In this post I talked briefly about my milling machine. It’s one of the most important tools in my machine shop. Today let’s explore it a little further.

A milling machine is sort of like a drill press on steroids. It can cut straight lines and slots in metal with a spinning bit. The work is mounted on a table that can be precisely moved from side to side and front to back, and the cutting tool can move up and down.

The big box with the green glowing numbers is a digital readout. It displays the position of the work relative to the cutter.

As the cutting bit spins, the operator turns one of the cranks. This moves the table, which in turn moves the work piece past the cutter.

Turning the crank on the right side moves the table left and right along the X axis. The crank on the front moves the table forward and backalong the Y axis. The big 3-armed wheel on the side of the machine head moves the cutter up and down on the Z axis.

The Cutters

Tool companies keep inventing new cutters for the milling machine. But most of the time I use straight-sided, flat bottomed cutters called end mills.

From left to right we have two end mills, a rounded-corner endmill, a ball mill, a corner rounding mill, and a chamfering mill.

To hold the cutters, I use a tool inserted into the spindle called an end mill holder. These use a setscrew to firmly clamp the cutter so it can’t slip up or down in the cutter.

But remember I mentioned that a mill is a drill press on steroids? If I want to use that capability I can mount a drill chuck in place of the end mill holder. Now I get the best of both worlds!

Two sizes of end mill holder and a drill chuck. The arbors have a taper. That matches a taper inside the machine spindle, locking the two together. Consequently, the end mill rotates with the spindle.

What Can A Milling Machine Do?

I’m including a picture with some examples of items made on a milling machine. Note the flat surfaces, slots, ledges, and holes. All of those features were made on the mill. It’s an incredibly versatile machine.

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview. In future posts I plan to discuss cutting tools, work holding, and other more advanced aspects in more detail. Thanks for reading!