as my father has renewed his interest in making wood projects with his new wood lathe, i thought it would be neat to make him a torch heated branding iron.
my limited research showed that it seems brass is a good material to use. but before i tried it on my machine, i wanted to know what i needed to know to make it work.
i have not designed the pattern for the branding iron yet, but here is my intentions. i planned on using a fairly fine bit (1/32", or so), and a scrap piece of brass from eBay. but i am unsure if brass requires coolant/lube. i have heard that it can be milled without any. my machine does not have provisions for coolant/lube, as i planned on milling just wood.
as i have not updated any pictures in my re-build thread, i will describe how my machine is configured at the moment.
Techno/Isel Gantry III (i think) base machine (about 48" X 48" X 5" working area), with a Makita RF1101 router. i do have a vacuum head installed for dust/swarf removal.
my best guess are to run the feed-rate pretty slow, and router at full RPM. the cuts will be pretty shallow (about 1/16" final depth).
as i do not have any CNC metal milling experience, i am seeking any tips and/or corrections to my plans.
I am pretty sure my limited research on google turned up some good tips, but i wanted to be sure.
~Travis