The Michigan FBody Association is a centralized website for FBody enthusiasts to discuss what's going on in the Michigan area. Welcome to the Michigan FBody Association website.If you mainly use the tool on a specific repeat machining job then there is a case to argue for more tool bits. Personally I think that 2 or 3 is optimum for a general purpose fly cutter.

However, more tool bits makes the setup of cutting depth more difficult and time consuming. Google if you are unfamiliar with the term 'chip load') would allow higher feeds and quicker metal removal. Of course, there is plenty of room to add a bunch more cutting bits around the rim of a large diameter rotor which for a given chip load (ask Mr. Each tool can be ground differently to suit the different needs of roughing and finishing.Īlternatively, both tools could be set such that each removes a similar depth of material, this allows the fly cutter to take double the material in a single pass as compared to a single tool cutter. In effect this gives me two passes in one. I set the first tool at a height suitable for a roughing cut and the second tool gets set an amount lower to act as a finishing cut. The tool at the larger radius will hit the work first on each revolution followed by the second tool. One cutting edge is set at a slightly greater radius than the other. Now we come to the reason for the two cutting tools. The only necessary holes are the 3 for mounting the R8 flange, these holes are tapped 8 mm, in addition there are 2 1/4' holes drilled for the tool bits and another 2 drilled and tapped for the tool holding grub screws which I made 6 mm. Note that there are some additional holes in the rotor, they are a legacy of its previous life and have no purpose in this tool. I have a choice of grinding tools from HSS blanks or more usually I grind the tools from old 0.25' carbide milling cutters. This allows me easy depth of cut adjustment, and the circular tools allow rotational adjustment to change the rake angle for different work piece material. Two opposing holes were drilled to take 0.25' tool blanks, holes were drilled and tapped M6 at 90 deg. It was faced off, drilled and tapped for mounting and a register bored to suit the spigot on the mounting plate. The rotor was made from an old chuck plate which gives plenty of the inertia which I regard as important for fly cutters. This has a 72 mm diameter spigot for location and three holes for M8 mounting bolts. An R8 to 100mm chuck flange was ideal, buying this in saved me a lot of work. I needed a substantial mounting method for the heavy rotor containing the cutting tools. Thread taps to suit the grub screws and mounting bolts.Drill press or you could use the milling machine to drill holes.You need this to use the cutter but probably not to make it. Two (or more) pieces of 0.25' HSS or carbide rods for the cutting edges.I have seen examples made from car engine flywheels I had an old chuck mounting plate which I used.

A piece of steel or cast iron of a size to suit the fly cutter that you want to make.

4-3-Jaw-Self-Centering-Lathe-Chuck-w-Cert-003-TIR-R8-Shank Here is a link to the one that I got, but you should be able to find the mounting plate only on the net. Actually I bought the whole chuck assembly, as shown right, and I use the chuck on a rotary table and the mounting plate for the fly cutter. Other common possibilities would be morse taper, CAT30 or CAT40. You will need to have a chuck mounting plate to suit your own milling machine.

A flanged R8 chuck mounting, pictured above left.

Piston flycut tool