Input for End Mill

[Highpower]

Nicely done.

What will you be using in it's place?

[Thumb]

Well, I had a mount with a 3/8 dovetail and pictinney rail but don't remember what brand/make it was. The scope I have is pretty
large and even with the bent bolt it still hits the scope. So it looks like I'll be in the market for a slimmer scope with a longer eye relief.

[Vinny]

They have no closeouts or discontinued product?

[TomG]

I buy most of mine from McMaster Carr. They carry Niagara brand which are made in the U.S., are reasonably priced and very good quality. If you are cutting mostly aluminum, then concentrate on 2-flute HSS double end end mills. For steel, four flutes are better because they are more rigid and with four flutes, place half the load on the teeth as two flutes. As Ed pointed out, sets are a waste of money. I use mostly 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". The smaller ones run about $17 and the 1/2" is about $10 more.

Tom

[Thumb]

(10-06-2015, 06:38 PM)Vinny Wrote: They have no closeouts or discontinued product?

Not online they didn't but I can go to the store itself and check it out. They also have a lot of gun related tooling.

TomG, I'll check them out and see what I can come up with.

Oh, what type should I be looking for, square end, rounded edge, uncoated, coated or something else?

[Roadracer_Al]

I'm going to step into my nomex undies for the ensuing flames... IMHO, if you're really just learning, and you're teaching yourself (hopefully with the benefit of books such as the old South Bend books) ---- which is how I learned, although I often wish I had access to vocational adult education ---- I will say that end mills break as easily as teen age hearts and are consumable goods, not a durable goods. When I first had my mill/drill, end mill life expectancy was quite short - I broke them long before they became dull.

The extra quality and added edge durability of a nicely made piece of USA tooling would have been wasted on me in the first 1~2 years of mill ownership. Carbide end mills, doubly so!!

Maybe I was young and stupid (and it's entirely possible that I'm getting old and remaining stupid) and didn't exhibit enough care, so some of fragility boils down to personality. But, IMHO, if a machinist says he's never broken an end mill, he's probably lying.

I generally agree with the idea of avoiding sets, although $70 for a 2-flute/4-flute kit on sale at Enco isn't such a bad thing and will get you started. The hole in the box which is alway empty lets you know which single sizes to buy. ;)

The work you do defines which sizes you'll want. If you're a watch maker, you get different sizes than a heavy equipment maker.

There is one thing which I *would* buy in a set, and that's ball-end mills. I bought singles, and I never seem to have the size I want.

Also, don't overlook the value of a roughing end mill. You'll probably only need one size. They're usually costly per piece, but they save MASSIVE amounts of both time and wear on your finishing end mills.

[Thumb]

Roadracer_Al, maybe I am very careful because the end mills I do have I have had for over 25 years but used them in my drill press and I have never broke one. Now they may be pretty dull by now but they still do work especially if I'm not putting a finishing touch on the material. Since I will be mostly working on gun related material, aluminum, polymer, and steel I may need a few different types. Even though I have just started I've already found out that I will need to make some of my own tools for working with the mill. I can see a lot of fun coming my way! :)

[Vinny]

Small tool places RARELY list closeouts and overstock stuff on their websites. I've never seen the closeout items I've picked up at Wholesale Tool on their website.