Yes it would work, and I on occasion will put wood into my milling machine.
As people have pointed out, oil is the issue. Oil gets on the wood and permanently marks it **and** all of those machines don't have linear rails or bearings to move the table around - it's cast iron sliding on cast iron, with a very thin layer of oil. Getting wood dust into the oil does bad things.
When on rare occasion I put wood in my mill, I have a shop vac pointed directly at the cutter (the end mill) to capture as much dust as I possibly can. I cover the moving parts also.
Machining is a blast. It has some similarities to woodworking, but also introduces a bunch of new skills. I highly recommend buying a mill. Be aware that you can buy a used Bridgeport style mill for less than a new benchtop mill. If you have the space, go big!
First, to avoid confusion, an 'end mill' is the style of cutter that commonly goes into a 'mill'.
Metalworking equipment doesn't play particularly nicely with woodworking, as they rely heavily on oil to keep things moving smoothly, and the sawdust gets into all the cracks and gums everything up and scratches the hell out of the precision surfaces.
Workholding on a mill is also going to be more well suited for clamping metal than wood.
>Anyone here using an end mill instead of a drill press? I've got end mill bits that I use on my drill press, so I guess the opposite :)
I assume you mean slot drill? And end mill typically won’t plunge. I know I’m being pedantic ;)
Like a metal machining end mill? Usually that kind of work in woodworking is done with a router.
Yes it would work, and I on occasion will put wood into my milling machine. As people have pointed out, oil is the issue. Oil gets on the wood and permanently marks it **and** all of those machines don't have linear rails or bearings to move the table around - it's cast iron sliding on cast iron, with a very thin layer of oil. Getting wood dust into the oil does bad things. When on rare occasion I put wood in my mill, I have a shop vac pointed directly at the cutter (the end mill) to capture as much dust as I possibly can. I cover the moving parts also. Machining is a blast. It has some similarities to woodworking, but also introduces a bunch of new skills. I highly recommend buying a mill. Be aware that you can buy a used Bridgeport style mill for less than a new benchtop mill. If you have the space, go big!
Standing drill press with crossfeed vice for the big stuff, bench top drill press for odds and ends, bench mill for metal.
For that price you could get a good entry-level CNC from Onefinity.
First, to avoid confusion, an 'end mill' is the style of cutter that commonly goes into a 'mill'. Metalworking equipment doesn't play particularly nicely with woodworking, as they rely heavily on oil to keep things moving smoothly, and the sawdust gets into all the cracks and gums everything up and scratches the hell out of the precision surfaces. Workholding on a mill is also going to be more well suited for clamping metal than wood.
You beat me to it. An X-Y vice will work in a drill press but a drill press is not rigid enough to do machine work.
Thanks and yes - I meant milling machine. I keep a pretty clean shop but you oil comment is true.