Dovetail end mills

[hon1nbo]

I’m planning on machining some brass and aluminum for a box project. I want to make some dovetails in it.

Any special considerations in choosing end mills for dovetails? Good place for acquiring them and knowing what I’m actually getting?

-Jim

[procterc]

MSC direct, or MSC industrial. Various sizes from $30. In HSS, indexable from $350. Light usage in brass and aluminum should be Ok for HSS.

[hon1nbo]

Thanks Charles!

[John_Marlow]

I cut a dovetail block on the Bridgeport. Here’s what I learned:

@John_Marlow

I bought an 8-flute 45 degree dovetail cutter from MSC, after a misfire with another cutter. The first cutter I bought specified the cutting width as 1/4". Much to my surprise, that was the tip to centerline distance, and it would only cut a dovetail 1/8" deep. Since I needed a 1/4" dovetail, I had to buy a 3/4" cutter.

First I cut the U-gouge using a half-inch endmill, and then I made multiple edge passes with the dovetail cutter - each one at full Z depth but progressively further into the dovetail slot. @BobKarnaugh pointed out that the tiny tips of the cutter were likely fragile so I took a lot of very shallow passes - probably more conservatively than needed.