making vise clamps on the milling machine

Step 9 Finish the slot

Next I used a 3/8 inch milling cutter to turn the row of holes into an actual slot. With the spindle running, I lowered the (center-cutting) cutter down into the existing hole at one end of the slot, then moved it to the hole at the other end. I went back and forth in the slot, going down about 0.050 inch or so for each pass, until I was all the way through.

Then I widened the slot by about 0.050 or so by moving the milling cutter in a sort of spiral, cutting the full wall of the slot with a depth of cut of about 0.010 inch. I cut the spiral clockwise, to ensure that I was always conventional milling.

(Note: For the pics in this step I'm showing a clamp where I tried a shorter slot with just two holes pre-drilled. It's working fine, though I think I prefer the longer slot.)

Comments

[FleaCircusDirector]

Note: A end mill won't cut a slot exactly to size so you need to use a smaller one and machine each size in turn, just as the Doc has done here. A slot drill will cut to size and the slot could be cut in one pass.