User`s guide

Two flute end mills Four flute end mills

Two-flute end mills are used on aluminum because aluminum is easy to

machine and you can take big cuts. Two-flute end mills provide a lot of room

between the flutes for the big chips produced when making heavy cuts. But on

a mini mill, you are probably not as concerned about maximizing production,

and thus you are not taking the same big cuts that a production shop might.

Four-flute end mills can produce a slightly better finish at the same cutting

speeds because there are twice as many cutting edges, each taking off half as

much material. But again, if you are not trying to maximize production, you

can simply slow the feed rate with a 2-flute end mill for the same effect.

End mills are also classed as "center cutting" or "non–center cutting." With a

center cutting end mill, you can plunge the end mill into the work as you would

a drill. This is important if you are cutting a slot that does not extend to the

edge of the part. Center cutting end mills are easy to identify. If the flutes

meet in the middle of the end of the end mill, it is a center cutting end mill. In

some cases, one of the flutes will be longer, reaching right to the center. If the

flutes stop short of the center, leaving a space with no flutes in the center, it

is a non–center cutting end mill. Virtually all 2-flute end mills are center

cutting end mills. Currently, most 4-flute end mills are center cutting. All the

end mills that LittleMachineShop.com sells are center cutting end mills.

The 6-piece end mill sets we sell are economical starter sets. Because all the

end mills in the set have 3/8" shanks, you only need one end mill holder or

collet to use the entire set.

Work Holding

There are two main ways to hold work on a mill's table: with a vise or by

clamping the workpiece to the table. In our experience, most work can be held

in a vise. But from time to time there is a large or odd-shaped workpiece that

must be clamped to the table.

Vises

There is a range of different types of vises that you can use on a mini mill.