Swage Block: How to Mill?

[bajajoaquin]

I wasn't sure where to put this, in Anvils, Machinery, or Problem Solving.....

Anyway, as I've mentioned on other threads, I purchased three 85-lb steel blocks to fabricate an anvil while I was waiting to find a good commercial one. And I've found an anvil to buy. I thought about building a 270-lb anvil anyway, but I've also thought about using one or two for swage blocks. My available tools are angle grinders, 4X6 band saw, 1-hp drill press, and my bench horizontal mill.

V-Cuts in the edges should be pretty straight-forward, as would be through-holes of varying diameters. The drill press will turn down to 180 rpm, and the mill gets down to 68 RPM, which my handy calculator says can hog out a 2-1/4" and 5-1/4" hole, respectively. So with some big drills and ball-end mills, I should be able to do pretty good-sized half-rounds and spherical depressions.

So...

Anyone have any feedback on where I can purchase reduced-shank large diameter end mills? Is this possible, or even advisable? Am I missing something else that I should consider?

[mike-hr]

I hate ball end mills.. Another approach would be, make some positive shapes of the dishes you want, heat the block, might take all morning, and press the positives into the block. Next thursday after it cools, square the block up on the mill, and do your edge vee's and half rounds.

[Fe-Wood]

I hate ball end mills.. Another approach would be, make some positive shapes of the dishes you want, heat the block, might take all morning, and press the positives into the block. Next thursday after it cools, square the block up on the mill, and do your edge vee's and half rounds.

Ditto!

[kpotter]

I think you are going to need some larger tools I have never seen a bench top horizontal that could handle 85lbs i think you will squish it. I have made some bowl impressions in a block of steel using my mill and tilting the head and using a shell mill and a rotary table. I used my shaper to cut swaging grooves.

[Bob S]

I wasn't sure where to put this, in Anvils, Machinery, or Problem Solving.....

Anyway, as I've mentioned on other threads, I purchased three 85-lb steel blocks to fabricate an anvil while I was waiting to find a good commercial one. And I've found an anvil to buy. I thought about building a 270-lb anvil anyway, but I've also thought about using one or two for swage blocks. My available tools are angle grinders, 4X6 band saw, 1-hp drill press, and my bench horizontal mill.

V-Cuts in the edges should be pretty straight-forward, as would be through-holes of varying diameters. The drill press will turn down to 180 rpm, and the mill gets down to 68 RPM, which my handy calculator says can hog out a 2-1/4" and 5-1/4" hole, respectively. So with some big drills and ball-end mills, I should be able to do pretty good-sized half-rounds and spherical depressions.

So...

Anyone have any feedback on where I can purchase reduced-shank large diameter end mills? Is this possible, or even advisable? Am I missing something else that I should consider?

I guess you *could* do that. Or you could save yourself some wear and tear and make
individual swages, as needed, out of appropriately sized material.

Then weld a shank on that fits your hardy hole.

If you decide on mike-hr's plan I hope you take lots of pictures. Preferably video.

[Bob S]

I have made some bowel impressions in a block of steel using my mill and tilting the head

no pictures please.

Thank you.

[monstermetal]

Agreed, individual swages is a much more practical and reasonable approach

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

The swage blocks I have my Dad torched out at the college. He, and a friend wrote the program, and burned them out of some thick plate. All they need is just a final dusting to clean them up. A torch , if set right, will leave a very clean edge.

I think that you would have a very tough time doing this with the equipment that you have. For large bores like those listed I would use a boring head. Using drills you really need far more HP, and rigidity than what you have now. Even on a Bridgeport style mill those are some big holes to drill in one shot. Plus the cost would be prohibitive for the tooling.

I would seek out a local shop with a CNC/pattern torch, and burn them out.

For the depressions, lay it out and either drill a series of holes at various depths, or walk an endmill around to rough it out. Go back in with a die grinder to smooth it out. You could probably have them done by the time it would take to just heat that much material up to forging temp.

