Milling rig idea for help and criticism. (1 Viewer)

[Johnblue]

Putting this up, for advice and peoples milling experiences, also to share the idea so maybe people can help develop it further later.

So I have three large sets to mill, and I bought a drill press, and I have the bit, the last thing to deal with is the mounting rig. I’ve seen some pretty cool set ups, but I am looking to go for efficiency and speed.

So hopefully in the next couple days I’ll be able to test this out, this is just the rough idea, and I think I am on to something.

Rubber, rubber and more rubber.

I bought this 12”x4” piece of rubber, thick 1/4 inch. and the first thing I did was cut it into thirds.

then I was thinking how can I make it “grab” the chip. and make it easy to get in and out, but secure and precise enough that I’ll get repeatable work. after playing around with a chip and the rubber I realized that recessing it in the center of one of the straight edges would give me enough grab around the diameter. I used tin snip type scissors and they got the job done, but kind of cut sloppy And on an angle, making the underside a tad bit wider, I flipped it so the wider side is now on top and the bottom where the chip grabs is exact. It’s actually a tad bit smaller than the chip but the rubber “gives” a bit and you can feel it when the chip has fully and properly entered the recess.

I don’t know if it’s just kismet or what, but the chip literally clicks into this space it is as snug as a bug.

still have to glue these pieces together and mount it on a wood bottom and figure out how to properly mount that to the drill plate.

but, I think I am on to something... she ain’t pretty yet, but I think this is going to do just fine. I have enough rubber to do it again with a proper exacto and if I were going to order some rubber to do this again, I think 1/8 thick would have been plenty thick, easier to cut and made it cleaner.

also, I think after playing with all this, if I leave just a few MM of the chip hanging over the edge it will make it that much easier to get in and out.

 

[slisk250]

here is what I had setup a few years back. If my crappy press had a good feature of controlling depth I had a winning setup...but sent it all to gear to get it right...and boy did he do a great job.

I took a jig I had to glue lumber together at 90 degrees, the square piece is loose and holds the chip in place well. Easy to quickly change chips. The whole thing is clamped to the press to keep things centered as you can see.

 

[toynoob]

Can you post a link to the bit you are using?

 

[slisk250]

Can you post a link to the bit you are using?

No idea. Bought it a long time ago

 

[toynoob]

No idea. Bought it a long time ago

Do you know the brand by any chance and size?

 

[Darson]

I will be doing the same thing - I have all the tools just haven't gotten around to setting it all up. For me there are three issues that the rig needs to solve:
1, stop the chip from spinning when the bit hits it. If the chip spins, it's not being cut and may pop out.
2, allow a controllable depth of cut - I want to mill just enough for the label but no more than necessary.
3, repeat-ability - keep each subsequent chip in exactly the same place as the previous one

Based on the above, I plan on using a very thin gripping layer under the chip. I worry that the vertical pressure from the bit will depress the chip into the foam and make the depth of cut less controllable.

 

[slisk250]

Do you know the brand by any chance and size?

next summer I can check...its in Denver and I'm not.

 

[Eloe2000]

I did something slightly similar, but I used sheets of silicon for the bottom and then lined the sides of a piece of wood that I bore out.

However, what I realized Is that precision was the key. The silicon gave a little bit too much. Which quite frankly wasn’t a lot, but still gave too much variance. And depending on the hotstamps you are milling you need to be perfect. So in the end I tore out the silicon and just used a piece of wood in my other hand to hold the chip firmly into place borrowing from the principal that @slisk250 is using here.

I only did two racks initially for a frac project but i was up to a speed 30min per rack. I now have a 500 chip project I am about to mill next week and I am assembling an even larger cash set milling project for the future.

 

[Eloe2000]

Do you know the brand by any chance and size?

For THC chips you want a 7/8” bottom cleaning bit. What you want to find is a bit with a completely flat bore, not convex. The Magnate 2712 bit gives great results:

Magnate 2712 Surface Planing (Bottom Cleaning) Router Bit - 7/8" Cutting Diameter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093C1XKM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_bgzYDbYEM7091

 

[toynoob]

For THC chips you want a 7/8” bottom cleaning bit. What you want to find is a bit with a completely flat bore, not convex. The Magnate 2712 bit gives great results:

Magnate 2712 Surface Planing (Bottom Cleaning) Router Bit - 7/8" Cutting Diameter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093C1XKM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_bgzYDbYEM7091

Thanks so much!

 

[toynoob]

For THC chips you want a 7/8” bottom cleaning bit. What you want to find is a bit with a completely flat bore, not convex. The Magnate 2712 bit gives great results:

Magnate 2712 Surface Planing (Bottom Cleaning) Router Bit - 7/8" Cutting Diameter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093C1XKM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_bgzYDbYEM7091

Just purchased one, can't wait to get my fracs sexy

 

[slisk250]

With a soft hand and my jig, there was no problems with spinning chips. Just put some side pressure on it.

