How To Mill A Slot In Steel
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How To Mill A Slot In Steel Average ratng: 9,9/10 8002 votes
I would first use a 5/16 end mill to cut a central slot clear through the part. From there, it depends on your tolerance for the slot width. Most 3/8 2 and 4 flute end mills will cut oversize slots. A 3 flute end mill will cut closer to the nominal size. Just clamp the steel down in a good solid vice, and drill firmly, with authority, through the steel with hardened steel bits. Have a helper constantly apply coolant or oil while you're drilling, this is why the can of WD-40 is in frame.) Bolt the steel angle onto the strap iron using appropriately sized bolts. Seen from the side/back. My milling chart says 2400 rpm for a 4mm cutter in mild steel. If you’ve got a VMC you should have a 2100 rpm option, that will do. I would sneak up on it and try a cut at 0.25mm first and increase slowly if it’s happy. 100mm/min feed is about right. Adam Mara: 10:57:06: 121 forum posts 8 photos.
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- Cutting a.020' wide slot to the length and depth you want would be murder with an end mill. A slitting saw is what you need. Of coarse, a slitting saw will not give you a nice square end and that is what you need, you may have to finish with an end mill.
- The machinability of steel differs depending on alloying elements, heat treatment and manufacturing process (forged, cast, etc.). In soft, low-carbon steels, built-up edge and burr formation on the workpiece are the main issues. In harder steels, the positioning of the cutter becomes more important for avoiding edge chipping.
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| George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 2887 Posts | 0 I need to cut a slot, about an inch long and 1/8' wide, in the middle of a piece of 22ga sheet metal, and I'm trying to figure out a fairly easy way to do it. I'm thinking maybe in terms of a milling bit mounted on a router, or drilling several pilot holes and sawing between them, but I've done very little metal work and wanted to see if anyone here has a good idea. The piece of sheet metal is about 8 x 10 inches, and going in from the edge won't work. Thanks much. That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine www.georgefledo.net Latest column: 'Sorry about the photos in my posts here' |
| Dan Ford Elite user Illinois 494 Posts | 0 I use a cut off disc on a Dremel tool, going into the metal very slowly. Make sure you use protective gear when doing this. Once you go through the metal, use miniature files to shape and expand the slot. |
| chill Veteran user colorado, usa 372 Posts | 0 I think Dan would use a cut off tool in a dremmel, and with an 1/8' wide slot that would probably be the easiest. be careful not to bind the disc in the slot when you first break through. bob I spent most of my money on magic and women, the rest i just wasted |
| Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22688 Posts | 0 This is very difficult to do. If you need an exact, ding the metal and I agree with your drill method at each end of the 1' slit. I would use a drill press for this as well. Even with a ding the drill may drift. Then drill smaller hole between them. I do this so if my drill line is not exact, I can widen to the 1/8th inch. Go slow and take your time. |
| hugmagic Inner circle 7387 Posts | 0 I would go with the dremel also. Then dress off the hole with the edge of the tool. It is not that hard to do freehand. But if you are uncomfortable with that you could make a jig like a router template. You could probably also get away with an 1/8 end mill chucked up in a drill press. Use a pilot hole and a rip fence arrangement. Just lower the mill until it is centered on the metal and lock in place then slowly feed the metal ahea keep it clamped tight to the table. You might consider clamping the metal to a scrap board and feeding it in the mill. Richard Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023 www.hughesmagic.com email-hugmagic@raex.com Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's. |
| ClintonMagus Inner circle Southwestern Southeast 3999 Posts | 0 Find a local machine shop. They can probably do this in a few minutes, and shouldn't charge much. The results would be much better and much quicker than you could do it yourself (assuming you don't do a lot of this). Things are more like they are today than they've ever been before... |
| AGMagic Special user Cailf. 775 Posts | 0 ClintonMagus has the right idea and being in the Bay area, a good sheet metal shop should not be hard to find. A good specialty sheet metal shop will have a punch that is 1/8' by 1' in stock. If you want to do it yourself, drill holes for the ends of the slot and cut the space inbetween with a sabre (jig)saw that has a metal cutting blade3 installed. Do not, repeat do not use a sawsall type of reciprocating saw. They are not precise enough. Finish off the sides of the slot with a small mill file. If the sheetmetal is soft (brass or aluminum) you can probably work it with carbide tipped wood working tools. In which case a router (at slow speed)with a jig may be the way to go. Tim Silver - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Magic-Woodshop/122578214436546 I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. Visualize Whirled Peas! |
| Stanyon Inner circle Landrum, S.C. by way of Chicago 3408 Posts | 0 Thermite employed in the proper proportions should......uhmmmm, never mind! Stanyon aka Steve Taylor 'Every move a move!' 'If you've enjoyed my performance half as much as I've enjoyed performing for you, then you've enjoyed it twice as much as me!' |
| Chance Inner circle 1385 Posts | 0 Quote: On 2011-01-17 19:04, Dan Ford wrote: Dan, like I wrote it myself. Another vote for the Dremel cutoff wheel! It was invented for exactly this type of work, and it would have been the first tool I reached for had I been you. |
| George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 2887 Posts | 0 Quote: On 2011-01-17 23:38, Stanyon wrote: Yeah, I thought about that, but it'd take a heckuva lot of duct tape to mask off the edges. To the rest of you: thanks so much for the ideas. I do have a Dremel, so I guess I'll try that first (on a scrap!). That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine www.georgefledo.net Latest column: 'Sorry about the photos in my posts here' |
| thegreatnippulini Inner circle of Hell because I've made 2589 Posts | 0 Please tell me you're kidding about thermite..... for those who don't know what thermite is used for, check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR6K90cR8Lg The Great Nippulini: body piercer, Guinness World Record holder, blacksmith and man with The World's Strongest Nipples! Does the WORLD care? We shall see... http://www.greatnippulini.com' target='_blank'>http://www.greatnippulini.com |
| George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 2887 Posts | 0 That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine www.georgefledo.net Latest column: 'Sorry about the photos in my posts here' |
| jay leslie V.I.P. Southern California 9495 Posts | 0 George, A table saw with a carbon blade (60 + teeth) will do it if you put a sacrificial board on top and raise the blade into the work. |
| George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 2887 Posts | 0 Well, thanks to all who suggested a Dremel too with a cutoff wheel. After I drilled a hole for each end of the slot, it only took a minute to cut off the scrap between the holes. Then a little cleaning with a grinding wheel (again on the Dremel) and a file, and I'm all set. That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine www.georgefledo.net Latest column: 'Sorry about the photos in my posts here' |
| leaycraft Regular user 191 Posts | 0 Dang I like the thermite idea. As a science teacher I have occassionaly justified the nedd to play with it for demonstrations. Not for the untrained however. 'It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' A. Conan Doyle,' The Sign of Four' |
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