Need input on a Project I'm considering

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Good Afternoon,

I found a project I would really like to attempt but I need input on several aspects of this project.

Project Summary:
I watch a video where a pistol slide was customized with some CNC cuts and what not. I have the same Pistol and would like to attempt this myself. I will post a YouTube link to the video that’s 10 minutes long. This video will show what im trying to accomplish.
***My First question at this point: Do you think the PRO4896 with 4HP HITECO spindle is ridged enough to attempt this project? My PRO4896 is basically a toy so I can take extremely shallow depth of cut’s and run for 2 days continuous if need be. I’m not limited on time because of customer projects…

***If the consensus is the machine is ridged enough then I’ll need to identify some tooling. I’m thinking I could do this project using 2 tools. A ballnose and Endmill that’s specifically for steel. I’m not sure which 2 tools would be the best so suggestions are welcome. If you would like to make a suggest please include the Amana part number. 100% of the time I use Amana bits that I purchase from ToolsToday.com

***Brainstorming options for a vice to hold the pistol slide for this process. My Avid machine is used for woodworking projects 98% of the time. I have played with a couple blocks of 7075 Aluminum before so… I’m going to look at some amazon workholding devices since this will probably be a 1 time project. I don’t want to drop hundreds on a work holding vice for 1 project.

For now I’ll stop here and see what information is posted then on to the next step.

Here is the link to the YouTube video.

VIDEO LOCATED HERE

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The Avid CNC is rated at 0.005" accuracy. It wiggles and shimmies a bit (I’m currently trying to convince my laser to burn straight lines :wink: Other than that, I’ve done some milling with a stepover in the 5-10 thou range and got reasonable results in wood.

I’d suggest getting some scrap metal and “try and see” what you can do.

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Youtuber Breaking Taps did a couple of videos cutting steel on an Avid Benchtop Pro with a 3 HP spindle. I was surprised he had any success because steel is something like 10x harder than aluminum, and basically no one cuts steel on a CNC router. That said, it was only a short test, and it took him a while to find decent feeds & speeds. Also, his benchtop machine has ballscrews and a shorter gantry and might be a little more rigid than a PRO machine. If you’re just doing one small project, it will probably work fine. Expect to do a lot of tests to get the feeds & speeds right.

That looks like a really nice part, though, and if it were me, I’d be looking for a friend with a CNC mill so I wouldn’t have to worry about the vice, coolant, rigidity, machine wear, etc.

Here are the two videos I saw: