Making the Most Versatile Fly Cutter - Shop Made Tools

The Most Versatile Fly Cutter - Shop Made Tools.
Not all Fly Cutters are made equal!
Inspired by other builds, particularly by Brandon at Inheritance Machining, this 250mm beast comes with options. It has multiple tooling compatibility with shop made tool blocks as well as commercially available 25mm tooling. It can be configured to cut from 100mm to 250mm in diameter and, and it can be reversed.
TPMR, TPMN, SEKT insert holders are made in this build, other options of TNMG and WNMG along with HSS tool blocks can be added later.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:38 Titles
00:50 Machining the riser blocks
02:15 Installing the 4 Jaw Chuck risers
03:50 Marking the Risers
04:15 Machining & measuring the risers
05:30 Machining the plate
07:35 Setting the plate up in the Mill
07:50 Machining the slots
09:10 Machining the plate for the Arbor drive dogs
09:47 Engraving scales on the plate
11:16 Colouring the engraved scales
12:50 Machining the cutter blocks
13:30 Cutting the clamp caps
14:05 Drilling and tapping
15:07 Machining the SEKT cutter block
16:20 Machining the TPMR cutter block
19:35 D rilling the clamp caps
20:00 Making the insert clamps
21:20 Making the counterweights
22:20 The first weigh-in
23:22 Machining the counterweights
24:10 The final weigh-in
25:10 Removing the 4 Jaw stand offs
25:25 Machining a new Arbor clamp
28:10 The Powerfile!
28:50 Blueing the parts
30:05 Assembling the cutter blocks
31:30 Engraving the counterweights
32:10 Engraving the clamp caps
32:50 Assembling the finished Fly Cutter
33:40 Test run making chips!
37:50 Assessments
39:13 End

[@theoutbackshed]

I wanted this Fly Cutter to be big enough to handle any project I might want to do in the future. But versatility has to be the biggest feature. I made counterweights for each cutter block and machined them to the same weight, and with the engraving on the plate, I can set them accurately to provide the best balance at higher speeds. This is a Fly Cutter with real flexibility. I've been listening to your comments and done some work with improving the soundtrack and making them easier on the ear.

[@Argosh]

Ironically it's also quite rigid.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks, It is rigid. Cheers

[@ronmillis8143]

Awesome job mate. Given the size, you could almost make the entire thing into a four cutter face cutter. Especially if you have large surfaces where concentricity is essential. The size of the table needed would be massive though. What it also shows or it gives inspiration into a hobbyist machinists designing of tools. So thanks again.

[@tates11]

For the optimum finish try round button inserts. The toolholder is simple, they have lots of cutting edges and they are available in high shear Aluminum grades. To further improve finish, productivity and wear on the spindle bearings, set the cutting diameter slightly larger than the width of the work. This gives a much softer tip engagement and allows a faster spindle speed.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. I like your ideas. I must include a round button insert. I also agree with your comments on size. That's one reason I made the fly cutter adjustable. Cheers SteveO

[@HexenzirkelZuluhed]

Yes, I can see the similarity to Brandon's design. This however is great in different ways. I'm once again impressed by the production quality of your videos. You deserve quite a lot more views!

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment and for the compliment. Cheers

[@4GibMe]

Yet, another high quality, precision build by Mr. Outback. Well done kind Sir.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks, Cheers

[@jasonhull5712]

That’s a wonderful fly cutter ! Far better than the $800 + one from suburban tool. So meticulously designed and manufactured. Incredibly talented machinist!

[@theoutbackshed]

Thank you for your comment and compliments. Cheers SteveO

[@jasonhull5712]

I’ve machined a 10” fly cutter and arbor. Now it’s just a matter of sorting out the cutter design. I’ve revisited this build video for more inspiration and I really like the design of the cutter/ counterweight combo. I would like to build something similar. The inserts are a little different. But the overall design is amazing. I will probably return and watch this a few more times. You make it look too easy Sir ! Have a good day my friend. 🍻

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comments Jason. I did put a lot of thought into the design of the counterweight system and I must admit that it has exceeded my expectations. As the plate is 250mm in diameter and 30mm thick, an aluminium plate is fine, it has enough mass to to cut effectively. If it was 200mm or less, steel or cast iron would be the go. Matching a counterweight to each cutter block and having an engraved references scale means that I can achieve a measured balance and be able to spin it at higher rpm without vibration. Future insert options including HSS are planned for a future expansion of this project. Cheers SteveO

