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Tool Face Mill recommendations please

Tool
slow-poke

slow-poke

Ultra Member
I would like to purchase a face mill about 2" or 50mm with carbide inserts to use in my LC30 (MT3) mill.

It would be more convenient if this could simply be mounted within a ER25 collet, however I would imagine that the MT3 mount would be more sturdy and give better surface finish.

Suggestions for depth of cut and feed speed (aluminum and mild steel) will also be helpful.

thanks SP
 
I can't really help with speeds and feeds. I only use a face mill for finishing a big surface - not heavy cuts.

But I am REALLY HAPPY with the face mills I bought from accusize.

accusizetools.com

90 Degree R8 Shank Indexable End Mills with APKT1604 Carbide Inserts

The Indexable Milling Cutters is typically for the following tools and solutions: Indexable Milling Cutters, Indexable Square-Shoulder End Mills, indexable square-shoulder end mills, etc.
accusizetools.com accusizetools.com

These are R8 but they have MT3 too. I have them in 1, 2, & 3 inch diameters and can use the same inserts in all of them.

They have done a great job for me so far.
 
Susquatch said:
I can't really help with speeds and feeds. I only use a face mill for finishing a big surface - not heavy cuts.

But I am REALLY HAPPY with the face mills I bought from accusize.

accusizetools.com

90 Degree R8 Shank Indexable End Mills with APKT1604 Carbide Inserts

The Indexable Milling Cutters is typically for the following tools and solutions: Indexable Milling Cutters, Indexable Square-Shoulder End Mills, indexable square-shoulder end mills, etc.
accusizetools.com accusizetools.com

These are R8 but they have MT3 too. I have them in 1, 2, & 3 inch diameters and can use the same inserts in all of them.

They have done a great job for me so far.
Click to expand...
I'm about to order, if you had to pick just one of the 1, 2 or 3" diameters, which one would you choose?
 
slow-poke said:
I would like to purchase a face mill about 2" or 50mm with carbide inserts to use in my LC30 (MT3) mill.

It would be more convenient if this could simply be mounted within a ER25 collet, however I would imagine that the MT3 mount would be more sturdy and give better surface finish.
Click to expand...
As convenient as it will seem, I wouldn't recommend mounting anything indexable in a collet.

Depending on what you are machining... Have you looking into a feed mill type with say 3 or 4 inserts?

That's a number of inserts lol, how much HP does your mill have.
 
little ol' e said:
As convenient as it will seem, I wouldn't recommend mounting anything indexable in a collet.

Depending on what you are machining... Have you looking into a feed mill type with say 3 or 4 inserts?

That's a number of inserts lol, how much HP does your mill have.
Click to expand...

1.5HP. with VFD

I will skip the thought of a collet mount and get one with MT3 taper

feed mill type? Not sure what you mean by that, I'm guessing that's different than what Susquatch posted above?
 
I wouldn't go bigger than 2" with 4 inserts in that style of indexable milling with 1.5hp in steels.
Mild steel I wouldn't take more than a .03 DOC depending on the radius @ 500 rpm with a feed of 15 IPM for starters, just to see how things shake out and how tight everything is.
Aluminum, you'll need a different grade insert to achieve good results and surface finish.

I don't know how to post tooling from other sites here like @susquach does, however, with 1.5hp I think you would be better to look at a feedmill type body and inserts. ( Less HP required and much nicer to machine with...)
That's just my opinion.
 
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These are the ones I have for my round column, you can buy just an arbor then the shell mill portion is quite a big cheaper, allowing you to buy different sizes will different insert styles to suit your needs

The only one I wouldn't recommend is that black accusize one with the triangular flat inserts, that insert style is garbage

I can't give any advice on feeds and speeds

IMG_20230220_130948_703.jpg
 
X2 with what @phaxtris posted... other than the triangular indexable insert that he does mention isn't the greatest and I wouldn't use them anymore myself.
The others would be a great start for facing.
The others that are posted above in the Accusize offerings are more for milling IMO. You could face with them but not really recommended with that style insert.

A 2" in the style that @phaxtris posted, I would start with 800 RPM, .015 DOC @ 15 IPM and see where that takes you on rigidity and surface finish.
Ingersoll would be worth taking a look at depending on how much you want to spend, Seco also works ok in a hobby environment.
 
