Noob tooling advise.

[axa88]

So ive got a new lathe and mill coming end of the year.
And while lathes aren't new to me, the mill is.

What i found learning to use my lathe is that a lot of the worry i had about junk tools i or precision never came to fruition, while some headache from junk tools haunted me forever.

So now that im looking to acquire just about everything, i have a pretty good idea in many respects what i need for the lathe, where i can and cant cut corners, but i have little to no idea what i really need for the mill, what tooling is going to be needed but i dont know it yet, where i can and cant cut corners, so on and so fourth...
And although im trying, i dont really have the time to put into learning/researching or finding ebay deals on quality tools.

So my question is as a beginner mill hobbyist, is there any good listing for essential tools.
Perhaps a listing of what Chinese tooling is worth it and what to avoid.
I know that while learning the lathe im glad to have broken the cheap stuff rather than good, and that some things wont break and were worth getting good from the start... and hopefully not need to get stuck in the middle of work waiting for tool after tool when i realize i need it.

Just looking for advise on getting all the needed tooling at the right time, at the best cost possible.

Thanks.

 

[T Bredehoft]

On a mill you need a good vice and a digital read-out system. X (length of the table) and Y, (width of the table) Power X feed is good, and if you have a mill with a vertically movable head, you should have power to do that, otherwise you'll get tired soon of cranking the head up and down. I don't have and don't miss quill power, I can bore as good a hole by hand (a crank handle on the downfeed wheel) as the next guy. Drilling holes should be by hand (try power feeding a dull drill once, you'll know why you want to hand drill). (Power feeding a dull drill leads to major problems.)

 

[Larry$]

Warning: observations of an untrained old guy... What I've used and has been OK. I do not do production work so no idea of how long various tools will last. Best thing I've used is a set of cobalt screw machine drill bits. But they are rather brittle. You also need a 115pc set of fraction, letter and number jobbers bits. My set is from Cleveland and has been good. My end mills are mostly Chinese and have worked OK but I also have a few Niagara which are better and a lot more expensive. I had problems chipping the corners of flat bottom carbide end mills so now get the ones with a a slight radius on the corners. Most likely an operator problem. Tap & die set or individuals, get brand name good ones. Nothing worse than breaking a tap in an expensive or work piece nearly finished. Two flute end mills work best in Aluminum.

I have a Shars boring head, seems OK. Boring bars from China with brazed tips are pretty junky. It is one of the few places that I always use inserted tooling. Fly cutters, good project to make yourself. But the cheap ones I've got work OK. 1/2" or .2" edge finder. Mine is a Brown & sharp, works fine. Tap follower needs to not have any play, so get a name brand. Parallels, two sets. 1/4" & a thinner set. I think mine came from Shars and are very consistent. V blocks, 123 blocks, a way to measure angles, (mostly use an electronic angle block.) Lots more stuff as you find the need.
Warning the rabbit hole is deep!

 

[davidpbest]

Perhaps the attached will help.

 

[axa88]

On a mill you need a good vice and a digital read-out system. X (length of the table) and Y, (width of the table) Power X feed is good, and if you have a mill with a vertically movable head, you should have power to do that, otherwise you'll get tired soon of cranking the head up and down. I don't have and don't miss quill power, I can bore as good a hole by hand (a crank handle on the downfeed wheel) as the next guy. Drilling holes should be by hand (try power feeding a dull drill once, you'll know why you want to hand drill). (Power feeding a dull drill leads to major problems.)

Im with you. I got a PM 932M which has power feed on all but the Y axsis, so i did get the PDF which I imagine would help with boring finishes (Ive done a bit of small engine boring work and knew i could use it) I tend to want the features that would be hard or costly to add later. But youre surely right about peck drilling, no reason not to do a vast majority of drilling by hand.

 

[axa88]

Perhaps the attached will help.

looks like you've been around and heard this one a 1000 times.

Update: that was a good read, i especially like the color code and frequency of use info since i have no experience to go on. thanks

 

[addertooth]

Get a good set of 4 flute COATED carbide end mills for steel. Get a good set of 2 flute COATED end mills for Aluminum. As a general rule, the good stuff lasts much longer then the cheap ones. Enough so, that the "cost per use" is lower on the good stuff.

 

[axa88]

Get a good set of 4 flute COATED carbide end mills for steel. Get a good set of 2 flute COATED end mills for Aluminum. As a general rule, the good stuff lasts much longer then the cheap ones. Enough so, that the "cost per use" is lower on the good stuff.

But how about costs when you factor in the noob breakage premium? I suspect beginners will break tools won't they?

 

[xr650rRider]

You'll break more cheap end mills, they don't cut. Now if you only work in plastic or wood, maybe they're marginal. I bought sets of the Grizzly coated HSS, got a full set from Precision Matthews. Again soft material they'll pass but on steel, they are junk.

 

[axa88]

You'll break more cheap end mills, they don't cut. Now if you only work in plastic or wood, maybe they're marginal. I bought sets of the Grizzly coated HSS, got a full set from Precision Matthews. Again soft material they'll pass but on steel, they are junk.

Understood, Chinese cutting tools from any source = junk.