Decent quality end mills?

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FlyFishn

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What are some decent quality (not very expensive, but above "cheap" that will be usable) end mills?

I am wanting ones in the 1/8" to 1/2" range that will handle regular steel (A36, cold/hot rolled, etc). Not sure if I want a roughing mill, but straight finish mill for sure - 4 flute.

Examples of tasks would be facing/squaring up tubing and plate to 3/4" thick and cutting out plate/square tube wall to 3/8". I don't have any plunge cutting on the horizon, but not out of the question.
 
I would look to brands like Niagara, Beloit Regal, Cleveland, OSG, Hanita, YG1, Weldon, KEO, Kyocera, and RapidKut. There are many others, but these are a few of the popular brands. I would also look to purchase them at places like eBay, Craigslist, or a used equipment dealer. They are often available NEW at a fraction of the original vendor cost.

As an FYI last week I purchased 9 KEO end mills, 1/4" to 1/2", new in the box from a used equipment dealer for less the $4.50 each.
 
New, like open package, etc from Ebay will be OK, possibly used but sharpened have been OK. individual used ones often have chipped teeth.
 
Remember resharpened end mills frequently (always?) will be smaller than nominal diameter.
 
I have several hundred end mills in the drawers at my shop. I would guess about half of them have been resharpened over the years. To me it doesn't matter if they are exact size for most operations. About the only time an exact size is necessary is for plunge cutting holes. Other than that it just means you'll be taking one or more additional passes to complete a job.

I look for an undersize mill when slotting. I make sufficient passes to get to within a few thousandths the final depth. Then measure the width of the slot to determine how much wider it needs to be. In most cases I can take an additional one or two passes to get the proper width. When using a slightly undersize mill you can do a climb cut on one side without doing a conventional cut on the opposing surface. The last cut on each side is done at the final depth to ensure a smooth finish on all sides.
 
I have next to ZERO experience, but I recently tested/abused an OSG brand 1/2" HSS coated roughing endmill, and the follow up job showed little degradation. I will buy more, when my ship comes in. ($60 for this one endmill:faint:)
 
westerner said:
I have next to ZERO experience, but I recently tested/abused an OSG brand 1/2" HSS coated roughing endmill, and the follow up job showed little degradation. I will buy more, when my ship comes in. ($60 for this one endmill:faint:)
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Oh man, I picked up a lot of 5 roughing end mills a couple of weeks ago, all USA brands in lightly used condition. Cleveland and Balax. 1/2" 2x 3/4" and 2x 1.5" for $20.61. When I say lightly I mean they peeled the wax off and set it in a drawer. No visible wear on them, coatings not worn at all.

But my best haul was 40 "mills" for $36 shipped. There was a complete set of of EZ outs from Cleveland from #10 screw to #9 which is about 1-1/4" diameter. Not something I will use but ok. The gold in the deal were 2 2 flute carbide end mills, 1/2" and 1/4". The balance of the lot was unused HSS bits in various sizes. You gotta shop around a bit to find the sellers but they are out there. Some are used equipment dealers and some are pickers but the deals are out there for the taking.
 
MontanaLon said:
Oh man, I picked up a lot of 5 roughing end mills a couple of weeks ago, all USA brands in lightly used condition. Cleveland and Balax. 1/2" 2x 3/4" and 2x 1.5" for $20.61. When I say lightly I mean they peeled the wax off and set it in a drawer. No visible wear on them, coatings not worn at all.

But my best haul was 40 "mills" for $36 shipped. There was a complete set of of EZ outs from Cleveland from #10 screw to #9 which is about 1-1/4" diameter. Not something I will use but ok. The gold in the deal were 2 2 flute carbide end mills, 1/2" and 1/4". The balance of the lot was unused HSS bits in various sizes. You gotta shop around a bit to find the sellers but they are out there. Some are used equipment dealers and some are pickers but the deals are out there for the taking.
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In all the years I've been buying end mills I've never seen one new from the factory come dipped in wax. They've always come in either a plastic or cardboard sleeve. Last week I purchased a couple KEO 404 keyseat cutters. They came in plastic sleeves like these:

www.ebay.com

1x NEW KEO Woodruff Keyseat Cutter KSC #708 M42 Co RH Straight 1x7/32" - 94058 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1x NEW KEO Woodruff Keyseat Cutter KSC #708 M42 Co RH Straight 1x7/32" - 94058 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Note the package gives the part number, type of cutter, shank style, construction material, direction of cut, and tooth configuration.

Even when we would buy them in bulk lots of 100 or more of the same size they were still individually packaged. It's common for resharpening services to dip reground mills in wax. Dipping in wax may be a newer less expensive packaging trend, but very few manufacturers print or engrave the same information on the mills themselves. It would be difficult for a customer to verify they received what they ordered. In addition given the way they are handled and shipped I would suspect more mills would be damaged.

Have you used a micrometer to be sure they are new, not regrinds sold by someone who isn't familiar with the industry ?
 
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