Yeah, thanx Cooper for taking the time to take the pics & post them up... I know how time consuming that in itself can be.
How much time clocked to make those two parts?
I made a simple clevis hitch the other day from a block of aluminum... I really got focused at what I was doing & did it all the milling & drilling in one sitting, I'm embarrassed to say how many hrs it took... maybe a mill of your size with its rigidity & digital readouts would have cut the time in half - especially with the use of a slitting saw.
I never heard of a slitting saw or knew of its use in a mill till you mentioned it a few pgs back, what a great tool accessory! I've always used a hacksaw & as hard as I try, never do I even get it unnoticeably crooked.
What spd do you run it at? What's the thickness of that particular blade? And is it specific for cutting aluminum?
99% of the holes I drill/tap are 3mm and I have always drilled once with 2.5mm bit b/c bit wonder for me is indeed a problem to go bigger than 1st hole, especially with aluminum.
Also, the blade in your chop saw, what is that? Does it cut the aluminum bar perpendicular with 99.9% accuracy?