Peter,

I'm a bit confused..... I run a Glacern 4" 45-degree 6-insert face mill on all three of my machines all the time - one Chi-wanese BP clone, the Novakon Torus Pro, and the Novakon Pulsar. All are 1.5-2HP machines. The BP and Torus Pro are both larger than the Tormach, the Pulsar is smaller. - between the 770 and 100 in size. I can do a full-width cut at 35 IPM, 0.05" DOC in 6061 on all three machines without breaking a sweat. I don't understand why the Tormach would not be able to do the same. Are you cutting steel or some harder material?

The Glacern does use polished inserts (https://www.google.com/search?q=SEHT...sm=93&ie=UTF-8) made specifically for cutting aluminum with very low power. I can understand why the face mill on the left in your picture may not work well, because of the insert geometry. The one on the right looks better, but still not ideal for aluminum, as they don't look all that sharp. I have a cheap 2" face mill that uses triangular inserts, and it requires more power than the Glacern, despite being half the size - it's all in in the insert geometry.

In fact, just yesterday I ordered a new 2.5" 45-degree face mill which will get a TTS shank. The Glacern, for obvious reasons, has an R8 shank, so, even though I can very easily swap it in with my PDB, it's still a hassle, and not at all ATC-friendly. I figure the 2.5" mill should be just about right for most operations.

Regards,
Ray L.