End Mills: The Answer to my Prayers

[John TenEyck]

I ordered a 3-7/16" L x 3/4" dia 2 flute center cutting end mill with a 5/8" shank from McMaster Carr, the cheapest one I could find in that size, about $30. BTW, I ordered it yesterday afternoon at 2:45 PM and it arrived via UPS this afternoon at 3:30 PM, along with several other items. Amazing service those guys. Anyway, I couldn't wait to try the thing so I ran down to the basement and chucked it into my Mini Max J/P. That 5/8" shank just fit into the 16 mm Wescott Chuck. Turned it on and made a 1-1/2" deep mortise about 3" long easy peasy, beautifully smooth with no chatter. I only took 1/16" - 1/8" cuts just to be safe. The resultant mortise was as smooth as those I cut with my router and a spiral upcut bit. It measured almost exactly 0.75" which proves there was no chattering going on. The bit stayed tight in the chuck.

My next move is to look for a 5/8" end mill of the same style that will give me a 2-1/2 - 3" cutting depth. That should be sufficient for most passage door applications. If that works OK I will have resolved my issues with what bits to use with my J/P mortiser.

John

[Peter Quinn]

Glad to hear that worked out. I'd love to try them but have not been able to find left cutting roughing mills, my mortiser is left rotation so standard end mills don't work.

[Randy Rose]

[QUOTE=John McMaster Carr Amazing service those guys.

John[/QUOTE]

Agreed, outstanding service in every respect and the easiest to navigate site I have ever used. You can "drill down" to even an obscure item in mere minutes.

[Jeff Duncan]

Yup;)

JeffD

[Larry Copas]

McMaster Carr = outstanding search engine and fastest of them all. Amazon should take note along with the others.

I've been using end mills for years in both hand held and overarm routers when I needed an extra long cutter. For occasional use HSS works well.

[John TenEyck]

Glad to hear that worked out. I'd love to try them but have not been able to find left cutting roughing mills, my mortiser is left rotation so standard end mills don't work.

Peter, can't you put a reversing switch on your mortiser?

John

[Peter Quinn]

Peter, can't you put a reversing switch on your mortiser?

John

Nope. Would have to change motors. It's. Non reversible 220v motor, no access to start windings, tried to go that route. I have no problem getting left cutting slot mortise bits because some dual head machines have one head right and one head left off the same pulley, so it's more typical. Doweling drill bits haven't been an issue either. But left cutting end mills...seem to be a very rare bird in the sizes I would require.

[Davis Young]

I was trained to do mortises for slip tenons on end mills chucked up in a horizontal boring machine. Didn't even use hold downs or templates. Very fast but harrowing when first trying it. I live about 20 minutes from a McMaster-Carr warehouse so usually I place my order at home and then immediately head out to their will call. I have yet to beat their order pickers.

[Ray Newman]

Been using end mills for over 15 year and they work very well. Mainly utilize the 1/4' and 1/2" shank end mills and a few 3/8".

At one time, Porter-cable offered a 3/8" collet for their router series. Believe it is now discontinued, but some suppliers still may have it in stock.

[Curt Harms]

Been using end mills for over 15 year and they work very well. Mainly utilize the 1/4' and 1/2" shank end mills and a few 3/8".

At one time, Porter-cable offered a 3/8" collet for their router series. Believe it is now discontinued, but some suppliers still may have it in stock.


3/8" is still shown on Porter-Cable's web site. 8 mm while they seem to be available are pricey - around $30 - compared to 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 collets. I wonder why. They just don't sell many?

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

At one time, Porter-cable offered a 3/8" collet for their router series. Believe it is now discontinued, but some suppliers still may have it in stock.

http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-42975-8-Inch-Router-Collet/dp/B00004TRA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448541807&sr=8-1&keywords=porter+cable+3%2F8+collet

Here's an aftermarket source for PC collets in a variety of sizes.

http://www.elairecorp.com/portercablecollets.html