# Which milling cutter for V groove??



## miker (Jan 27, 2010)

I recently purchased a RF 45 copy and stocked up on End Mills, Slot drills. and Ball Nose endmills from CTC.

My question. Is their a cutter that will cut a V groove with a Vertical Mill?

I have done this with a Horizontal Mill at college with no problem.

Would the cutter for a Vertical Mill look something like a Countersink? I can't see one in the catalogues or 
on CTC's site. 

Rgds

Michael


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## Tin Falcon (Jan 27, 2010)

MELIN Drill Mill

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=131&PARTPG=INLMK32
Tin


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## Blogwitch (Jan 27, 2010)

Michael,

To answer your question, yes you can get angled tipped milling cutters. I have a few in my arsenal.

Usually, at least on the ones I have, they don't go down to a sharp point, but end in a hole like in the end of an end mill. So really, when doing a 'V' groove, you normally put a small slot along the bottom of the cut to allow what is sitting in the slot to sit nicely against the 'V' sides.

The C-o-C should explain what I was on about.

Blogs

Posted at the same time as Tin's. His show them going to a point.


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## miker (Jan 27, 2010)

Ahh... I thought that little flat relief was milled as a second operation
with an ordinary endmill.

Many thanks for the replies and C o C


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## Lew_Merrick_PE (Jan 27, 2010)

I find that a double-angle cutter (probably the same type you used on a horizontal milling machine) mounted on an appropriate arbor is the best solution for milling an angled-sided slot. The center of the V-tipped end mills is highly inefficient at removing material as it has a nearly zero SFM rate.


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## Stan (Jan 27, 2010)

For 90° grooves, use a regular end mill with the workpiece at 45° or the head tilted to 45°.


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## Lew Hartswick (Jan 28, 2010)

Stan  said:
			
		

> For 90° grooves, use a regular end mill with the workpiece at 45° or the head tilted to 45°.


That works just fine for a single V groove BUT when you want two Vs separated by
an exact amount it gets VERY tricky. Sure it can be done and I have done it but as 
I just said it is DIFFICULT!  So I just got two, one a carbide, V cutters from ENCO
and they work a dream. I used the HSS one in Aluminum and the carbide one in steel 
for a sliding fixture I just made a few weeks ago. 
  ...lew...


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## shred (Jan 29, 2010)

Lew_Merrick_PE  said:
			
		

> I find that a double-angle cutter (probably the same type you used on a horizontal milling machine) mounted on an appropriate arbor is the best solution for milling an angled-sided slot. The center of the V-tipped end mills is highly inefficient at removing material as it has a nearly zero SFM rate.


To phrase this another way, a friend of mine said "You can't spin a V-cutter fast enough".


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