Recommended place to buy HSS blanks

My 2 cents,
A ground HSS tool can last for decades, just a touch up now and again.
If you buy quality, you are money ahead.
If you buy from McMaster you are getting what you pay for. IMHO
 
I'm not sure what size blank you were looking at on the McMaster site, but almost any size under 3/8" is less than $15.00. Still they are asking what I would consider premium prices. That being said you never have to worry about the quality. McMaster caters to industry, and would never put price over quality. If they did they would loose corporate accounts in a minute.

One interesting note is that they never reveal the brand of the items they sell. Most likely because if they did potential customers would realize they only carry quality brands and look elsewhere to try to get those same brands for less money.

If it were me I would buy a few quality brand name tools like Cleveland, MoMax, Milford, Rex, Morse or ETM. Some of these brands are no longer current, but can be found on eBay and other similar sites. By starting with known quality tooling you have a base line as what to expect as far as sharpness, profile and longevity are concerned.

Once you are satisfied you can make quality and precise cuts with good tooling you might want to explore other, possibly less expensive brands. While I agree that a given tool blank sharpened to a specific profile will last a considerable amount of time, changing profiles quickly eats up a blank. I probably have close to 1,000 different size, composition, and profile blanks in the drawers. In times past it was less expensive and less time consuming to buy a new blank (or box of blanks) when making new tooling. I'm not sure I would recommend that course today, but I would certainly consider retaining some form tools if you feel you may need to create that profile in the future.

A little perspective on the cost of HSS tooling. Back in the late 80's when carbide became the rage dealers all but couldn't give away HSS or any of its variations of tooling. I was buying boxes of the stuff for between $.25 and $.50 per blank. Once the carbide rage slowed a bit people realized there was still a place for HSS. The prices have gone up considerably, and there are now far fewer manufacturers making it.
 
I am getting ready to order some stuff from Shars. I noticed that they have 6" to 8" long blanks for only a little more than the shorter blanks. The actual length of most of my tool bits is under 2". I plant to cut the long blanks into 2" pieces. That will significantly cut the cost.
 
As you are new to HSS grinding, I would get some known good but still cheap bits to learn on. You will mess up and it's nice to do so with the cheap stuff. Once you nail down the angles and techniques, then get the nicer stuff and make a couple grinds for your day-to-day use.

I use a box of cheap import M2 for testing, once I like it, I grind a nice brand name cobalt or tungsten version. I have abused some of those cheap M2s and they hold up better than I expected.

I wouldn't cut them down. Sure, you use a small amount most of the time, but I do occasionally need to extend the tool a little more than that. The import bits are inexpensive enough that I don't think it's worth it.
 
Look at eBay for used lots of HSS. Might find ten or 20 pieces for not too much. Lets you try some other people’s grinds to see what does or doesn’t work. Just regrind the bad ones as long as there is enough length left in them for your tool holder.
 
Chewy said:
The blanks from the places I mentioned will do you fine. As well as CDCO, LMS, AR Warner, etc Don't know about KMS tools. Have to look into that, but if David put it up, it is a reputable company. Point to think about. You will grind the heck out of the first blanks, learning how too do it. You are not working on exotic materials. You could take a piece of key stock and use it on brass and aluminum. M2 blanks from any "in business" USA or Canada company will more than meet your needs. I do have EBAY blanks that I bought several years ago and they work fine.
Save your money for quality measuring tools and save it on items that the don't make that big a difference,. The people on the forum will give you all sorts of places to check into. More then I know about!
Click to expand...
Use key stock for tool bits on brass and aluminum ??????? This is ridiculous!!!!!!!
 
Several of us have bought these bits. Nothing fancy just HSS.. If you want to pm me an address I’ll drop a couple in the mail for you to try.

www.ebay.com

50pcs 3/8 x 3" HSS Square tool bits for $189.00 #HS-2BT-38---new | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 50pcs 3/8 x 3" HSS Square tool bits for $189.00 #HS-2BT-38---new at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
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I was trying to get the point across that you don't need to start at the very best with HSS. Imports/Ebay will suffice. I believe that there are models out there that people are using to learn how to grind. By the way, I actually cut a couple of grooves in aluminum with a piece of key stock, quality unknown as it had been in the drawer for about 20 years. That was when I didn't have a small piece of HSS. I just used a .093 HSS parting tool sideways to round over a piece of 12L14, 5/16" radius. It worked. I now have a selection of HSS thin by wide made up in different radius for that purpose.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
 
I"ve inherited a good selection of larger old HSS blanks, but was low on 1/8th to 1/4. Bought some from Busy Bee, Canada's expensive version of Harbour Freight. They seam to work fine.

Greg
 
+1 on Victornet. They also sell cobalt blanks. I'm going to use one of those for a vertical shear bit (I'm a bit concerned about the edge wearing out during a finishing pass with M2 HSS).
 
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