10-06-2015, 08:57 PM
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.
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.