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With the head meticulously aligned parallel.
How to mill a flat surface
May 29, 2008
29 Replies
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Didn't you buy a Clausing lathe from some old guy?
I sold it a long time ago, it was a very tiny old lathe.
End mill - solid carbide or inserts? It makes a difference. The solid carbide mills have a decent rake angle, and can be quite sharp. Usually, the inserts aren't.
Was the surface ground to begin with, or as-cast? If as-cast, you may have not been getting under the scale and hard surface.
Might also try upping the RPM.
John Martin
Far too hard to control, and will likely make such a small surface humped.
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I have had to flatten a few 2"-5" pieces of mild steel recently.
FWIW, here is what works for me:
1) Sanding attachment in angle grinder - 40, 80, 120, 220 grit till I am happy it is flat 2) Clean up with *palm* sander 60 (sometimes skip), 120, 220, 320, 400 grit. 3) I love my 4x36" belt sander but for this job it did not work as well as the above.Here is what you do. Get ahold of a big ass hammer and wail the tar out of it for half an hour. It will look used, useful, and you will never know the difference. Shoot for a heart rate of 80 or so.
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Take lots of little cuts instead of feeding the full width of the cutter
What kind of milling machine do you have? My experience with a smallish Clausing mill has been that a flycutter or shell mill taking a wide but very shallow cut gives the best finish, as long as the non-moving table and quill clamps are tight.
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