I have no problem with ball endmills.

[bajajoaquin]

Hmm. I think you may have convinced me. Okay, I'll look at different projects formthe blocks.

[lordcaradoc]

Of course, you can get a decent swage block from the Saltfork Craftsmen in OK. they have a nice block and it is more reasonable than most people want for old ones.

Saltfork Craftsmen Swage Block

I'm saving my pennies for one.

Regards,
Tim

[fciron]

Just in case anyone else is considering this, in my opinion it would be faster to make the depressions with a four inch angle grinder than to attempt to hot sink them.

Unless you have access to a thousand ton press. But then you have to make all the tools to sink with.

[Jymm Hoffman]

No milling required, if you have access to discarded/out of service oxygen cylinders, the bottoms make great swages, ask armorers.
I have a friend that has a band saw large enough to fit the cylinders and cut off a few inches from the bottom. I weld a bar that fits my hardy hole to an inside wall of the cylinder so it sits on my anvil. A mini grinder works fine to clean up the depression. Prior to cutting them short, I had some cut to the same height of my anvil, also worked as a back up stand. Then I ran out of room in my shop to have several cylinders sitting around. Several of them fit into an old desk drawer that is under a bench, out of the way and off the floor.

[Jymm Hoffman]

Of course, you can get a decent swage block from the Saltfork Craftsmen in OK. they have a nice block and it is more reasonable than most people want for old ones.

Saltfork Craftsmen Swage Block

I'm saving my pennies for one.

Regards,
Tim

That's a great price, worth every penny!

[monstermetal]

Just in case anyone else is considering this, in my opinion it would be faster to make the depressions with a four inch angle grinder than to attempt to hot sink them.

Unless you have access to a thousand ton press. But then you have to make all the tools to sink with.

I have made some 8" bowl swages in my 210 press that where 5" deep in 40lb blocks of steel.... takes about 45 seconds...

Now getting the chunk hot is another story

[fciron]

Ok, you only 200 tons of press. I don't have one of those either.

[John Larson]

Design what you want in very basic terms and then hire a tool and die maker with a cnc mill to do it. These people do this all the time and are always looking for work. This is the olny practical way to prceed if you want anything resembling precision in the outcome.

[archiphile]

Design what you want in very basic terms and then hire a tool and die maker with a cnc mill to do it. These people do this all the time and are always looking for work. This is the olny practical way to prceed if you want anything resembling precision in the outcome.

The last tool and die maker that I knew died 14 years ago. They are scarce these days.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

We are still around, just more plentiful in some areas.

[ThomasPowers]

What about intermittent welding two of the blocks together side to side and drilling out the indentations along the joint for the half cylinders side(s) and then grinding off the welds?

(and yes cheaper to buy than to make---but we've all done crazy stuff before!)

[bajajoaquin]

That had been my idea before I got the mill. I was going to fasten them together, and drill holes, half on each block. But I didn't really need two swage blocks. An end mill should be able to mill both the half-rounds and the v-shapes.

[Bob S]

But why bother with the half round and V shapes at all. What are they for in todays shop?

I guess they used to be used with corresponding top tools. How many of us are swaging 1-1/2" bars
down to 1"? Most of the top and bottom tool work in my shop is done by several 'guillotine' type, anvil
mounted, top and bottom tools.

The Saltfork blocks referenced earlier here look like decent blocks for a fair price but their main
usefulness (to me) would be the bowl, spoon and shovel depressions.

If necessary half round swages can be improvised with pieces of pipe.

[bajajoaquin]

I'm not going to bother. You guys convinced me back on page one. I was just responding to a "would have" type of scenario. Of course, having 250 pounds of steel blocks lying around, I'll just have to come up with something else irrational to do with them.

[highlander]

Just FYI, if you decide to buy a saltfork swage block, make sure that you email MIKE on the page and not Bill. That email address is not current and you will not get an email back. I don't want to share Bill's new email address on a public forum, but if you email Mike he can point you in the right direction.