Regrinding Ball mills

Be careful about reducing the size of such tools. When you do, you lose rake angle and chip clearance, often with results that render the tool useless for the purpose intended.

Harold

We is gonna rout out a stock fer a bbl.---Jes happen to have a new 1-1/2"

We isn't gonna get a job teaching English, that's for sho ..

GWE

I dunno, if we is in Alabama, we might have a shot :)

Sounds about right for a good clean "free float" unless you are going for the European look of wood tight to the metal.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

The feller made perfik cents to me. You danged sity fellers sure do talk funny.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Chuckle!!!

Well, if we is gonna rout out a stock fer a bbl, when you reduce the end mill as much as you suggest, you'll quickly come to understand what I said. While wood is soft, it requires lots of rake to machine without splintering, or even splitting the grain. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. When you reduce the end mill, you will have completely eliminated the rake angle, so you'll be cutting with, at best, 0 rake, I'm inclined to think it will go slightly negative, however, more or less clubbing off the material instead of cutting it. That would be akin to running your tool backwards, or nearly so. You are risking the loss of the end mill (not cheap) and the stock.

For cutting wood, there's no reason why you can't hand grind a simple tool (single flute is fine, just run it fast in a mill, which I assume you have) that has lots of rake. Give that a thought, and spare the loss of the expensive ball end mill. You can do it. I have faith in you. If you need a template to aid in grinding the desired radius, scribe one from thin stock, using a divider. Thick paper will serve for a one-time use.

Harold

Well the place I know of is not in B'ham, but its only about 80 or 90 miles south of B'ham, just south of Montgomery by about 12 miles......This fellow can grind any profile out of carbide or HSS that you can imagine, or alter an existing endmill.

If your in need of his services send me an email and I''ll tell you how to get there, his email and his phone number. His rates are more than reasonable.

My email is obtainable off my website:

============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

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