In the past decades I have used alcohol-ish liquids (like Spiritus or ethanol) for helping with milling/drilling aluminium but perhaps there is something around which is safer. Any suggestions?
In the US, we use WD-40. Besides Water Displacement, it's the only other thing it's good for! (Note: it is NOT a general purpose lubricant!)
Tim
For application by hand I would a 10:1 mix of WD-40 and Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF). The ATF is colored so you can see where it is at and it makes it a bit more viscous. There are also many brands of vegetable oil based cutting fluids. I like to use Kool-Mist when I'm using a mister for application. There are also many brands of misters, some will atomize the spray so finely that it creates a fog of vapor in the air that is not the best thing to breath. I switched a few years ago to the Kool-Mist mister and it was a good decision. I ran the small mill for about 5 hours today and used 250ml of coolant (you mix the Kool-Mist with water.)
I find Servisol switch cleaner works well
i'm lazy and using one kind of cutting oil for everything - actually a cheap one from local hardware store (apparently made in Germany because it states "Bohrol Schneidol" ) if taking really light cuts to aluminium on lathe or mill then not even bothered to use anything. btw using HSS tools, no carbide. on the other hand i have a really small lathe (proxxon FD150) and mill (proxxon MF70) and working on small parts only, probably that's why it works for me.
Almost anything that cools the cutting edge and provides some kind of lubrication will work. You can use WD40, vegetable oil, engine oil, Vaseline, KY jelly, etc. One thing that does not do very well is plain water.
In the US, we use WD-40. Besides Water Displacement, it's the only other thing it's good for! (Note: it is NOT a general purpose lubricant!)
Tim
I've tried WD40 and it is not nearly as good as ethanol, plus it smells and leaves a mess.
Almost anything that cools the cutting edge and provides some kind of lubrication will work. You can use WD40, vegetable oil, engine oil, Vaseline, KY jelly, etc. One thing that does not do very well is plain water.
with aluminium it is not so much about cooling, it is about preventing the gummy aluminium "welding" itself to the tool so you end up rubbing rather than cutting
That's the first time I've seen KY jelly advocated as a coolant!
Isopropanol or IPA or w/e it's called
As previously mentioned, I love the smell of kerosene in the morning, and just about any other time for that matter.
These handy little reference books below are a must have for anyone involved in the art of swarf creation in my view.
Sutton Tools AU.
http://www.suttontools.com/
A9.
It's green, it smells good, and ... it works.
That's the first time I've seen KY jelly advocated as a coolant!
Reminds me of another thought...
What's the correct feeds and speeds for human flesh? Do you think all those lucky* machinists with a missing finger might know?
*There are old machinists, and there are lucky machinists, but there are no old, lucky machinists.
On a lighter note... the correct rate seems to be up to 350 RPM... if you don't believe me, there are websites about it... <verb deleted>ing machines...
Tim
These handy little reference books below are a must have for anyone involved in the art of swarf creation in my view.
For that kind of questions I have some close relatives to turn to. I'm the occasional swarfer and most of what I do is making enclosures for electronics.
Regarding my original question: I think I'll stick to ethanol then even though it means I have to keep the door of the shed open in the winter. I'm surprised by the many answers and even snot (KY Jelly) seems to work
.
What's the correct feeds and speeds for human flesh?
I don't know about that, but here's a guy who has done some videos on machining vegetables.
(Seems like he uses WD-40 for alumin{i}um.)
https://youtu.be/ZZoXcKiHDag
ISTR Windex being mentioned over on CNCzone but I can't remember the exact situation....
I now use Kool Mist mixed with water, but before I bought the spray nozzle I used a squirt bottle filled with denatured ethanol. The squirt action knocked off the swarf, and the alcohol evaporating cooled down the work. The trouble was the headache from the ethanol fumes.
I now use Kool Mist mixed with water, but before I bought the spray nozzle I used a squirt bottle filled with denatured ethanol. The squirt action knocked off the swarf, and the alcohol evaporating cooled down the work. The trouble was the headache from the ethanol fumes.
headache? you are supposed to lubricate the parts you are milling, not yourself
Reminds me of another thought...
What's the correct feeds and speeds for human flesh? Do you think all those lucky* machinists with a missing finger might know?
The figure quoted to me when I did my chainsaw qualification was roughly 4.5 ft/sec. I do not wish to ever find this out the hard way!!!!
I like Boelube. I was turned onto it when I was doing experimental aircraft building. Works great on aluminum.
Tap magic aluminum for manual stuff. After 10 years of CNC machining - this is the stuff I came to rely on for the 'touch-ups' in manual machines. You only need a tiny amount so I got a nice dispenser to accurately place a few drops at the cutting location.
http://www.tapmagic.com/product/2/tap-magic-aluminum