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seems like i hit a nerve, yea it works, but it sucks compared to the other 3, and i paid almost as much for that one cutter as i did for the other 3 shell mills and arbor

i paid 109$ + gst for the black accusize on amazon

vs

32$ for the arbor (amazon), 20$ for the 40mm (ali), 32$ for the 50mm (ali) , and 39$ for the 63mm (ali) = 123$ no tax
 
slow-poke said:
I'm about to order, if you had to pick just one of the 1, 2 or 3" diameters, which one would you choose?
Click to expand...

2" is prolly max for your mill and that's what I would get if I were you. I like the rectangular inserts in the photo I provided above. The triangular ones might provide a better value but I like the chips from the tooth profile on the rectangular ones better. Pick your poison.

Maybe my earlier note wasn't obvious, but I'd go with an MT3 Arbour not a collet.

You can get a few smaller ones later that use the same inserts.
 
phaxtris said:
seems like i hit a nerve, yea it works, but it sucks compared to the other 3, and i paid almost as much for that one cutter as i did for the other 3 shell mills and arbor

i paid 109$ + gst for the black accusize on amazon

vs

32$ for the arbor (amazon), 20$ for the 40mm (ali), 32$ for the 50mm (ali) , and 39$ for the 63mm (ali) = 123$ no tax
Click to expand...

@slow-poke , This is the way I would go also... I don't know of (ali) but they look as good as Ingersoll or Seco for much less $$$
 
Just because your facemill has places for four inserts doesn't mean that you have to use all of them! For larger units I don't have the horsepower to use 4 inserts so just use 2. My most used is a 50mm four insert unit with only two inserts. I have a 4-inch facemill that takes 5 inserts but I use only 1 insert. Yes, it is out of balance but causes negligible vibration due to the weight of the body.

I agree that there are better choices than triangular inserts. SEHT inserts have four edges and give an almost mirror finish in aluminum. APGT/ APKT/ APMT inserts have two edges, work well and are very cheap on eBay.
 
I'm going to go with a 2" or 50mm, MT3 taper, 4 insert

45 or 90 degree?

I wouldn't go bigger than 2" with 4 inserts in that style of indexable milling with 1.5hp in steels.
little ol' e said:
Mild steel I wouldn't take more than a .03 DOC depending on the radius @ 500 rpm with a feed of 15 IPM for starters, just to see how things shake out and how tight everything is.
Aluminum, you'll need a different grade insert to achieve good results and surface finish.

I don't know how to post tooling from other sites here like @susquach does, however, with 1.5hp I think you would be better to look at a feedmill type body and inserts. ( Less HP required and much nicer to machine with...)
That's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

little o' e, I'm not sure what you mean by feedmill type body and inserts?


Perhaps, something like this?
Although they don't specify the draw bar thread, need to make sure it's 3/8-16, I might be better to order separately to be sure. Looks like it's actually M12 thread so that would be a problem.

Taidda Face End Mill,Face End Mill MT3-FMB22 Holder Extension 400R-50-22 Face End Mill Cutter 10pcs APMT1604 CNC Carbide Inserts for Plate Cutting Heavy CNC Milling Cutting : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific

Taidda Face End Mill,Face End Mill MT3-FMB22 Holder Extension 400R-50-22 Face End Mill Cutter 10pcs APMT1604 CNC Carbide Inserts for Plate Cutting Heavy CNC Milling Cutting : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.ca
 
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slow-poke said:
I wouldn't go bigger than 2" with 4 inserts in that style of indexable milling with 1.5hp in steels.


little o' e, I'm not sure what you mean by feedmill type body and inserts?


Perhaps, something like this?

Taidda Face End Mill,Face End Mill MT3-FMB22 Holder Extension 400R-50-22 Face End Mill Cutter 10pcs APMT1604 CNC Carbide Inserts for Plate Cutting Heavy CNC Milling Cutting : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific

Taidda Face End Mill,Face End Mill MT3-FMB22 Holder Extension 400R-50-22 Face End Mill Cutter 10pcs APMT1604 CNC Carbide Inserts for Plate Cutting Heavy CNC Milling Cutting : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.ca
Click to expand...
For sure, no bigger than 2" 45 deg.
The cutter you posted isn't a feed mill style, hopefully someone here can post something so you can have a look.
I'm not at the shop for several days this week so I won't be able to post what I use until later in the week possibly.
Feed mill inserts are better for milling over the square style insert with low HP.
 
i use that 40mm the most, if i had that 50 on the arbor i would probably use it the most, but not bigger for general use

i believe the sekt (square) inserts require less rigidity than the apmt (rectangular) ? or maybe its the other way around? one puts more force up, and the other puts more force laterally, but at 50mm either will work for you, the rectangular inserts will allow you to mill up to a corner, if that matters to you
 
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