 6 weeks later. A couple of days later the first one arrived. Now I have an extra face mill sans arbor. I would sell it, but I am not sure it is worth the messing around considering the price of them. It was only $23. The arbor was the expensive part at $45.

I would say that you should stick to a 50mm one on your mill. Remember that the bigger diameter the cutter, the more you have to traverse the table to clear the work. I have the same size mill as you and I have found the 45deg (SEKT insert) type a little better than the AMPT insert type. I have both. There is also the round insert type which I know nothing about. I was using the 45 deg for milling aluminium recently and it did a good job.

Dean

Is there some standard for the arbour? I understand I need MT3 for my mill and if I need to match the drawbar 1/2" whitworth thread, but I know nothing of the joint where the facemill arbour connects to the face mill part.

You need something like this. Wherever you buy you will probably need to make yourself an M12 drawbar. MT3-FMB22 M12 Combi Shell Mill Arbor Morse Taper Tool Holder For Milling Cutter.

You need to get an arbor that suits the bore of the face cutter or if you already have the face cutter an arbor with the correct spigot.

The one listed above has a 22mm bore others may be 27,32 or imperial.

I have a HM45 and the Son bought me one of these about 2 years ago for Xmas, bit expensive but works well.

M530 | 3 Piece Universal Milling Kit | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au

To make sure your stuff matches you can decode the sizes from the product codes
Eg the facemill that Bob posted is a KM12-50-22-4T
KM12 is the face mill type
50 is diameter of the mill
22 is the arbor hole size
4T means has 4 inserts
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MILL...608.0.0.tGIozl

For your mill you ideally would want a MT3 FMB22 1/2 but good luck finding them... so you can get a MT3 FMB22 M12
MT3 is the draw bar taper
FMB22 is the facemill arbor shaft size
M12 is the drawbar thread
eg https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MT3-...678918880.html

Ideally you also want to get inserts specifically for Aluminum if that is what you are planning to machine, they tend to be polished and sharper so should cut better without getting stuff stuck to the insert
eg https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...619558625.html

Shameless plug for Wenling Lifeng Precision Tools Co., Ltd
I have used them before and would again, they are where I buy most of my tooling these days
They don't list everything on their store, if you contact Penny she should be able to supply MT3 FMB22 M12 arbors also and price is generally good. Just send the full list of what you want and she will come back to you with a price.

Btw, I have made a drawbar for a similar machine for a friend, used a bit of M12 threaded rod, made a collar to go on that was threaded, locktighted then pinned it in place, turned the top section down to size in the lathe then milled a square on the top. Didn't take a picture sorry but if you get stuck measure up your current drawbar and send me the specs and I'll knock up a metric one for you.

Extra BTW, check that the face mill sits on the arbor fully !! I have had the lugs on the arbor be longer then the holes on the facemill are and this causes the facemill to not seat properly. Won't go well if you try cut like that....

Cheers
Wayne

Originally Posted by j3dprints

.......................................

For cutting aluminium are the 45 degree face mills still ok? I would also like to mill 200x200 3mm thick aluminium plate to take out the bend in it for my 3D printers (i.e. thin pieces)............

Anther thing to consider is that a 200mm square pieces of 3mm aluminium is not a very rigid workpiece. I can see that it may wriggle around while you are working on it, not sure what the answer is there.

Originally Posted by bob ward

Anther thing to consider is that a 200mm square pieces of 3mm aluminium is not a very rigid workpiece. I can see that it may wriggle around while you are working on it, not sure what the answer is there.

What about a thick steel or aluminum plate bolted to the table first with some countersunk bolts, take a surface cut off it to get your starting surface flat then use several strips of quality double sided tape to put the thin bits down and just take light cuts ? Or make a vac table...

First, regarding the drawbar. I made one by drilling a 10mm nut (16mm spanner size) to 10mm bore, turning threaded rod down to 10mm on the end and welding thew nut on. I also put a thick washer that will fit inside the spline under the nut. With my first attempt I did not fit the washer to the spline diam and wondered why I did not have much movement in the quill. 16mm nut/spanner size is the same as was on my now unused 14mm drawbar that came with the mill so I kept the same size. I now have a 12mm, 14mm and 16mm drawbar. The 12mm was for my 50mm boring head. I could only get one with MT3 so I had to use an adaptor. The MT3 to MT4 adaptor I bought was oversize and sat out from the spindle by about 30mm compared to other MT4 tapers. I recently obtained an MT4 arbor for it so this problem should be solved and the 12mm drawbar no longer required.

I am still amazed at the use of a 1/2" drawbar in a modern machine.

In regards to the 3mm ali sheet, if the sheet is not flat to start with it will not sit flat after machining.

Dean