Recent content by Hauk

Belive me, I do spend some time on the net searching for all kinds of stuff. But I have failed to find tool blanks or silver steel in the required dimensins (1,5X1,5mm or 2X2mm) MSCDirect has a lot of interesting stuff, but as far as I could see, no tool blanks in the above sizes.

I could possible use silver steel, but I still need a source for it! The tool suppliers in my area stock very little of stuff like this, so I am entirely dependent on finding what I need online.

Anyone know of a source for 2mm square tool steel? I could also use som 1,5X1,5mm tool steel. Maybe watchmakers use such tiny tools? Best regards, Haavard H

Since I am doing a lot of rather delicate machining I would love to add a stereo microscope to my lathe and drill press. Have anyone done this? Suggestions for affordable microscopes? (less than USD 1000) Tips for making interchangable stands to use the same microscope for lathe and...

I need to drill a lot of small holes (0,3mm/0,4mm) in some brass castings. The brass in the castings seem to be quite hard, and I am breaking drill bits at an alarming rate. Does anoyone have advice? On such small drill bits it seems impossible (at least to me) to make adjustments to the...

Hi, I need to clean up some square holes in rather small brass castings. The holes are 2mm X 2mm and about 4mm deep. They go all the way through the casting, so clearing out chips is not an issue. I have found several 2mm X 2mm rotating square broaches, but this concept is a bit too advanced...

Hm, I can find only grade 260 (cartridge brass) in 0,5mm (0,020") and this grade is not very suited for machining. CZ120 is also known as engraving brass (59% Cu + 39% Zn + 2% PB) Regards, Hauk

Finding this grade of brass in this thickness seems to be very difficult, so I am willing to order it from almost any country on the planet. But an european source would be ideal. Regards, Hauk

Does anyone know of a source for 0,5mm sheets (Gauge 26) of engraving brass (CZ120 or similiar) ? I have found sources for down to 0,7mm in thickness, but no luck finding 0.5mm. Regards, Hauk

Never thought about tool life, but it is a good point. Quality endmills are not exactly cheap. The Kress is *somewhat* like a Dremel, but of far better build an quality. From what I have heard the Kress has far better TIR. But a better spindle is worth considering. I have heard a lot of...

I run dry, no cooling or lube. There is no system for cooling/lubrication on this system. Maybe a little WD-40 could do the trick? Regarding increasing the feed/reducing the RPM, my experince tells me that this give rougher cuts. I think that due to quite bad runout on the Kress and a lack of...

Did some milling this weekend, and here are my toughts. The machine is a standard Heiz High-Z 400 with a Kress 1050W spindle with a top speed of 30.000 RPM. All milling was done with a flat tip (fishtail) 2-flute 2mm cutter. The best results was obtained with a feed speed of 4mm/s, full...

Thanks for the replies! I might have been a bit unclear in my original post. I am not doing just engraving, but milling down to a depth of 3mm. A lot of what I want to do is profile milling 2mm and 3mm sheets of brass To reach this depth I use passes of 0,4mm. So the finish of the sides of...

Long time no post, but I have finally started some modelling projects that involve machining. I have aquired a light Heiz CNC mill/router with a Kress spindle. I hope that this is a setup suitable for relatively light, mostly cosmetic jobs. The most important thing for me is surface finish. I...

I think I have shown this one in another thread, but here goes anyway: Scale: 1:45 Gauge: 22,22 mm