Tufnol

[NilochParticipant @niloch]

Any advice on the machining of Tufnol please?

[NilochParticipant @niloch]

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi Niloch

Use sharp cutters.

If milling try to have the cutter cut onto the material rather than off or it might split the sides.

No real problems with this, just makes a lot of dust.

regards David

 

[lancelotParticipant @lancelot]

Hi all, used and worked with ”Tufnol”, only thing I might add…Wear a Mask at all times as some kinds , the dust can be very irritating and possible hazard…good idea to have a vacume cleaner running when cutting, I do.

All the best for now,

                                   John.

[Mike the BikeParticipant @mikethebike]

Hi Niloch,  Machining tufnol of any grade requires sharp tools with about the same rake as you would use on aluminium.

 

The previous comments about wearing a mask are very important  and futhermore DO NOT Leave the swarf/dust in a heap or in a tin. It will auto-ignite. How do I know? I machined a lot of carb spacers on a profile mill. swept up and cleaned the machine at the end of the day, put the dust in a drum, as you do, and happened to go back 3 hours later to find the dust well alight.

 

regards, Mike

[Chris PattisonParticipant @chrispattison44592]

As far as I remember, Tufnol is made using phenol resin as a binder for making a laminate of paper, cloth or glassfibre. Phenolic resin is basically the same as Bakelite. When burning, the smoke of Tufnol is unpleasant and choking.

 

Other sites say that the tool must be extremely sharp, and that water or WD40 are good lubricants whilst machining.

 

Bear in mind that Tufnol is a laminate and can split along the laminate, especially the paper based stuff.

[EddieParticipant @eddie]

Hi Niloch

I agree with the above, used water based cooling while cutting, less dust and cool sharp tool giving better results.

 

SHARP tools, low feedrate and taking shallow cuts to avoid splitting.

 

Eddie

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

A lot of the splitting problems can be prevented by using a sacrificial piece at the end of the cut, alloy, wood or even another piece of Tufnol. You just need a supported edge.

 

One thing I have noticed with this is the prices hikes in recent years, given that according to grade this stuff is made with resin and fabric or paper I think they should stop using Armarni and £20 notes.

 

A 1220mm long rod of 50mm diameter is now £136, same size in alloy would be about £40.

 

????????

 

John S.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Is it not that we use far less Tufnol type product than we used to in days gone by, there are other “plastics” which can do some of the jobs, hence lowered demand, higher price.

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