Drilling out Guard holes

Darren, The slot can be grossly oversized if the guard is made of brass or something that soft. Its important that the slot be smooth so you dont have to press too hard and deform the blank.

I use table stops so I can drink coffe with one hand and mill the guard slot with the other. It speeds up things if you drill a series of holes with a carbide center cutting end mill and simply connect the holes with several light passes.

This is an old thread but a good one
 
The biggest mistake all of you are making is using an end mill to cut your guard slots on your mill . Try using a slitting saw the width of the blade stock and usually 3-4" diameter . find the center of your guard stock and you will cut perfectly fitting guards in five minutes or less .Make sure you use a very low speed preferably 50-100 rpm . The logic is that if your machine is turning 100 rpm's and you are using a 40 tooth saw you are taking four thousand bites from your part every minute . It looks like its going slow to you but it's very easy to burn your saw and ruin it as well as hurt yourself . I also do a plunge cut on the finger guard area with a 5/8 or 3/4 diameter four flute end mill to remove excess bulk so the guard is easier to shape on the sander . I almost always shape my guards befor soldering so I shape my handle material to my guard and keep unnecessary heat away from a fresh solder joint.

You can slot with an end mill it's just not the most efficient way of doing it . remember only cut in one direction otherwise your slot will be oversized and inaccurate . Use stub length mills when possable. keeps mill flex to a minimum . also make sure you adjust all the slop out of your mill table there are adjusting screws on the sides . Alot of new guys fail to do this .

Back when I was getting started I made a guard broach and mounted it to my work bench to broach my guard slots , worked well and I didn't need a mill .I could slot a guard in five minutes or less with it and my slot was very accurate . Just buy a broach the thickness of your blade stock and make a guard holder and jacking screw to advance your broach .You will need a press of sorts unless your clever with a bottle jack.A little jury rigging and you'll be set .


Hope this info helps.
 
OK guys, i'll admit, my questions weren't hypothetical. I was asking them for, uh, a friend of mine.

He said to thank you all very much, and that you've all been very helpful and generous with your time and wisdom. :) I'll definitely- I mean he says that he'll try your suggestions, especially the part about going slowly and removing just a small amount of material at a time, and he also inicated that he will look into a slitting saw as well, although, he admits that he's not entirely clear on how that would work. After all, the saw is circular in shape, and can't cut any deeper than its radius minus the radius of the arbor, so if one wants to use a thick guard, say 1/2", the slitting saw used would have to have a large diameter, and would result in a very long guard slot, no?
 
KenOnion said:
The biggest mistake all of you are making is using an end mill to cut your guard slots on your mill . Try using a slitting saw the width of the blade stock and usually 3-4" diameter .

....
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Ken, I was talking about double guards, not single.
For single guards, the slitting saw, like you said works the best. You can do a whole bar that way, and just cut off a guard, the thickness you want from that bar, whenever you need it.
 
what is a good method for hand cutting guards?
JUst scribe your material thickness, drill and file?

Also what about buying pre slotted guards? For some reason I dont like that Idea but thought I'd ask..... :o
 
I don't have a milling machine or place to put one. :(

I think it was Wayne Goddard that taught me about using a cold chisel to 'center punch' the guard. That makes drilling the holes line up well. I used to use a drimmel type tool with an abrasive cutoff to cut out the web but I've found that a jewelers saw is faster. Sometimes the hand tool is the best!

I took a class at JC Campbell with Jim (can't remember his last name right now, the rocket scientist) who showed me the simplest solution for the ends. Squareing the ends of the guard was always a problem. He showed me that a few strokes of a file rounds the sides of the tang to fit the ends of the drilled holes! Simple and elegent.
Lynn
 
KenOnion said:
My bad! :D I probably didn't read the whole thread . sorry!
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Ken, I had just assumed that double guards were the subject, as they are the hardest, so that's what I was addressing, but going back and rereading this thread it doesn't really specify.

I should have been more specific. :footinmou ;) :confused:
 
Wulf, I've posted this several times before. With some machines and a mill being one, there is no substitute for size, weight and precision. The HF mini mills are a waste of money IMHO. A good drill press to closely space holes, and a file will work better than the mini mill.

I was at HF the other day and looked at their mill/drill combo. It has the same head bearing as their drill presses costing 1/2. It just won't hold up or stay solid enough to eliminate all chatter.

Don't get me wrong. I am the KING OF CHEAP but it just doesn't pay to buy something that will not work!
 
peter nap said:
The HF mini mills are a waste of money IMHO. A good drill press to closely space holes, and a file will work better than the mini mill.
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I totally agree with you, Peter, but those mini-mills are THE BOMB for engine-turning! There is a company advertising on ebay (can't find it right now) that was taking these mills and reworking them to be more precise and solid and adding NC capabilities to them. With the rising costs of American-made machines (what's left of them), this may be a suitable substitute.
 
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