I'm basically needing to mill a high density polyurethane. Would something like this do the job? All the cuts I need to make are straight. I was looking at this along with a mill vise? I'm assuming I need specific bits (I have no idea what I'm looking at).

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991

 

not really sure what type of plastic you are dealing with, but ive thrown some uhmw in my mill with regular endmills with no problems. the mill dont care much. i like the 4 toothed endmills for plastic beings its so much softer than metal.

 

So is that $400 mill an overkill then? It's a 80A~90A polyurethane, about as hard as a rubber on a shopping cart wheel. All I need to do is trim the edges and another cut in between so it's really 90° and straight cut everything. No drilling is required...I already have a bandsaw to cut the block of polyurethane.

 

turn your bandsaw speed up and it will work perfect.

 

You can also use a router if you need to trim the edges, they work well for other things besides wood.

 

How about freezing/chilling it before you start cutting?

 

How many do you need to do?

That machine (and I use the term loosely) may get you by, but cutting Poly well can be tricky. The biggest problem I see besides lack of rigidity is going to be the lack of rpm. I make motor mount bushings out of 95a, although I'm doing it on a lathe. You can freeze it but I find it's not really worth the hassle. Sharp tooling and low rake angles work best for me. A router may be your best bet as it will have the rpm to cut properly and the tooling is made for softer materials.

UHMW-PE machines great comparatively, but may not be right for your application.

 

Thanks for all the info, I'll definitely look into a router.

It's basically a small piece, about the size of a matchbox cut in half & need to put a groove on both edges & down the middle. I could probably do couple hundred of the same pieces. Wasn't sure if it's an overkill buying a mill machine. I did see some deflection even with cutting the poly block, still adjusting the bandsaw to minimize that at the moment.