Milling Cutter Choices

[Oldneweng]

As my hopes of getting a suitable second hand Milling Machine anytime soon fade, the option of buying a new one becomes much more likely. As I have mentioned before the one I am mainly considering is the MMD-45 from Paramount Browns. This may occur within a couple of weeks, or not as circumstances allow. LOL

In the meantime I am looking into what to buy with the Mill. Some items are cheaper from Paramounts and some are cheaper from H&F.

Eg. 5/8 inch 58 pc clamps sets. PB $125 (If you swap price with 1/2 inch set which is listed as more expensive) H&F $148 After sale ends.
K-Type milling vice 150mm PB $249 (Sold Out) H&F $196 (On Sale) Still cheaper after sale.

My point is that I am going to Melbourne Monday week for medical appointments for SWMBO and I will be able to visit H&F while I am there. I will be buying the Mill from P B in Adelaide as that is my main location for purchases due to having lived there, having family there and most importantly, having somewhere to park my trailer overnight. Last visit to Melbourne we were located in the Mercure Hotel overlooking the old Myer building site at breakfast. This was before the you know what hit the fan. We had to park our car in a car park about 2km away. Not my idea of an ideal situation.

I need to decide what to buy and where before I got to Melbourne.

Anyway my question is about milling cutter sets. I know they are not that heavy and can be mailed but I am compiling a list of everything I want. I have looked at 3 sets at this point. The standard 20 pc in a wooden box from P B at $189 MILLING CUTTER SET 20PC - METRIC » Paramount Browns' (http://www.paramountbrowns.com.au/milling-cutter-set-20pc-metric/). 10 piece Alcock Milling Cutters from H&F at $98 https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/M3301 and 7 pc Milling Cutters at $30.00 + freight from CTC 4 FLUTE HSS M2AL ENDMILL MILLING CUTTERS (7 PCS) #C96 (http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-111/4-FLUTE-HSS-M2AL/Detail)

Any suggestions regarding these choices and other options would be appreciated.

Also comments regarding the 75mm rotary table from H&F would be useful. I am not sure if I can justify the cost of a better unit but I also wonder if this "cheapie" would be sufficient for the future. Maybe I should wait until I need one and then decide on the amount I want to shell out.

Dean

[Michael G]

For occasional use the quality of the HF R/T would probably be fine, but I would be more concerned with the capacity. I'd be looking at a 6" version at a minimum so that you can fit something on it. Mind you, you probably can wait a little bit until buying it anyway as a decent vice is probably more the go.

Michael

[nearnexus]

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/M3301[/URL] and 7 pc Milling Cutters at $30.00 + freight from CTC 4 FLUTE HSS M2AL ENDMILL MILLING CUTTERS (7 PCS) #C96 (http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-111/4-FLUTE-HSS-M2AL/Detail)

Any suggestions regarding these choices and other options would be appreciated.

Dean

I would definitely go for the CTC mill set.

I have some of their HSS 4 flute mills - they are excellent quality and stay sharp very well.

The price is dirt cheap. Best value when buying from CTC is to get multiple items and that way you save a lot on postage.

Rob

[Oldneweng]

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/M3301[/URL] and 7 pc Milling Cutters at $30.00 + freight from CTC 4 FLUTE HSS M2AL ENDMILL MILLING CUTTERS (7 PCS) #C96 (http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-111/4-FLUTE-HSS-M2AL/Detail)

Any suggestions regarding these choices and other options would be appreciated.

Dean

I would definitely go for the CTC mill set.

I have some of their HSS 4 flute mills - they are excellent quality and stay sharp very well.

The price is dirt cheap. Best value when buying from CTC is to get multiple items and that way you save a lot on postage.

Rob

Thanks for that info Rob. I am interested in personal experience. I was leaning a bit that way so now I will go with the CTC. They are cheap but the unknown at this stage is the freight. Most reports are that even with freight they are still good value.

Dean

[Ueee]

Thanks for that info Rob. I am interested in personal experience. I was leaning a bit that way so now I will go with the CTC. They are cheap but the unknown at this stage is the freight. Most reports are that even with freight they are still good value.

Dean

I am yet to use any of the cutters i got from CTC but the quality looks good and the price is fantastic. I would buy any collets etc from them too.
As for the RT i waited until i needed one, you can do some things with v blocks and careful setup instead, or on the lathe.

[Oldneweng]

I am yet to use any of the cutters i got from CTC but the quality looks good and the price is fantastic. I would buy any collets etc from them too.
As for the RT i waited until i needed one, you can do some things with v blocks and careful setup instead, or on the lathe.

I have just rechecked the price of ER40 collet sets and collet holder from CTC and compared with H&F and Paramounts price and I will be including these with my CTC order for milling cutters. It is great to get first hand reports about these products and know that they are good quality.

