Machining Rectangular Holes on Bezels?

Is it possible to mill rectangular holes horizontally with the length of/on the bezel? I'm trying to plan my light's build when the parts arrive. Still trying to figure out what type of design the bezel ring will be.

Anyone got tips on how to mill it throughout the bezel? I'll be using a manual milling machine with an X and Y axis at my brother's home. No idea of the model, sad to say.

Terms we might use in the shop to describe the orientation of the feature would be circumferential/radial or axial. A perfect square or rectangle can't be cut with a round cutting tool; there will always be a radius in the corners of the pocket, but with EDM process you can get square corners. What kind of bezel is it? maglight? Or wait, you did a scratch build a bit ago eh? If I get your intentions right, the best method would be to use a rotary table and divide 360* by the number of slots you want, rotating by that amount. How you do it is going to depend on the tooling you have available.

http://www.4cdesign.co.uk/blog/check-this-out/square-holes/

and DIY

http://www.4cdesign.co.uk/blog/check-this-out/square-holes/

on lathe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acq7Vuy5wNc&feature=related

lucca brassi said:

http://www.4cdesign.co.uk/blog/check-this-out/square-holes/

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link - great slow-motion video there.

LOL...what, you don't have those square drill bits?

lucca brassi said:

http://www.4cdesign.co.uk/blog/check-this-out/square-holes/

Click to expand...

Now that's something I'm looking for. I can just mill two holes next to each other for that task I'm looking into.

The light is going to be custom made from the ground up. Warm XML driven at 2.8a. I'm aiming for small and heat-efficient, running on 1x18650 cell. The holes are going to be cut open to expose the copper heat sink. Kind of like a three-part chamber for the head, yet, a single unit with a bezel encapsulating the led and flood optic.

I'm very excited about the plan and have already hand-drawn the over design of it already. My brother thinks it's a joke to have the body shape the way I am aiming for but I like its uniqueness. Will post photos when everything arrives and I'll start.

it's all fun and games til sombody brings out the watts drill

add some more link to previous post ; however drilling square holes will be old soon 100 years it was patented in 1917 (wikipedia says even in 1874 by Robert and Ralph Greenlee )


http://books.google.com/patents?id=mPJcAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortiser

for buying them look under Hollow Mortising Chisels and Bits

like http://www.tools-plus.com/delta-14-651.html

See OP? Ask too vague a question and none of the posts will be relevant. You'll have to clarify.