kaid59•21d agoTop Commenter

Just realized that $50 set of cheap end mills cost me way more in scrap parts

I bought a 10-pack of Chinese end mills off Amazon for about $50 a few months back. At first they seemed fine, but after the third one chipped on a simple aluminum run I started noticing the finish was always a little off. Turned out they were just barely within tolerance, and I scrapped three parts worth about $40 each before I caught on. I ended up spending $120 on a single brand name carbide end mill that still cuts clean after 80 parts. Has anyone else had a cheap tool pack cost them more in lost time and material than it saved?

2 comments

2 Comments

dianal9421d ago

Oh man, I gotta disagree with you there. Cheap end mills are actually a smart move if you're just learning or doing one-off projects. Spending $120 on a single tool is insane when you can get a pack of 10 for the same price and not cry if you break one. Most hobbyists don't run 80 parts, they run 3 or 4 and move on. The scrap rate you had sounds like you maybe pushed them too hard or had a setup issue, not a tool defect. Honestly, that name brand one will probably chip too if you sneeze while jogging the machine.

dylanmurray21d ago

Exactly. Good cheap tools teach you to break the cheap ones instead of the expensive ones.