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Sorry for the pics going away for a while. When we moved, my hosting changed and I forgot to migrate all the pics. Here is a link to an album with all of the pics from the build, and maybe a few...

Well that makes a lot more sense. So when you are using a 2 flute cutter, multiply your desired chip load by 2 to get your IPM.
I find that when I am drilling, or even plunging straight through, I...

How are you creating your G Code? Are you doing it by hand or using some CAM software?

That feedrate formula looks more like a way to calculate chipload in millimeters, although there should be a variable to account for the number of cutting edges. You might want to try to program a...

To reiterate my earlier post, here are some vids of aluminum cutting.
YouTube - CNC router routing slots

YouTube - CNC router pocketing routine

I am using one of these bits:...

From your pictures, it looks like your feed rate is way to slow for the rpm you are turning. You say you have slivers of slivers for chips. This means the heat is staying in the workpiece causing the...

Do a search for RhinoCam. It is basically VisualMill that runs inside of Rhino. You can take your model, select what sort of machining routine you want done and it will spit out the appropriate...

Yup.

I cut a lot of .080" 6061 aluminum on a cnc router dry. I use an Onsrud O-flute, single flute cutter spinning at 19,600 rpm. Feed rate varies between 130-170 ipm. For the .080" thick material, I will...

I use CoolMist diluted 4oz to a gallon of water. It's delivered via a mister, blowing just hard enough to blow the chips away from the tool bit. The coolant evaporates very fast leaving dry chips to...

A couple different things to try that may or may not get your action tumbling:
Run different rate springs on one side. This will get one side of the tub to move more than the other side, which...

What sort of parts are you going to be running through your shaker?
I've always used the green rocks which are a step finer than the pink. I am eager to see how the pink ones work. I've also got a...

Good to see you are making progress.
Some comments on what you've got so far-
Those weights are going to create some powerful forces. Over time, these unbalanced forces will take it's toll on the...

I should have prefaced that by saying that I am running 7.5 hp.
When I got started with this machine, I was using 2 flute cutters. I had fits getting a decent edge with them, as I was not able to...

I cut aluminum all day long with a router using an Onsrud single flute cutter with good results. I turn it at 17000-18000 rpm, feed at 85-90 ipm, and use Cool Mist water base coolant. Most of the...

Looks good so far.
I can't wait to see how it develops.

Similar to what Jerry said, for a job like this, I usualy use a file folder to trace a pattern using the fairing with the cutouts. Then I would take several measurements to ensure that I located the...

Dremel with a diamond coated bit cutting close to a trim line, then Dremel with a sanding drum to finish out to the trim line.
Be sure to use a shop vac or something to suck up the dust, wear long...

Something else to consider when using WD40 to help loosen up double stick; MDF will absorb WD40, which in turn will make it much less sticky then next time you go to stick anything down.
For an...

The easiest way to remove parts held with double stick would probably be to wedge a chisel under a corner of the part and gently pry them up. Clean up the remaining goo with mineral spirits, or...

Here's a link to how I hold my stuff down. I go into it in detail about 3/4 of the way down the page:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14464&page=5

You shouldn't need much of a support structure around the tank, that's for sure.
As far as a liner, I've seen some spray-on architectural coatings that might work. I think truck bed liner would end...

Here's a shot of one of my blue parts. When the parts come out of the shaker, it is not uncommon for them to have a sort of random galvanized steel look to them. After anodizing, the surface is...

My hold-down technique has evolved over the years.
In the beginning, I was spraying down the back side of the aluminum with 3M Super 77 adhesive and gluing it to the sacrificial board. Once...

Give it a quick coat of carnuba wax and it won't stick for sure.

In the several years I spent building 40% scale models of race cars used in wind tunnel testing, I used a variety of surface plates. We had one plate that was close to the size you are talking about...

Finaly, here are some pics.....
This is a batch of radiator guards ready to come off of the machine. I'm cutting using an Onsrud single flute cutter at 17,500 rpm traveling at 85 ipm, using a...

A good source of mold making material and information is http://www.freemansupply.com/

As mentioned, when I say foam a few posts up, I'm referring to tooling foam, not styrofoam. It is possible...

In theory, you could pull a part off of a mold made of delrin.
That being said, I don't think delrin is a very good material to make molds out of. First and foremost is cost. Delrin is a pretty...

Assuming you are planning on vacuum bagging your parts, there are a lot of different materials that you can use to cut molds depending on how many parts you plan on pulling out of said molds.
For...