most of my experience has been with machining aluminum which obviously has a very big window for acceptible feeds and speeds. i just got a job to machine some steel plate, .25 and .5 thick. i will be doing this on my haas vf-2 vmc. i have an additional coolant pump which flows like a garden hose too. i will have to machine out some 2-3" dia circles and do some profiling. my question is what would be a good end mill to use out of the msc catalog, i usually use 3/8 or 1/2 diameter. i have used carbide in the past but as soon as it cuts a chip it chips the tool so i was thinking of using cobalt (coated?)even if i have to go through a few. the important thing is that i make it through this job and im not concerned about macining fast just accurate with a decent finish.
with the selected tool what would be a good axial depth of cut, ipm feed ,rpm and plunge feed.should i ruff and finish or just use 1 tool to do it? i really need the experienced help here guys, im a metal fabricator with a cnc and have done pretty well but the steel has gave me fits in the past