How much better are Niagra or Kodiak brand end mills?

I have about 300-400 of the TitanUSA carbide end mills, from 1/8” to 3/4”, in numerous sizes, flute configurations, coatings and lengths, I’m very happy with them. Most of my HSS end mills are part of the 1000 end mills I bought, during the Korean End Mill Bonanza (that a sold off about 75%), super high quality, meant to be sold as a house brand, they came in sleeves, with only size and Made in Korea markings. The Niagara I’ve used have been excellent, Harbor Freight set I got as a gift, where real hit and miss, some worked fine, some would not cut butter.
 
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Buffalo21 said:
I have about 300-400 of the TitanUSA carbide end mills, from 1/8” to 3/4”, in numerous sizes, flute configurations, coatings and lengths
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OK, I stand corrected. I have a very small collection of end mills. :oops:
 
wildo said:
OK, I stand corrected. I have a very small collection of end mills. :oops:
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:grin: Very very small . Just kidding . I have 1000s if not 10s of thousands of end mills . All USA made other than some Nachis . I have to bring them to work because they only have a Chinese set here that won't cut butter . As a machinist by trade I only use top quality tools , if I had to buy these tools for a hobby , maybe not so . Top quality =Top $$$ .
 
I have a precision matthews PM25MV. I guess my machine isn't ridgid enough or big enough to be using 3/4" end mills?
 
Im thinking 3/4" might be at the big end of effective use for a PM-25 , but I could be wrong.
 
The mention of the 3/4" end mill was really just to indicate that if you just need to get the job done, the Harbor Freight set will be just fine. I would think 3/4" is definitely pushing it for the PM25MV, most likely.
 
The Kodiak cutting tool office is about 2 miles from my house, it’s a office in a micro strip mall, wedged between a CPA and an insurance office (or is it a dentist office and a nail parlor), I’ve bought from them, nice people, but mostly I order from the TitanUSA rep directly.
 
I started with end mills from Enco 35 years ago. They worked fine in CRS and aluminum. I picked up around 600 new Niagra end mills at a closed shop and use them exclusively. They do seem to hold up better, but for the price you may want to try an import first. Most of us aren't running production shops and have more time than money.

Bruce
 
Are larger end mills less susceptible to breaking/chipping? I guess I'll stick to cobalt end mills for now, I don't want to chip carbide since they're expensive and they break easier from what I've read.
 
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