[@joewhitney4097]

Great project with a lot of versatility, quality and thought. Thank you for sharing.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment and glad you liked it. Cheers SteveO

[@alanshomeworkshop]

Nice work SteveO and a great addition to your shop toolkit. Thanks for sharing.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks mate. Cheers SteveO

[@blahanger4304]

4:24 as a bassist I approve of this method ;)

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. The slo-mo did show the interesting sound indicating the differences in the height of the risers. I increased the volume on this part to highlight it. Cheers SteveO

[@dazaspc]

Nice job as usual. Unusual choice using aluminum as with steel there is a much better flywheel affect due to the weight and the cut improves due to a more stable surface speed but there isn't much in it if you turn up the speed. If you are making additional tip holders you might want to make one to suit a APMT style tip. They are high rate tips usually but come in a variety of rakes, compounds , nose radius and finishes. The good thing about these is their cost. Depending on the source they can be under a dollar each (Alibarber). They were usually found on multiple tip milling cutters. They will carry the added benefit of being a milling tip to start with so making the holders will be a lot less messing around with angles and such. I have made a tool holder to use these as a turning tool and been very happy with the results for light to medium duty machining. I have seen remarkable results using round tips as well.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. Aluminium is all I had and I think I will get enough inertia out of it for my purposes. The plate is 30mm thick and has a good mass (I haven.t weighed it). I have some APMT inserts, they are in some of my boring bars and the 50mm face mill which I used in the video. It might make an interesting project to make a cutter block for them. I'll have a think about that. Cheers SteveO

[@wyattselleck7236]

Liked and Subscribed.

[@theoutbackshed]

Welcome aboard. Cheers

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday, great build, I’ve often thought about making something similar but never gotten around to it, cheers

[@theoutbackshed]

Hi Matty, thanks for the comment. I would love to see your build of a Fly Cutter. Cheers SteveO

[@edisher]

Отличная работа!

[@theoutbackshed]

Thank you and Cheers

[@thepagan5432]

Good job 👍

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks mate. Cheers

[@PhilipLeitch]

You didn't even cut a fly. My fly swatter swats flies. My fly spray sprays flies. By fly screen screens out flies. But your fly cutter didn't cut a fly. Also, thanks. This looks like an amazing build and I would love to take on a challenge like this.

[@theoutbackshed]

Great comment. thanks, Cheers SteveO

[@MachiningandMicrowaves]

I've been trying an aluminium flycutter filled with melted lead to try to dampen resonances in my Bridgeport, but the lack of rigidity in the aluminium body with the impact shocks from the interrupted cut still end up making some very slight ripples in the surface finish at the beginning of each cut. Mostly because the workpiece is Tellurium Copper rather than a free-machining steel or aluminium. Part of that's from the bendy little R8 fixing of course. I'm thinking of making one from a cast iron weightlifting plate!

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. I need to do some experimenting with materials , speeds and feeds, the results I got on the day were pleasing and I showed these as best I could including with the microscope. By the way, I am a subscriber and a big fan of your works. I'm planning a future project to build a lantern chuck based on your design, I will of course credit yourself with the inspiration for that, keep watching. Cheers SteveO

[@MachiningandMicrowaves]

@@theoutbackshed Your results show no sign of the ripples I was getting, probably because you have a proper solid spindle attachment. The rest is down to cutter geometry and feeds and speeds as you say. I tried a button insert, but the best result I got on copper and aluminium were from a 0.8 mm radius CCGT running at about the same settings recommended by the manufacturer for surface speed and chip load. Problem was that the impact ripples were too bad, so I had to drop the depth of cut, so the dynamics of the cut were less than ideal. On aluminium it was very close to decent, but not like the mirror finish that a really solid machine could manage. I started to worry about the strength of the disk and whether the lead might fly out and whack me in the chest, so I went back to using a big face mill with a single insert. It'sll be interesting to see what I can achieve with the SYIL X5.

