Re: feeds and speeds.

If you find aluminum gums up and frequently makes a great mess....

Three things maybe wrong.

1)The cutting speed: "You can ever cut too fast for aluminum", works
for me.

2) Cooling and lubrication: Because aluminum is such a good heat
conductor, and because you are feeding so fast, it is unlikley home-
machinist would need coolant. Lubrication is only useful when you are
in a blind hole and need the chips to move out easily.

3) Climb-milling. You need to feed the part in the direction that the
tool is throwing the chips back into the direction of travel. (Try it
both ways to see the difference!)

Tips:
High helix end mills are best to clear the chips out quickly.
Use a vacuum cleaner in the same flexable pipe that is normally used
to feed coolant, don't let the chips get back into the work area.

It is worth while to make a test cut. Change these three parameters
as you make a long cut.

The model I use when someone describes aluminum as gummy is if you
drag a sharp knife slowly through clay, it will gum and clump, but if
you go fast the clay turns hard to the tool.

Buck