Now if only I could get enough spare time to arrange the slab for my new lathe, after moving the old one out of the way of course. I do have to have a good look at it on the weekend and check there is no extra rust on it etc. It is currently almost buried under stuff out of a caravan that I am rebuilding. One of two I am working on. Tomorrow we have to help SWMBO's daughter shift house. Looks to be a bit a travel involved. She is moving about 4km but we have to travel almost 100km to get there and then her boy friend has stuff about 100km away back in our direction sort of............

We have bought a newer falcon wagon. The cooling system was full of rust. Crunchy hoses. It is clean now but I need to replace everything with new on weekend. Sigh. Never any end to it. The old wagon needs new valve stem seals, rocker cover gasket and power steering pump seal kit fitted. Sigh. I am building another dog kennel for a new dog who is kept out in the rain by Number 2 dog hogging the existing kennel. Both kennels are huge. Dog Number 2 can be seen in the thread http://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/show-us-your-lathe-tooling-layouts-135353/index5.html.

My dog however (Number 1) is tough. She just sleeps on the dirt no matter the weather. Did I mention the stock that need attention and the fencing and the falling apart driveway 150m long. Sigh.

Dean

[Stustoys]

Hi Dean,
Do you need M2 and center cutting?

4 FLUTE HSS AL ENDMILL MILLING CUTTERS (7 PCS) #C95 (http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-110/4-FLUTE-HSS-AL/Detail)

Stuart

[Oldneweng]

Hi Dean,
Do you need M2 and center cutting?

4 FLUTE HSS AL ENDMILL MILLING CUTTERS (7 PCS) #C95 (http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-110/4-FLUTE-HSS-AL/Detail)

Stuart

I did make a quick selection last night as I was compiling a list prior to my Melbourne trip to ensure I did not miss out on anything. This was when I decided to ask the question on the forum to check my choices. As I am buying these from CTC I don't have to rush into the purchase now. I chose M2 as it was my impression that these are better than normal HSS. They are listed as suitable for cutting tougher metals such as stainless steel. I do work with stainless quite a bit due to sourcing scrap from work. As for centre cutting, I don't think I will really need it, although I could be wrong. I did not really think about that aspect. The pictures are the same for both sets which is useful (not). My understanding is that centre cutting cutters utilize offset end cutting edges and are not as good as normal ones for general use. My knowledge is very old tho. I will take this on board and consider this info when I make my choice.

Thanks for pointing that out Stuart.

Dean

[nearnexus]

They are listed as suitable for cutting tougher metals such as stainless steel. I do work with stainless quite a bit due to sourcing scrap from work.

Dean

In addition to the CTC mills I've also bought quite a few in smaller sizes (eg 4 mm) from other Ebay stores that have been speced as being suitable for stainless and they have all been excellent.

Those titanium coated golden ones just look like a marketing ploy to me - bit like colourful/shiny fishing gear for anglers .

And then of course you get a wooden box, which wont fit in the drawer and is as bulky as hell - everyone else just sends them in single compact plastic tubes. Marketing once again.

I've had drills in that golden style and they have been pretty much the same as any other drill, no advantage I can see.

Rob

[Oldneweng]

In addition to the CTC mills I've also bought quite a few in smaller sizes (eg 4 mm) from other Ebay stores that have been speced as being suitable for stainless and they have all been excellent.

Those titanium coated golden ones just look like a marketing ploy to me - bit like colourful/shiny fishing gear for anglers .

And then of course you get a wooden box, which wont fit in the drawer and is as bulky as hell - everyone else just sends them in single compact plastic tubes. Marketing once again.

I've had drills in that golden style and they have been pretty much the same as any other drill, no advantage I can see.

Rob

Thanks for this info. I will remember about the coloured flashy stuff. It is hard to tell these days what is good and what is not. I bought a set each of imp / metric drills from Sutton. The $50 chinese ones. Now I am wondering how to avoid mixing them up with my good drills. They drill MS ok but anything tougher and they are useless. Stainless destroys them. Maybe I should store them in my woodworking area. I would like to mark them so I can tell for the future.

Dean

[Ueee]

Thanks for this info. I will remember about the coloured flashy stuff. It is hard to tell these days what is good and what is not. I bought a set each of imp / metric drills from Sutton. The $50 chinese ones. Now I am wondering how to avoid mixing them up with my good drills. They drill MS ok but anything tougher and they are useless. Stainless destroys them. Maybe I should store them in my woodworking area. I would like to mark them so I can tell for the future.

Dean

Simply grind a bevel on the end of the shank, or a notch in the shank, that way you can grind 1 notch for one type, 2 for another type etc.

[simonl]

Hi Dean,

I have a ER32 collet set, ER32 to MT4 collet, ER40 to MT4 collet, 50mm Boring head, 63mm TCT face mill and a MT4 to MT5 all from CTC tools. I have found their quality to be pretty good for the price.

I always cringe when I see gold coloured cutting tools. (drill bits etc) I bought a set about 20 years ago when I saw an add and believed the sales pitch (this was before I realised you get what you pay for) With the first use I was more incline to start a fire than create a hole!

Fencing wire and cheese come to mind as descriptions for these type of tools! :no:

Simon