Blew $400 on a tooling package that was supposed to be 'plug and play'

Picked up a set of carbide end mills from a newer supplier last month in Phoenix. Their ad said they were tested on aluminum and steel so I figured they'd save me setup time. First one snapped on a simple pocket cut after like 2 minutes. Second one chattered so bad on a 6061 part I had to scrap the whole job. Lost the $400 plus the material for that run. Anyone else get burned by cheap tooling bundles that looked good online?

2 comments

2 Comments

bailey.sandra8d ago

Are you sure that's really a "scam" situation or more of a you-get-what-you-pay-for thing? I mean, $400 for a whole tooling package sounds like the price point where corners get cut somewhere, right? Those cheap carbide bundles from no-name suppliers usually advertise for aluminum and steel but they're really just coated mystery metal. You gotta check the helix angles and flute counts before buying, especially if they're claiming universal capability. I'd be more suspicious of the marketing than the actual loss, honestly.

anthony1658d ago

Yeah but that's kind of what gets me. If they're selling it as a universal kit for both aluminum and steel, and it fails on basic 6061 within the first few passes, doesn't that cross the line from cheap to actually defective? Like I get that $400 tooling packs are gonna have junk inserts and maybe some weird coatings, but if the end mills are snapping on light cuts in soft material then that's not really a you-get-what-you-pay-for thing, that's a they-sold-you-something-that-doesnt-work thing. Did you check if the supplier had any kind of warranty or return policy on those?