HF Mill bits? Has anyone ever tried them?

[TheEquineFencer]

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-titanium-nitrade-coated-end-mill-set-5947.html

I'm interested in opinions on them for short term light use in a real BP mill. "Warrior" is the brand name on them.

 

[Ign]

I have not tried them, but I purchased a bright set from Enco years ago in the IDENTICAL case. They were garbage, would break inexplicably during use. In fact I just recently put the whole set in my HSS and carbide scrap. I just didn't trust them.

My failures were in steel. If you're looking at plastics or Al you'll probably be fine. But for $80 I'd buy 2 to 4 quality carbide EM's of sizes I know I'll need, or increase qty but go quality HSS. 3/8" and 1/2" do 80% of general flat work for me. And invest in a cheap fly cutter for planing larger surfaces.

 

[Ign]

Oh and as always the Hot Deals catalog at use-Enco.com is your friend. But avoid this set!

 

[TheEquineFencer]

That's what I'm thinking. I've got to retool everything, but in case I get in a bind I may have to go buy a set before I get me a real order together...

 

[justanengineer]

I wouldnt bother. Quality cutting tools will last 100x longer than the cheapies, and realistically you dont want a set of endmills bc you wont use a set. Buy a couple 1/4" and 1/2" endmills from Niagara or one of the other "name" brands to get started, then buy 3-4 more of different sizes as you need. If you keep your eye on ebay, practicalmachinist, or even McMaster/Enco/etc youll find some surprisingly good deals.

One of these days I'm going to use my old HSS Nicholson burrs in a die grinder to cut apart the HF "carbide" I was "gifted" awhile back.

 

[383 240z]

They bring the ****, BIG TIME!!! Keith

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

First off, it's Harbor Freight therefore it's complete garbage because it doesn't have the Apple- err, sorry, BP brand name on it. Or at least that is the argument you'll see repeated here a lot.

Realistically, yeah, a full set is more than you'll ever use, so spend the money on a few bits you will actually use. Cutting steel is one area where you get what you pay for, and dull bits will only cause frustration.

 

[Ohmthis]

I bought an older 2 flute set several years ago. Im not sure of the brand, but they were **** CITY!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Matt Irvine]

If you know a couple of sizes you need, let me know and I'll see if I have some spares, most of mine are metric, but do have inperial

 

[TheEquineFencer]

The OP can pm me.
I don't have to ship from Australia.
I have a couple of hundred pounds of newish mill ends.
Some too big for me to use.
Also send info on your mill in case I have other stuff that will fit.
I'd rather give stuff away than rely on craigslist.

Thanks. I'm in the middle of doing some "fence jobs" right now. It looks like the Mill and shop will have to take a backseat for a little while right now.