I have traditionally moved the carriage in Y. (towards the column) to square faces or cut slots.
The downside is that if I do not give enough margin for the mill vise hitting the column, the vise will pivot within the T-slot clamps that hold the vise to the table. Also, if I try too high a cutting speed, the force may cause the same pivot problem. Needless to say, all precision is lost when the workpiece is now 30 degrees from square to the mill.
Today, I needed to cut a 2.5" wide x 0.95" deep slot. Instead of moving a couple inches in the Y axis to make cuts, I am cutting this slot in the X axis. Movement this direction will at worst, move the vise and workpiece left or right, reducing damage that requires scrapping the part. I am still moving in the Y axis although in smaller increments so there is still risk of vise contact with the column. Keeping track of how much room you have in zy axis still matters, but eliminating one source of unintended workpiece movement is still a win.
At first I was disoriented by the photo you posted here. I was reminded of the old canard about there are two groups of people; those who have shot their Chronographs and those who haven't shot them YET.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of someone shooting their vertical mill.
Then I realized i was looking at the floor and that was milling waste.
Nobody can say I'm too quick on the uptake.