REady to buy some end mills

[Chuck in E. TN]

I am ready to invest in some end mills. I have used and abused what I have during the learning process of using my first mill, a HF X2, and am now ready to invest in a set of better quality.   
I have learned how to plunge, know the difference between conventional and climb milling. I understand the difference between a slot drill and a regular end mill. I even think I have a grip on feeds and speeds.
I haven’t mastered the knowledge of good-better-best in quality, or the need for roughing vs finishing mills.
I will be working with steel, aluminum, brass, and occasionally wood and plastic.
What I need to know is what sizes should I get? Should I buy a set? Individual mills? Do I really need a roughing mill? 2 flute vs 4 flute? Both?
Where can I find the best deal? Where do you get your end mills and why?
I have about $150 to spend on end mills. Would the sets of 2 and 4 flute from LMS due?

Chuck in E. TN

[Bernd]

Chuck,

I've bought my mills at Enco. I go for the non-import if I can. I think they are better grade steel. As far as roughing goes, my opinion is that the home shop guy doesn't do much production so I skip the roughing mills. When it comes to weather to use Tin plated versus plain I go for the plain. The Tin wares off after a while anyway and if you sharpen them you've lost the Tin coating anyway. I have the equivalent of the HF X-2, the Grizzly. The biggest I go is 1/2" Dia. I also only use HSS and stay away from carbide. They break to easy in that small mill.

So, that's my 1.48¢ worth. (adjusted for inflation)

Bernd

[dwentz]

I too buy most of my mills from Enco. They have a nice assortment on sale every month.  If you are not on their mailing list I would recommend signing up. I have been happy with the Enco House Brand mills, for the most part.

Starting out with a set is not a bad idea, and will save you a little money I would get a set from 1/8-3/4 by 8ths to start.
My most commonly used sizes are 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 inch.
I prefer center cutting end mills so you can plunge cut with them.
I prefer single end cutters, but I do have some doubles.
For roughing I use my older end mills, or ones that I purchased years ago on ebay that are resharps.
Coatings do not matter to me much.
2 flutes for slot cutting, and roughing, as they have good chip removal, 4 flutes for general milling and facing. (This is what I was bought, not sure if its the general recommended rule or not)
I was also taught to use the biggest end mill you can for a given job.
I also have some ball nose mills that I use a lot, but I do not have a full set, 1/4 and 3/8 are the common ones I use.

Hope this helps,

Dale

[udimet]

Chuck,
                 You should really only buy end mills in the sizes that you need for a particular task. get them as and when you need them.
Any of the following makes are excellent,  GUHRING, DORMER, SGS, CLARKSON  and  WALTER/TITEX. they can be obtained in M42 Hss or Carbide.
you would be best off with M42 Hss for home use, as Carbide needs higher feeds and speeds. Also you can obtain "throw away end mills" they are very good with sharp geometry, and last quite well in mild steel and, as the name implies they are not resharpened just thrown away.
             Hope this helps,                                                                Regards,
                                                                                               Udimet [in NE Scotland].

[kvom]

I like double-ended endmills as you get two for the price of one.  I use single-ended ones only if I need the longer flutes.

I tend to buy/use more 2-flute endmills as they are preferable for aluminum as well as slot cutting.  Feed rates are faster with 4-flute cutters, but I'm rarely in a hurry to make a difference.  2-flute ems are also often center-cutting.

1/2" is probably as large as you want to go with that mill, but this is a good size for almost all outside profiling.  Smaller endmills are needed for smaller pockets and inside corners, or milling small flats.  Again, the smaller they are the easier they break, another reason I like double enders.

I have a couple of roughers,  but normally I use them only to cut off ends of flame-cut steel, since the melted end is hardened.

[AdeV]

Roughing cutters are great for hogging out great chunks of metal, rapidly. If you're going to be doing lots of deep pockets in metal, then it's probably worth having some around. Then again, if you're willing to take the time, you can do the same job with a regular end mill or slot drill, and the surface finish is better. You'd always finish off a rough-cut pocket with a proper endmill anyway, unless you are OK with the serrated finish.

You will be able to do everything you want to do with an equal set of 2 & 4 flute endmills. Being in the UK, I ended up buying a metric AND imperial set - I guess Stateside a metric set won't get used so much... It's probably worth getting duplicates some of the smaller end-mills, because they're the ones that'll break. 1/4" cutters used to die with monotonous regularity on my mill.

Don't worry about buying cheap - my set of 20 imperial cutters cost about UKP45 (~USD80?), and other than snapping the smaller ones, they're still cutting fabulously, nearly 18 months on (probably 'cos I've done nearly no machining recently )

I've never liked the idea of double-ended end-mills - too many finger-cutting opportunities, plus I wonder if the flutes that are gripped in the collet will go blunt.

I don't know what your collet/mill holder system is, be aware you may need a machined flat or a threaded end on your mills, which not all the cheapies may have.

[dickda1]

If you buy from Enco, look for a free shipping code.  They almost always have an active one that allows free shipping on a $25 or more.  NCCOCT works till the end of November as I recall.
-Dick