Walter FaceMill Choice

[ronboult]

After reading Pixmans articles on his Facemills I am thinking of purchasing a 45deg Face mill. He seems to like the quality of the Walter mills so I had a look at their 2012 catalogue.

My mill is only a small bench mill (1.5hp) with a R8 spindle. 
My inclination is therefore to limit my purchase to a 40 or 50mm 45 deg facemill. 

I currently have a chinese BAP 400R-50-22-4T (APMT1604 inserts) shoulder mill and an EMR-5R-50-22-4T (RPMW1003 insert) corner mill

First decision is what model Walter facemill F2233 or F4033. (F2233.B.040.Z03.05  or  F4033.B22.050.Z03.06)   The F2233 comes in both 40mm & 50 mm sizes with 22mm bore. The F4033 only seems to be 50mm or larger.

Then there is the number, type and size of inserts. The  F2233 is available with either 3, 4 or 6 inserts (40mm), 4, 5 or 8 (50mm)  and F4033 isavailable with either 3, 4 or 6 inserts (50mm) In addition the F2233 is available to take  9 or 12mm inserts. Decisions Decisions!!!!!!!

Can any body advise what are the advantages & disadvantages with 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 insert cutters? For general purpose use on both steel and Alu what should I choose?

For my size mill I think the 9mm insert size is probably all I need  (SDGT09T3AEN ) but the  (SNHX1205ANN ) used in the F4033 has 8 edges and should also be OK. Are either of these more readily available or significantly cheaper.


Thanks

Ron