Mike at the tool Sharpening shop told me something wild about end mill life

He said most guys toss their 1/4 inch end mills way too early, and that a fresh grind can get you back 90% of the original performance for like $8 a pop. I've been binning them after they feel dull, but is that just me wasting money? Anyone else ever actually measure the difference or just go by feel?

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david371mo ago

Respectfully, I gotta push back on that. In my shop a regrind never cuts as clean as a fresh end mill and you lose time fighting with chatter and bad finishes. Better to just buy quality HSS or carbide and treat them as consumables instead of trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of dull tools.

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blakem371mo ago

Dang, you might have just changed my mind on that one, I always thought regrinds were worth it but your point about chatter makes total sense.

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