Does tooling really cost that much?

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awaqa909

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I've watched a few endmill videos, going to town on some material. I was curious how they compared to the endmills that I see being used at work. I have no idea what brand anything we use at work, so I thought I would look at these endmills in the videos first. I found a Sandvik Coroman 3/8" endmill and it cost $190~... This got me wondering a bit. Is this a very expensive endmill or something? Do other types of tools such as drills and taps costs this much? I've witnessed one copper job eat a few taps. Lathes go though 35 deg finishing inserts on stainless steel.

Thanks,
Awaqa909
 
The high priced tools are worth the cost. IF you are using them to make money. Through study they will produce more work per dollar than "cheap" tools.

On the other hand, I'm not concerned with getting the ultimate value from tooling, so I buy "Cheap" stuff, 5 carbide 1/8 end mills for $2.00. including shipping. If I break one on the first cut, I'm out $0.40. not hundreds of dollars.

Expendable tooling (cutters, drills, etc) will not last forever, spend money on measuring tools and machinery that will outlast you.
 
To me tooling is not mainly cutters. You can get reasonably priced cutters.
It's all the other stuff - gauges, pins, mikes, hones, readers, various drill lengths, keyways cutters, rotary tables, clamps.......
And yes they are either expensive in either money or time.
But --- that is this hobby!
Don't worry about it. Work on them as you need for projects. It will be a great feeling at the first project that you don't need to buy something new.
Enjoy the journey!
 
Yes and no, with ideal cutting conditions such a tool will often perform as advertised.

With non-ideal conditions be they a flexy machine or setup that is not ideal all bets are off. As far as lathe work goes one may be required to turn long parts that are not possibly an ideal set up, I used about $75.00 worth of inserts yesterday facing and boring a part way to big for the machine using a far from excellent set up.

Face and turn the OD of a 30" laser cut disc, bore 5" + - .005 through, 9.83" +- .010 X .550 deep counterbore with a very strict surface finish.

These are not ideal cutting conditions at all.

The finish was not bad after 14 hours of work.
 
awaqa909 said:
I've watched a few endmill videos, going to town on some material. I was curious how they compared to the endmills that I see being used at work. I have no idea what brand anything we use at work, so I thought I would look at these endmills in the videos first. I found a Sandvik Coroman 3/8" endmill and it cost $190~... This got me wondering a bit. Is this a very expensive endmill or something? Do other types of tools such as drills and taps costs this much? I've witnessed one copper job eat a few taps. Lathes go though 35 deg finishing inserts on stainless steel.

Thanks,
Awaqa909
Click to expand...
You have to also understand that you see the retail price listed. Very few companies pay retail price, just you and me. That Sandvik end mill bought in quantities of lets say 50 at a time, a company may only pay $65 each! Likewise with carbide inserts, too. Price is based on volume too. If your company buys over $250,000 worth a year, you bet you will get a nice discount, and a nice side by side refrigerator along with it too! And the fridge never makes it to the shop either! And you wonder why the shop manger has nice new appliances when you go visit his home!
 
I'll go +1 on what others have said. Start with a basic set that you can easily afford. Use it carefully, but be aware that the cheap end mills or lathe tools probably won't last. Then again, they're good learning tools ... if you ruin one, you're not out too many $$. Keep looking for "super deals" at local sales or the Austin Craigslist. If you can, find and join an amateur machinists' club.

When I "started my shop" several years ago I got a set of Chinese end mills - possibly Grizzly, possibly LMS: http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1245&category=
I've since loaded up with a goodly selection of mills from sources like those I mentioned. Once in a while a project comes along that requires a mill I don't have (special diameter, extra length, whatever), and I've gone to sources like LMS, Victor, Shars, or CDCO. I don't think I've paid over $25 for any of my regular end mills. Did pay around $100 for a carbide insert shell mill, to replace the POS I got with my round column mill. I bought one that allowed me to re-use the arbor.

Pretty much the same story for lathe tools.
 
For the past hundred years or so , high speed tools have been tops on most materials. Carbide came in about fifty years ago . A lot depends on the manufacturer or the steel mill . The better the steel the better the cutter. Works the same for carbide. So it's still the same . I can't see buying costly tool bits over the cheaper alternatives , I don't think China quality even warrants mention. I'm talking American brands , you can make great cutting tools from old worn out stelite valves from small engines . The same type steel in many high speed steel tools. I'm more then willing to buy used endmills over New. But it's my income that forces the situation.
 
There are tons of great deals to be had on top quality tooling at a fraction, if you're patient and vigilant.
Ebay, CL, flea markets, auctions, estate sales, even Amazon and Msc. I've gotten amazing deals on Ebay for top notch stuff. I never pay anything close to retail.
Not everything of course comes at a bargain price and if you need something right away, you can only do your best comparison shopping.
 
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