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- Jan 31, 2016
- Messages
- 11,523
I made a similar holder with maybe 150 or so assorted holes . My countersinks and spot drills filled the thing up and I still had half a bucket to go . I gave up on organization .
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End mill organization?
- Thread starter imagineer
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2018
- Messages
- 543
With that many end mills, I would guess that a large number have to be dull or damaged. There must be a heck of a pile of duplicates of the 'workhorses', right? (1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch in 2 and 4 flutes.) Is there also a mixture of carbide and high speed steel bits?
If so, I would first sort based on the condition of the cutting edges and the ease of re-sharpening. I would separate any that are chipped and thus would require heavy grinding and further separate by carbide v. HSS. Then I would pull out all the bits that are dull; again dividing between carbide and HSS. You don't need to baby any of these dull or damaged tools since they need work before being used. I'd store them in bags, boxes or buckets, as appropriate.
Then, I'd go through the sorting process you described...with probably a much smaller number of end mills to sort through!
BTW, one thing that helps me is to colour-code for some of the bits. For example, I have a colour sticker for center-cutting end mills and another for ball-end end mills. It helps me to be able differentiate them quickly while looking for something particular in the drawer. YMMV.
Craig
What makes great drawers are shelves.
Steel shelving is maybe 1 inch or so folds on the sides.
Combined with ball bearing drawer slides makes great storage.
Attached is combo estate sale, thrift store and remnant stock.
Had to buy the screws at the distributor, shelves were 2 bucks each, bench 15, slides for 20 drawers 20 bucks...
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Steel shelving is maybe 1 inch or so folds on the sides.
Combined with ball bearing drawer slides makes great storage.
Attached is combo estate sale, thrift store and remnant stock.
Had to buy the screws at the distributor, shelves were 2 bucks each, bench 15, slides for 20 drawers 20 bucks...
Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2021
- Messages
- 735
Here are the dish drainers I showed in post #8, trimmed and installed in a shallow drawer.
I'd say tq60 &/or Provincial for the win! Cheap, easy & durable.
In an unrelated thought (relevance will be revealed) I was thinking about the Dewey Decimal System. (not ALL dreams need be sordid.....). A vast library of say 600 - 700 books all on rows upon rows of shelves need a way to reference them in such a way that anyone can quickly find that 1 book they need. So, this would require an index file for quick reference - but wait: what if my search term is size? OK reference file A is for you. No? My search term is Ball End? My search term is Roughing? My .... OK, OK, OK. Since, in terms of library size, this is small. We only have the 3 crossreference indexes: A, B & C. Ah, finally all sorted with 3 pertinent index files to help quickly find each & every book. But, wait, new inventory just arrived (this Will ALWAYS be true). How do we account for easily adding them into our system????? NO: We are NOT going to be starting over because good ol' Dewey accounted for that in his system!!!! New items get new reference numbers that fit our system & are easily stored along with added reference cards put in place. Life is good!
Sorry, I woke up with a start when it came to remembering just how does the Dewey Decimal system actually work? But, yeah, substitute shelves for storage compartments (our friends above have great examples above). Now substitute 'book' with endmill. Familiarize yourself with his system, apply it to your needs & get crackin.
In an unrelated thought (relevance will be revealed) I was thinking about the Dewey Decimal System. (not ALL dreams need be sordid.....). A vast library of say 600 - 700 books all on rows upon rows of shelves need a way to reference them in such a way that anyone can quickly find that 1 book they need. So, this would require an index file for quick reference - but wait: what if my search term is size? OK reference file A is for you. No? My search term is Ball End? My search term is Roughing? My .... OK, OK, OK. Since, in terms of library size, this is small. We only have the 3 crossreference indexes: A, B & C. Ah, finally all sorted with 3 pertinent index files to help quickly find each & every book. But, wait, new inventory just arrived (this Will ALWAYS be true). How do we account for easily adding them into our system????? NO: We are NOT going to be starting over because good ol' Dewey accounted for that in his system!!!! New items get new reference numbers that fit our system & are easily stored along with added reference cards put in place. Life is good!
Sorry, I woke up with a start when it came to remembering just how does the Dewey Decimal system actually work? But, yeah, substitute shelves for storage compartments (our friends above have great examples above). Now substitute 'book' with endmill. Familiarize yourself with his system, apply it to your needs & get crackin.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2019
- Messages
- 4,392
This is what I did:
What is not marked, but is a practice that I maintain is that “2 and 3 flute, ball, 45° angle, etc.” endmills are found in the *first drawer* of a given size (where size is defined as endmill diameter). “4+ flute and always square” endmills are in the *second drawer* of the given size. If I have enough 6 flute, I put another drawer to the right of that.
Following this practice, if I only have one drawer for a certain size, the “endmills for softer materials, ball, etc.” are placed on the left side of the drawer, and “4+ flute and always square” are on the right side of the drawer.
What is not marked, but is a practice that I maintain is that “2 and 3 flute, ball, 45° angle, etc.” endmills are found in the *first drawer* of a given size (where size is defined as endmill diameter). “4+ flute and always square” endmills are in the *second drawer* of the given size. If I have enough 6 flute, I put another drawer to the right of that.
Following this practice, if I only have one drawer for a certain size, the “endmills for softer materials, ball, etc.” are placed on the left side of the drawer, and “4+ flute and always square” are on the right side of the drawer.
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I moved the sorting operation to the basement for better lighting. The obvious damaged or dulled end mills (about 200) have been culled out . This is what's left, sorted by diameter and unique purpose. There are a few weird ones in the mix that I'll be posting pictures to see if anyone can identify their purpose.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2019
- Messages
- 4,392
I don’t know how it will work for you, but I had good luck discarding all of those plastic cases.
Also, I have seen a lot of members on here organize their drills in drawers something like this:
VEVOR Drill Bit Dispenser Cabinet, Five-Drawer Drill Bit Dispenser, 1/2" Reduced Shank Drill Bit Organizer Cabinet, Drill Dispenser Organizer Cabinet for Sizes 33/64" to 63/64" in 1/64" Increments | VEVOR US
Discover VEVOR Drill Bit Dispenser Cabinet, Five-Drawer Drill Bit Dispenser, 1/2" Reduced Shank Drill Bit Organizer Cabinet, Drill Dispenser Organizer Cabinet for Sizes 33/64" to 63/64" in 1/64" Increments, Large Space Organizer and Easy Identification at lowest price, 2days delivery, 30days...
I don't plan on using most of the plastic cases, unless it's a special cutter or doesn't fit in a sorter box.
Knowing I was going to have to manage a lot of cutters, taps and drills, I built a 10-drawer add-on tool chest specifically for this project. I got lucky and found a small, cheap Plano sorter box from Menards fits my tool chest drawers well. I ended up buying all they had of this:
I like that I'll be able to organize cutters and taps in smaller, separate quantities, and that the boxes stack and have lids.
How to physically store the end mills is not a concern. My original question was, what methodology for organizing do the members of this site use? Does it make sense to separate by diameter, or by # of flutes, or by HSS vs Carbide, High or Std. helix?
Knowing I was going to have to manage a lot of cutters, taps and drills, I built a 10-drawer add-on tool chest specifically for this project. I got lucky and found a small, cheap Plano sorter box from Menards fits my tool chest drawers well. I ended up buying all they had of this:
I like that I'll be able to organize cutters and taps in smaller, separate quantities, and that the boxes stack and have lids.
How to physically store the end mills is not a concern. My original question was, what methodology for organizing do the members of this site use? Does it make sense to separate by diameter, or by # of flutes, or by HSS vs Carbide, High or Std. helix?