Why is the good stuff so expensive?

[Janderso]

I was watching a Tom Lipton video over the weekend. He was plowing through some material on his milling machine.
I couldn't believe how aggressive the cut was. I paid attention when he said, "these Niagara fine pitch 8% cobalt roughing end mills are sweet".
I would say he was plowing 1/2" doc with a 3/4" diameter cutter. Just moving along, no chatter, no whining or squealing.
Yes, they are sweet.
I quickly got online to buy a couple for myself. Ah, wait a minute. A 3/4" end mill is how much? $137
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/45554292
Maybe I will continue to use my standard cutters.
I'm not in that big of a hurry.

 

[Janderso]

I decided to try these.

Results Page 1 :: KBC Tools & Machinery

www.kbctools.com

I have been happy with KBC. I get 4 for the price of one Niagara. Hey, I still get fine pitch, cobalt. Look at the sizes, 1/2", 5/8" 3/4" and 1". That is good value. Maybe.......

 

[vtcnc]

I decided to try these.

Results Page 1 :: KBC Tools & Machinery

www.kbctools.com

I have been happy with KBC. I get 4 for the price of one Niagara. Hey, I still get fine pitch, cobalt. Look at the sizes, 1/2", 5/8" 3/4" and 1". That is good value. Maybe.......

Subscribing to this one to pay attention to your results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[darkzero]

Ya gotta become a popular YT'r!

Not saying this it the case with Tom Lipton cause I have no idea but there's a guy who works at Niagara as a tool designer or something that supports the YT machinists makers. Some time ago he sent care packages to a number of YT'rs for free.

But Niagara does make some of the best end mills. Some of their geometries look very interesting. Gotta pay for good tools. I can't afford them so I buy 95% of my end mills on ebay.

 

[mikey]

I own mostly Niagara cutters, some of which must be nearly 20 years old. I know my 3/8" cobalt fine pitch rougher is at least 15 years old and still cuts like new. When I first bought it, I cut a 3/8" deep pocket in aluminum about 4" square and went full depth ... on a little Sherline mill. For most things, you get what you pay for and in the case of Niagara cutters it is worth the cost. If used properly, they cut well and have a good work life.

For me, cheap end mills is not a good investment.

 

[darkzero]

For me, cheap end mills is not a good investment.

Most definitely! I bought one of those cheap end mill sets when I first got my mill. Pretty much junk but they got me by & were cheap. Never again. Now I only buy quality name brand end mills but at surplus prices on ebay. Which means I'm always keeping an eye out but worth the savings. Only time I'll bite the bullet & pay full retail is if I need it in a hurry.

I have a few 1/16" & 3/32" Niagara end mills that just keep on going. Haven't ever broke one & my mill doesn't even go fast enough to spin them at the recommended RPMs.

 

[projectnut]

Like others I've used Niagara and other quality brand end mills for years. They do hold up well and cut almost all metals easily. Like Mikey's some of mine date back many years. Some are from the 1980's.

Having said that I think the places you're looking are charging what I would consider "Ultra Premium" prices. There are currently over 2,000 NEW Niagara end mills of various materials, sizes and configurations listed in the US on eBay. Prices for 1/2" ones are as low as $15.00. I would check out some of the businesses that buy surplus stock and business closeouts.

I have in the neighborhood of 300 Niagara brand mills of different sizes, coatings, and cutting configurations. All were purchased NEW. Some were purchased late last year, and I've never paid more than $25.00 a unit for even the largest ones. I always look for a "Lot" of several. f you can use multiples of the same size or similar size it always brings down the per unit price considerably.

On Edit: Speaking of less expensive when "buying by the lot" Last week I purchased 40-1/4" carbide mills, 10-3/8 mills, and 40 assorted carbide inserts from a shop in Michigan for the total sum of $85.00 shipping included. They should arrive in the next couple days. Time will tell if I got the deal of a lifetime, or was a first class sucker. I'm hoping for the deal of a lifetime since I know of several others that bought from the same shop and were more than satisfied.

 

[Janderso]

Having said that I think the places you're looking are charging what I would consider "Ultra Premium" prices. There are currently over 2,000 NEW Niagara end mills of various materials, sizes and configurations listed in the US on eBay. Prices for 1/2" ones are as low as $15.00. I would check out some of the businesses that buy surplus stock and business closeouts.

I always worry about buying counterfeit on Ebay.
I bought a new Mitutoyo dial indicator for cheap. Once I unwrapped it and gave it a good once over, it was not the real deal.
I do watch Travers specials. They have some good prices from time to time on name brand cutters.
I'll let you know how these KBC end mills perform. It will be a couple weeks before I can get to it.

 

[mmcmdl]

" Why is the good stuff so expensive "?

If it wasn't expensive , it wouldn't be good Jeff !

 

[ttabbal]

I always worry about buying counterfeit on Ebay.
I bought a new Mitutoyo dial indicator for cheap. Once I unwrapped it and gave it a good once over, it was not the real deal.
I do watch Travers specials. They have some good prices from time to time on name brand cutters.
I'll let you know how these KBC end mills perform. It will be a couple weeks before I can get to it.

I haven't had problems with end mills being fakes. Mitutoyo stuff on ebay and even amazon is a problem. Mostly measuring tools. I have switched to buying only from bigger vendors for those as I don't think they would risk their reputation selling fakes. I think it's partly that measuring tools are used by a lot of hobby users, so there are more people to possibly catch. End mills are a pretty limited market, not many people own a mill.