Machining Hard Jaws

[Müřlıń®]

Well,thats another thing I haven't tried,Ive been milling across the top of them as they would sit secured to the vise.Sounds like another thing to try is hold them vertically on parallels & mill them from the side not the top.That way I could find an endmill with good cutting flutes & maybe chewed up on the corners & use it.Thanx for all the suggestions.

 

This is the proper way to machine hard jaws..laying them flat...standing them up is not the way..that way you can get them parallel without even trying.

 

If you have an 1 1/4 2 fl inserted helimill....run it at about 1000 rpm  @ 10 ipm dry with air...

 

Remember to cut off the back side of the jaw as they are case hardened and you will cut off the hardened skin if you cut off much more than .03 so removing stock from the back won't matter.

 

Edit...if you have a holder that uses the old TPU inserts drop down the speed to about 800 and cut @ 5-6 ipm...and try to get some with a 3/32 radius....

 

This speed should work for the cheapest uncoated carbide, 2 fl 1.25 dia fly tools.

[Guyinthedesert]

He didn't specifically say a 1 in em, I did. So, buying a used surface grinder, setting it up, Learning to dress the wheel, and then grind a set of jaws is better than buying a $290 em? Let's buy something with its own unique safety concerns and maintenance requirements because an em is pricey. as I recall, he had a milling question and your advice was to buy a wore out grinder. No wonder you can't find $50 endmills. Your not looking.

Actually, if you had bothered to read the OP, he wanted to try milling them because he doesn't have a grinder. So, for $600, the problem goes away, plus he gets a grinder.

 

Oh, and I was lying. I did buy a 1" 6fl carbide em for $50, but it was out of the trunk of some guys car, and I didn't have to go looking, he came to me.

[Machineguy]

Send them over here. My nightshift guy can machine anything. Even when told not to hit the hard jaws, he does.

[Oppiz]

Another option would be to fabricate new jaws yourself and leave the Kurt jaws alone.

[tiredtoolmaker]

End or side, I would always use a junk end mill for a job like this. Even a POS will usually still cut.

[duckdogers]

a guy here happen to run into the top of our kurt jaws just last week so we machined them down with a 3in flycutter with some seco button inserts