[@MachiningandMicrowaves]

@@theoutbackshed If you make a lantern chuck with the end collet like mine, I'd recommend making the collet without a central hole and drilling/reaming them in place with a hollow spacer in place of a screw, and marking the radial position with a scribe line or dot as there's always a little runout with the brass nut.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the reply, sounds like a plan. Cheers SteveO

[@tates11]

To reduce impact shocks either set the cutter diameter to slightly larger than your part width. Alternatively, move the cutter so the impact edge of the part is just inside the insert perimeter. Both allow the insert to gradually engage with the part. This greatly reduces the impact and the initial ripple. Try to get the tool to start to cut at almost parallel with the X axis.

[@AndreLuiz-gk1mf]

This video could be interesting.

[@ronmillis8143]

Croc dundee, thats not a fly xutter, now thats a flycutter..😂

[@theoutbackshed]

I like that.....

[@turtlemann14]

need to get some polished micro grain inserts for al. most of the gold coatings I have used bond with the al and make it tear without wd40 or kero on it. as for feed, less than half the nose radius of the insert.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. That's good advice. Cheers SteveO

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing. Have you tried a high speed shear tool with a lite depth pass? Or a sharpened carbide insert?

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. I have only done what you have seen, I need to do some experimenting with speeds and feeds and on different materials. Cheers SteveO

[@opieshomeshop]

*_Good design. Im just not a fan of using aluminum. My mill has an R8 spindle so my fly cutter whenever I make mine can't be that big. But Ill certainly be considering this video when I do make mine._*

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for that, looking forward to watching your build on video. Cheers SteveO

[@be007]

nice flycutter. btw, all your machines look very beautiful and neat ! I think you are very careful with your machines? cheers ben.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. Cheers SteveO

[@cdrive5757]

Uh. I believe you more than satisfied the requirements set down in your Pinned comment. Yowza! 👌🖖 Wakodahatchee Chris

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks mate. Cheers SteveO

[@christophercullen1236]

Does anyone know where the Outback Shed is ?

[@gorak9000]

I'll take obvious answers for $800, Trebek

[@ttnd3d_387]

Great! But You can use another insetrt material for milling aluminium. Make test at steel. Must be more best.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment, I'll be using it on steel in an upcoming project, stay tuned. Cheers SteveO

[@ttnd3d_387]

@@theoutbackshed OK )

[@HeathLedgersChemist]

Nice job, looks the goods. Small point WRT the scales; they are precise to 1 gram, not necessarily accurate to 1 gram. Accuracy != precision.

[@seapy2398]

For comparison that should not matter?

[@HeathLedgersChemist]

@@seapy2398Yes, it absolutely matters. They are not the same thing. Say the scales display to 3 decimal places (precision) but were only accurate to 1 decimal place, if you don't understand that, then it can cause problems.

[@HeathLedgersChemist]

@@seapy2398Re-reading your reply, it matters very much in this case because the assumption that the scales are accurate to 1g is being made, and that is not necessarily the case.

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. I wasn't trying to achieve a specific weight, I machined the cutter blocks and the weights were what they were. My objective was to machine each counterweigh to match each cutter block. The table on the scale reads 500g x 1g. This infers that the scales average half a gram over and half a gram under. So, it's possible for a cutter block to be 124.5g, and the counterweight to be 125.4g and both would register at 125g on the scale. This would be due to the scale rounding the values to the closest display digit. Therefore it's possible that there could but up to 0.9g difference in the final weight between the cutter block and the counterweight. I don't think this would cause any balance issues during use and I can easily compensate by offsetting the mount against the scales if needed. I haven't seen anyone else match the weights or place a scale to maximise alignment. Hope this explains my intentions. Cheers SteveO

[@snorttroll4379]

what is tpmr?

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks for the comment. TPMR is a class of carbide insert. Used mostly in turning but also useful for milling some materials. They are different to a TPMN which is mostly used for milling. I see them as both interchangeable depending on materials. Here is a link to them: www.machineryhouse.com.au/l061 www.machineryhouse.com.au/l066 Hope this helps, Cheers SteveO

[@sinchrotron]

Aluminium? Why not plywood? :)

[@MrPhatNOB]

HAHA!

[@gorak9000]

Why not cardboard, or cardboard derivatives??

[@sinchrotron]

@@gorak9000 good point!

[@ronmillis8143]

Then why not solid carbide? But hey even then, there's gonna be someone say: what didn't ya build it out of cast titanium, bronze, brass, tin even...

[@madmodder123]

Do want

[@theoutbackshed]

Thanks