End mill organization?

[imagineer]

This is probably a silly question, but is there a correct methodology for organizing end mills? I’ve started going through the cache of tooling acquired from my father’s workshop and am somewhat overwhelmed.

A conservative estimate so far is there are around 600-700 end mills. The sizes range from .025” (the smallest I’ve found so far) to 1.25” diameter. There are 2 flute, multi-flute, ball end, and T-end versions. There are double ended (with some having one end broken) and a lot of short, single ended. There are even ones that are tapered or have been modified or are asymmetrical.

The process so far (& almost completed) has been to separate by cutter diameter, grouping by; up to .099”, .100” to .199”, .200” to .299” and so on.

My plan for phase 2 would be to separate the diameter groups by the number of flutes; 2 flute, 3 or more flutes.

The last phase of organizing would be to separate out ones that have unique characteristics, i.e., ball end, tapered, T-end, etc. I would also at this point cull out any that are damaged or have been modified to where I doubt I’d have a use for them (note, none will be thrown out, just boxed and saved).

I found some nice (and cheap) plastic sorter boxes at Menards that fit nicely in the drawers of the tool cabinet I just finished. I’m thinking of picking up a few dozen more for storing the end mills and the hundreds of taps also acquired.

 

[mmcmdl]

My favorite is 5 gallon buckets . Easy to haul from basement to garage and visa versa .

 

[BGHansen]

The plastic organizers work well. I have a few drawers with 3" deep plastic organizers from Menards for new endmills. I cut sheet metal to width so it slips into the front card slot, then fold a flange over the top for a label.

My endmills "in use" set in a tool chest by my mills. I have some of them setting on top of each other without protection on the edges. Poor practice? I have yet to chip an endmill in storage as I'm not bouncing the tool box around the shop. Some are in a drawer organizer (black plastic tray in the photo below) and use a lot of the drawers from a plastic part organizer.

Once they get dull, they head to a bag under my Delta-Milwaukee surface grinder. I have a 5-C collet sharpening fixture for touching up the bottoms. One of my retirement "list of good intensions" tasks is figuring out how to sharpen them.

Bruce

New 1/8" - 3/8" end mills

New 3/8" - 3/4" end mills

New 3/4" - 1" end mills and other goodies

Used carbide end mills

Used HSS end mills

 

[pontiac428]

Sounds like you're off to a good start. I wish I had enough mills to carry in a 5 gallon bucket. I use bins and casino cups (when they used to have coins) and sort them into 1/2"-up and 1/2"-down, with special mills set aside. The biggest secret in machining is that end mill size only matters in certain operations, within a range. I'm sure you've heard that before on other topics, but this time it's true. I'm not sure what's more tedious, sorting into twenty bins and finding what you want, or having 20 similar mills in a few bins and picking what you need as needed.

That contorted bit said, there's always Huot. Those cabinets are a nice solution if you have the bench space.

 

[imagineer]

That contorted bit said, there's always Huot. Those cabinets are a nice solution if you have the bench space.

I just finished another tool storage cabinet (specifically for this) and have up to 9 drawers, 21" x 17" x 2.5" deep available for storing all the endmills and taps. And there's a 10th drawer at the bottom that is 6" deep.

 

[C-Bag]

I had those box type dividers and didn’t like them. Somewhere I saw these lista sdt-4 grooved tray dividers but of course couldn’t remember what they were called. Being Lista they are of course expensive and for some reason that particular model is always out of stock. Went to eBay and a guy was getting rid of bunch for 1/5 of new. I like them because they are round bottom and easy to get the endmill out.

 

[benmychree]

I keep all my end mills in hardwood blocks with holes drilled in a grid pattern, most about 4" X 12"and about 1 1/2 thick, stored on open shelves.

 

[Provincial]

I posted this on a tap storage thread. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/tap-storage-tip.59897/page-3#post-1005160

I saw this dish drainer mat at Dollar Store the other day. It looked like it would store end mills, and also taps. The spacing of the ribs allows end mills up to 1/2" diameter to be stored side-by-side, and 5/8" end mills can be separated by up to a 1/2" end mill. 3/4" end mills require a 3/8" diameter end mill for separation.

I will be trimming this one down to fit in a 12" (front to back) shallow drawer. The cut will be at the bottom of the full width of the ribs. I will be placing two of these side-by-side.

This had nubs on the back to make it lower in the middle and drain toward the open end. I used a small back saw to cut off the taller nubs, and used a 4-1/2" angle grinder to smooth out my cuts and remove the smallest nubs.

I think it should work just a well for taps. Narrow strips of tape (like striping tape for cars) or foam weatherstripping could be used to keep items from moving when the drawer is opened and closed.

 

[Karl_T]

i use a couple of these racks

1/8" - 3/4" End Mill Tote Rack Mixed

Rapid CNC - Machinist Tooling Organizers - Storage Solutions. Collet racks with labeled sizes saves time.

www.colletizer.com

 

[pontiac428]

Colletizer racks are awesome! I have one for Bilz/Emudge holders and one for R8. I need more!