Official Luthiers Forum!

So I am looking at the end mills at LMI and Stewmac and thinking they seem kind of expensive then I look at fleabay and amazon and find out that end mills seem to typically cost 1/5th the amount that LMI and Stewmac are charging.
This seems too good to be true.
What am I missing? Seems like a decent 3/32 end mill can be had for 4 or 5 dollars.
Is there something special about the ones sold by luthier supply places or is it just not their business so their prices reflect their stocking charges?

Dave

Fastenall has Monster mills. Much less expensive and they do a nice job.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

The $5 ones on e-bay work really well. I usually buy the Kyocera ones from DrillMan. He does have .0315" downcuts which actually do make a difference but I do find that so long as they're sharp, the up cuts do a pretty good job. Mine have been lasting forever too.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I bought the Stewmac ones, but not sure if I should have bought something cheaper... I mean a whole set of them runs close to 100 dollars, and no word on how long they last...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

There's nothing wrong with the StewMac ones just that they're really expensive. The downcut aspect is nice and it can make a difference, even at that small size but I buy my bits 10 at a time - at their prices that would be pretty cost prohibitive.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

They charge that much because they can. They are about convenience and customer service, which comes at a price.
For the smaller bits (1/16" and less), I use solid carbide dental burs, which I buy in quantity for about 60 cents each. They only have a slight righthand spiral, so 'upcut' is a bit of an overstatement.
IMHO, downcut bits are mostly hype...whatever fuzz on the edge of the cut from using upcut bits can be sanded off in a couple of seconds.

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John

Where can I get dental burrs? I do not know any dentists who are willing to give them away.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Sorry for bringing this thread up again but I got a problem.

I bought some carbide end mills designed for PCB (they are 2 flute) and those bits are dull, I mean really dull. At router RPM it cuts very slowly and would sometimes burn the wood. I have seen even HSS end mills do better than this, and of course the Stewmac carbide end mill zips through materials (I use them for trimming back overhang sometimes) cleanly. I do not know if this is a case of "you get what you pay for" but maybe there's something to what Stewmac charges. I do not know of the Kyocera end mills are as sharp as Stewmac, I would hope so! Those bits feels really dull, almost as dull as drill bit flutes.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I don't use down cut unless it has a cleared hole , I agree with Mr Arnold on that 100%. The chips can add heat and shorten cutter life. Here are the ones I use. Affordable and lets face it , SHARP , if the cutter is not sharp it is just a piece of shaped metal.
http://www.bqtool.com/square-end-mills.html
you can call them , They actually make a .020 bit for David Nichols and I they are great for detail work.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I get mine (downcut) from www.precisebits.com. Nice folks, wide selection & good product. They do have a $50 minimum purchase. However, that's no problem for me, as I like to use a new bit on about every second or third guitar anyway.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Hi Dave,

No need to go to Stewmac, Specialty Tool over on Aero Camino has good quality end mills locally.

-jd

There are hundreds on offer on eBay.

JD
Completely forgot about specialty. Haven't been there in maybe 15 years.
I definitely need to check them out again. thanks
Dave