Trick to working with Copper

[Carl]

Running a Copper job this week and I started scrapping parts, normal coolant and cutting oils where giving me grief on a few intricate cuts. Someone mentioned using Milk as a cutting fluid. I thought he was joking, but said the butter fats are supposed to work well in that application. I figured what the hell and gave it a shot on one problem area and it actually worked very well.

So if you are cutting, drilling, tapping copper you may want to reach for a bit of milk and apply a good amount to the tools cutting edges.

I tried butter too, thinking more fat solids, but the results where not nearly as good.

[jspiezio]

That's wild Sim. Nice to know

[Harry Babb]

Milk???!!!!...........I will dang sure try it when the need arises

What comes to my mind is how the use of milk for a cutting fluid was discovered

The picture in my mind is....its 11:00 at night...the parts are due the next day....we have tried every fluid in the shop.....someone walks by drinking a carton of milk.........and the rest is history.

I am continually amazed at the things we share and discuss in this sandbox.

Thanks

Harry

[randall]

i cut a ton of copper in the nineties with a router and a jig saw. a machinist friend gave me a gallon of a thin green cutting fluid. i dont know what it was....but it worked great.

[Carl]

I was shocked myself and I too wondered how someone thought to try it.
Maybe since some coolant looks like milk someone thought it was, who knows. Harry you may be right too, many times I have done things that should just not work but out of desperation I figured what the hell.

Apparently it is in a machinist handbook, although I looked and could not find, maybe an older edition.

Randall, most of the machining is done with regular coolant, just a couple ops gave me issue. One fluid that did work great made the piece turn green. I was able to clean the outside, but the inside...forget about it.

[Harry Babb]

Carl, here in Alabama discoveries like that usually involve the phrase "Hey ya'll watch this" !!!!!

Sometime around 1981 I was young and green in the machining field. I was given a job to bore out some stainless sleeves. The job was a little big for the lathe I had.

I tried everything I knew for hours and hours trying to stop the chatter. Raise the tool above centerline....drop the tool below centerline....custom grind the insert.....try different inserts.......you name it, if I could think about it I would try it.

Finally after screwing with it all day I just lost it (mentally)....got pissed off and put the spindle in the highest speed 1500 RPM and as I engaged the feed lever I said "Chatter now you SOB".....

Guess what! ! ! I got the smoothest prettiest cut you have ever seen......that's how I discover things...."Hey ya'll, watch this"!!.

I have actually read about using Lard for certain applications. When aluminum trys to gum up I will use kerosene as a cutting fluid.

Harry

[Sean B]

It's well known in the steel construction field that the fumes from burning zinc when welding galvanized steel will make most people ill eventually (puke)... but also that drinking a full glass of milk before doing it is the cure

[Carl]

Sean, never heard that before.

I don't need no stinking respirator...Got Milk??



Harry I think that is what sets us apart from the rest, at least in my shop. If something don't work we try a new approach. Sometimes it works sometimes it don't but at the very least we are not doing the same thing over and over and over again expecting a different result.

Sr took in a re-occuring job years ago when I first started with him. Stellite valves for a homogenizing pump, we just had to clean the tops (.02-.03) and make sure all where within a few thou of each other and a real nice finish across the top. It was after hours, everyone was gone and the customer called said he needed the valves ASAP, so I just brought them over to the lathe and tried to face as I would face anything else. Everything I seemed to thow at it wore right away, but I found one insert that held up somewhat so I started playing with speeds and feeds till I was able to take .002-.003 at a time and make headway. So I did multiple passes, then to give a nice flat finish I hit on the surface grinder and got all within a thousand or so. Called the customer and he picked them up.

Next day I tell Sr I had a hell of a time turning those valves and asked what the trick was, he looks at me confused telling me you can't turn them they have to be ground and only take a thousand or so off at a time then let cool, go back take another thou or so til they are done. He proceeds to tell me its a long process takes a few days and how we have to get on them soon. I tell him you should have told me before I turned them, they are done and customer has them.

[Rawleigh]

Sean: Zinc poisoning from welding can actually kill you. A well known Blacksmith died from it a couple of years ago. I have heard of drinking milk in advance, but don't want to experiment with it. I welded some galvanized metal when i was young and it gives off a thick yellow/green smoke.

[Sean B]

Hmmm maybe I should be telling these guys they should forget the milk and get some niosh masks. And then again... have you ever tried to argue with a steel worker? These are the same guys that will wear their safety harnesses to shut up their bosses, but will typically flat out refuse to tie them off to anything

[Carl]

Hired a production guy some years ago that told me he could stick weld too, but didn't like it because it hurt his eyes. I didn't think much about it till I gave him a welding job and he refused to wear the helmet because it messed up his hair, he didn't like holding the hand held helmet either...

We bought out a screw machine shop a couple years ago for their client base, one customer wanted us to machine pure Cadmium. I asked if that stuff was Okay to machine as I thought it was dangerous and they said it was no problem the other guy did it all the time. I started checking into it and saw it was a big NO NO to Machine without containment systems. Later he brings the materail over in a sealed container with Skull and Cross Bones all over the place as I told him I wanted no part of it, he just started arguing that is was fine and didn't want to hear a word or even look at the container.

Yes I am always amazed at people...

[hubris 1]

Running a Copper job this week and I started scrapping parts, normal coolant and cutting oils where giving me grief on a few intricate cuts. Someone mentioned using Milk as a cutting fluid. I thought he was joking, but said the butter fats are supposed to work well in that application. I figured what the hell and gave it a shot on one problem area and it actually worked very well.

So if you are cutting, drilling, tapping copper you may want to reach for a bit of milk and apply a good amount to the tools cutting edges.

I tried butter too, thinking more fat solids, but the results where not nearly as good.

I have found since the election, chochlate milk works even better. It was def the change i was looking for.

[Carl]

I have found since the election, chochlate milk works even better. It was def the change i was looking for.

Oh yeah the Country is in much better shape now, defintely headed in a new direction at an astonding pace.

They wanted change...we got it. And oh boy are we gonna get it and get it good.

Well I have to get back to work to pay for that Stimulus package and all these wonderful new programs.

[hubris 1]

oh, you read me wrong.........Im making a joke, I cant stand the guy.

[Carl]

oh, you read me wrong.........Im making a joke, I cant stand the guy.

No I understood...

It's just that sarcasm exudes from my body whenever I think about where we are headed with that new fearless leader of ours.