 

[Johnblue]

Magnate 2712 was what was suggested. Got it on eBay or Amazon I think. About 20 bucks.

what’s this waxy goo on it?

 

[toynoob]

Magnate 2712 was what was suggested. Got it on eBay or Amazon I think. About 20 bucks.

what’s this waxy goo on it?
View attachment 365035View attachment 365036View attachment 365038

To protect the bit from chipping

 

[Eloe2000]

Yep, just drill a test hole in soft wood and it will come off.

 

[Eloe2000]

This was a 1" bit on the roulette mold, but still the same setup after I took out the silicone edging in my mount.

 

[Thomacetti]

Great bit....milled about 1K chips and still sharp like new

 

[toynoob]

This was a 1" bit on the roulette mold, but still the same setup after I took out the silicone edging in my mount.

View attachment 365068
View attachment 365069

Looks amazing can you explain the process of how to stop the bit from going to deep? Was there a jig? Was it l free hand?

(Feck off out of contexters...)

 

[Davism72]

Working on this myself right now. I originally wanted something much more elaborate with a hinge, latch, silicone-type material, etc, but now I really think that less is more. I'll be doing something like what @slisk250 posted -- fixed 90 degree angle and a free-floating block to push. The milling itself happens incredibly quickly, but what will take up real time is flipping and swapping chips. For speed's sake, you should do everything in your power to make getting the chip into place easy.

 

[Davism72]

And I got the same magnate bit. Just a heads up that it leaves a bump in the center of the mill that is noticeable through the label. Other than that, it's great.

 

[toynoob]

And I got the same magnate bit. Just a heads up that it leaves a bump in the center of the mill that is noticeable through the label. Other than that, it's great.

....what's the work around for that?

 

[Eloe2000]

Looks amazing can you explain the process of how to stop the bit from going to deep? Was there a jig? Was it l free hand?

(Feck off out of contexters...)

Are you a familiar with drill presses? You have to apply pressure for the drill to “press”, so it doesn’t continue to press unless stopped. The wheel handle has a low (or is it high?) relation to the drill depth so you have a good degree of manual precision to simply eyeball the depth.

 

[Eloe2000]

Looks amazing can you explain the process of how to stop the bit from going to deep? Was there a jig? Was it l free hand?

(Feck off out of contexters...)

 

[The Nuts]

And I got the same magnate bit. Just a heads up that it leaves a bump in the center of the mill that is noticeable through the label. Other than that, it's great.

Is there a bit that doesnt leave a bump?

 

[Davism72]

Is there a bit that doesnt leave a bump?

I honestly don't know. I only own the one bit, and it's the one that everyone recommends. I'd guess that it's better than the others you might find.

 

[Darson]

These are spoil board surfacing bits which are designed to be used in a CNC router to create a completely flat surface when moved across the board. Since there are two cutting surfaces, these surfaces ideally would be be completely flat and in line with each other however this requires very good manufacturing tolerances. Since this may not be achievable for a cheap price, the manufacturers err on having them slope down a little - this still gives a completely flat cut when the bit is used for surfacing (right hand pic). If the bit sloped up then you would not get a flat surface and a groove would be left (left hand pic) so the manufacturer will always slope down.

Now this is not ideal for us as we are not moving the bit along, it's just being plunged down. With a sloped down bit, you get a bump in the middle where less material is cut than the edges.

I bought the magnate bit also but haven't used it yet. I'll check tonight on how flat it is. I have a diamond lapping plate so it may be possible to buff the cutting surfaces flat if the bit is slightly out.

 

[Eloe2000]

I have bits from three different makers (three sizes) I got from Amazon and the Magnate seems the flattest, but honestly all of them are flat enough.

 

[wonderpuddle]

And I got the same magnate bit. Just a heads up that it leaves a bump in the center of the mill that is noticeable through the label. Other than that, it's great.

I have the same bit. I use this blade to scrape out the raised center bump on each chip. Seems to be a decent work around though it adds a few seconds to each chip.

 

[The Nuts]

Would this bit also work? Looks like it's a 7/8 bottom cleaning bit as described above. It had prime next day shipping so I was more interested in this over the other

 

[Johnblue]

I’m about 10 sacrificed chips in and starting to look pretty good. lining up the entire rig on the platform is the hardest part so far.

I’m pretty happy with the rubber on rubber, there’s a little give right when the bit hits the chip, but I think if I speed it up a bit it won’t “jump” in that first millisecond.

need the practice and I have to secure that rig way better, need a third anchor screw at least and maybe some lock type washers or some clamps or something.