Beveling on a Mill - Results

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Aksrockets

Now with 8% more aluminum
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
3,505
Reaction score
14
I'm curious to see what setups you all have for milling a bevel on fins. I'll need to bevel some 6061 aluminum and 304 SS for an upcoming project. I know there are a million ways to skin this cat, but I want to know what works best for you. My first thought was to hold the fin in a milling vice with the beveled edge perpendicular to the spindle, then create the bevel with a tapered end mill. This is simple enough, but I'm worried about chatter due to the amount of stick out and thickness of the fin. I guess it all depends on the vice and how deep I can recess the fin into it.

What has worked for you?

Alex
 
A workholder holding the fin at the right angle, then a belt sander. If you want to go fancy you can use a piece of tool steel for a guard to control the amount of material removal.

If you really want to do it in the mill, sandwich the fins between aluminum plates then mill through the whole sandwich. You could use a fly cutter or and end mill. They also do make a surface mill bit that can remove material pretty quickly but I've tended to see that the teeth aren't always aligned well so it tends to not mill as fast as it should.
 
Last edited:
do you have drawing?

12277245_853083051471582_25555489_n.jpg
 
I used two different height parallels in the vise and clamped down a 2x6 at 10degrees, then clamped the fin down and hit it with a 3/4" end mill. worked great on G10.
VGt6QKai6LS2u2SlOXsjiAeAAvHK8QJWjt3fFZj0ZHHj3UUG5t7TUIFgSIhXATwLwnyaQi71nK1QLCRxAdd6BGPHvc55MzRhnhw0Cm0cC1SBLZGVrmxuLeAWNNpjHJf-eBbnaK8MzGKEWnTKCawEwCztlK56zElzOsRGh4feKxsfCZ2JrI7TwWR8Q_MFMkwklvqts36rHEg_Z-wxLzXX0PZEIT7VqTxDWRvaT1iPd7tPDms242O59TW9_cLIkfXjDBoYg8rMXm-z_8NohEeQXaIAKaNGe9dLjc4dF8RhSdrq6dUDT1KdC3fG2S69pKoJRoimsxKOW6lWeNVEuO5Uk5UNLVqHkKgz9LjV1PjJzt-v_Q_Wux0AYz3S1jvaCZnwNuOvxRh9Uzx5miG_ovdw8MOLyxaE_as_O1LZBgEAw8kuNgd7utBf4V8aFwhmfxYYCF_snvXpnxFQNE7oO6VhfcsdYbaI15-9zTVpT3XD7eCdLxIj75fyDqOSAo2emm5lzC1IOpFXtSXkqBS0h1of6HZ_vNskOFAINAhQD9-pwOY=w1214-h667-no

AD9webtLXid5tu4GKJu010ajs-9L2rIyJLg2DYpQGuaiyNRfJ3OEuGLPJ5i3FQDJTYZWlpVSf3EVYgfGsEsumyR5C4sYOfd9k3DhJmAqFnytdjNK2g-vt6kKlxGt-fehK4bRNfBOOxB-btB1KQp2Qn7UsrVIFh7Mi0a9IN2zXFKoEL6mOp7D4DruVKlsT33PmVe7Q6o5Gb8yu5NFGozH1FwvRvdZBG8xNc2ApOPXkcYoC09wQSi-qR7LUY6cm-l60Hr5COX9yPo3_wyODZXgzHJjEsUwIfvjZSBpK63xv74JxqBFSXBlLUqXfNnpcuO4LxIyMoQ8oGNPHJ3qnJ4E39O60Rah4UHAzSwVH86OVCoW11o1Aeui-Gdoxd_0TUVFuzWOpjV1BCiJmikyKGGA36j_tB6Vhk87plpJvMp2Z7o2CV-yf3rwTgx4aE2v9fHiwOz4D-rbMLxuCToKJVf3dKk2cmaIo0msGvF16NGyrhYRSO79WrIk_TTiZWjC-GT1cFW1dfXlYHYmCfwHj4tnQR8i1R6zs3BWPFlMteJO-2w=w407-h667-no

KiiV3TT1lYyMgmf3h3LkxtMP9KlGgYa3JyI1yXVunw5FSFdiEdTG7BP6DP6zRc1L0rq_cxOPBxO6NujTCIwmX_UZHP1-tIxEMh-vIbgaef8QtfKrLin-AvLXEY03UFz6_o-_ToJHg7w_GkcwXLOlBI_jTZCNcLU3No4skzrF9xEL7rywRIyHx_7U49wUQ9Ci3Ns9sMKwTw5drV3re-l6vpyeOhZfoGRG8thRKsGKgn2DvuKze2qgmNC2M7Z3PEkc9M1cmH6Vcwj-0c8SWCHMFMm6cYlovIFlGks6DAuO5olkBeu8atPZTzQZP5TjgBakzoayTmPFQHOQ2PrPKIPw-crGMtQlr6JLmYcZGH9nmtxOCOQOR2D84Ldprp3H03xNi1t0CqtVSUzQAeWx6iyg3SgA8sw53A7PdsvXi1PGnll_CdZQkswliF7bziZe2R-br8A5VDLeWz8aJIatEo4-S4-4u6h3QYnyoNtcZDxA-5VOuQByq7s_nKc1f1VEA_HN4Co5uqUU6FcumPoUKy1YkQR4EoJGSZloGuK-32XVdwk=w890-h667-no


for SS I would use a sine plate. do you need 304? 303 machines nicer.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
Dan, thats what I'll do if Im sticking with my method.

Xrain,
I do all my beveling with a belt sander now. The option is still on the table, but I'd prefer the accuracy and ease of a mill.


Chris,
Ah, I actually searched for that before making this thread but came up empty. Thanks for the links!

Woody,
I doubt that would be accurate enough for what I'm doing.

do you need 304? 303 machines nicer.
Ah, but 304 welds nicer!

Alex
 
Well, I did it and it worked.
Not the original project, but one with solarover13. These were .120 thick 6061-t6. I used a 10* taper end mill in a Bridgeport. We took the entire .0550 cut in one pass each time and got decent results. The finish isn't ideal, but we were working against the clock. In the future, I'll probably take several passes and support my work in the vice better.
14339903_1048941768552375_961619386_o.jpg
10 degree taper end mill

14408076_1048938905219328_1988944724_o.jpg
Making chips...

14340090_1048977661882119_2102550904_o.jpg
A finished fin...

14274257_1048939028552649_1937538947_o.jpg
The finished fin and tube.

Also, Quick YT video.
Yes, I know I'm climb milling. Get over it.
[video=youtube;qzXeB-kkbX4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzXeB-kkbX4[/video]

Alex
 
Back
Top