Tangential fly cutter

[VicParticipant @vic]

This looks like an interesting idea, cutting on two different diameters with different profile tools.

**LINK**

I don't have any trouble with my fly cutter, even taking fairly deep cuts on my modest VMC but I'm wondering if this concept could hog out more material?

[VicParticipant @vic]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for the link, Vic

It does look an interesting idea, but I suspect that the big swarf may get in the way of the finishing cut. … I'm inclined to think that the safer bet is to just do the rough work first, and then change cutters.

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Can't say I'm entirely convinced – only for work smaller than the diameter of the inner cutter or you need multiple passes anyway.

Neil

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

The inner Ø is 100mm, so I would suspect that the majority of modellers out there would need multiple passes anyway, unless their fly cutter was bigger ,or were using a very big face mill on an equally big machine.

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Quite often a miller will remove an insert from a face mill and put in a "wiper insert ". Thats maybe what the lad who made the cutter was thinking of. It certainly works on big face mills, but as Michael remarked it might be a problem with the swarf getting dragged around in the home made cutter.

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Gee I would have liked to have replied to this from home…. unfortunatly I am laid up for a few days.

Anyway last week I made a fly cutter for my vertical mill. I used a piece of scrap a shaft coupling with a diameter of 180mm, thickness of 20mm plus the 65mm boss that fitted on the shaft. It had sat in the scrap steel rack for years, unloved covered in light oily rust. there were 2x 20mm holes through disk fitted with drive pins, these I pressed out.

My 40 yo mill has a 40int taper spindle so a piece of bar was taper turned and drive lugs cut to drive the disk securly when complete it was press fitted to the disk. yes the tool is quite heavy.

But this story is not about the tool it is about the results, I have a couple of small fly cutters. I have never been completely happy with them, there was always a bit of chatter, the finish was good but not great.

This tool is a game changer. The swarf comes off like fine steel wool with light cuts the swarf almost floats in the air. The tool i used was carbide hand ground brazed to a piece of 12mm bar about 24mm long overall I set it in a bored hole with a setscrew to lock it in a 3/4 bolt head about a .5mm tip radius

Speed about 145 rpm with a fine feed close to mirror finish. coarser feeds no problem

I have seen these flywheel type fly cutters on you tube before cutting cylinder heads and the like…… hmm why did I not make one before? this one will will be used all the time.

When I get out of hospital (Not serious) will post some photos,

Regards John

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