Cheap Bits

[parkin79]

I was wondering what your guys thoughts are on buy less expensive bits. i see them all the time on Amazon, are they even worth buying or stick to a better quality? Is there a time and place thats its better to use a cheaper bit over a more expensive bit?  Thoughts? ty

[stevem]

Cheap bits just simply don't last as long as quality ones. Sometimes they say they are 1/4" and are not that actual size.
that being said, there are cheap bits and then there are cheap bits. Some last longer than others and quality isn't always there.
If I am cutting something out and am not to fussy, I'll use them.
I usually use Whiteside, Freud and Amana. Whiteside bits seem to be decent and hold up quite well. I have bought Yonico router bits fro my router table, but have not used them on the cnc.
I have also tried MLCS for a few bits. They seem decent enough, but if I were going to make a 6-10 hour cut, the last thing I would want is to break a cheap bit half way thru and then have to start all over again.

[garylyb]

I use some 2mm downcut bits from drillman1 on ebay and I've been happy with them.
I use them to engrave in mdf and they leave a nice flat bottom, and don't tear the vinyl mask.

I don't do 3d carving so so my run times are in minutes not hours.

[Axiom Tool Group]

Privately, while I personally get many of my bits from our supplier.....I have found that bits&bits is a good source for less expensive and much smaller bits for special projects that i have worked on.

Recently I had to order an 0.030" end-mill for a machinable wax project for a casting. The bit only cost me $12 roughly.

[aluomala]

My opinion on this: I started my CNC adventure with a ShapeOko2 (kit machine, put the whole thing together yourself, including figuring out all software.... steep learning curve, but I learned a lot... and spent a lot of time/money dealing with things that machines like the Axiom line don't make you deal with). I was on a quest to do everything as cheaply as possible. Cheap bits. Free software. Etc. I regularly prowled the HabitatforHumanity Re-store for cheap pieces of lumber (cabinet doors are an excellent source of CHEAP material that is already flat, laminated and finished.... get the thicker ones that are real wood (sometimes it looks like real wood, but it's just veneer). You can also find cheap Corian if you're lucky (if you're going that route).

Short story long, I now have a Axiom AR4+ Pro. I have learned that "cheap" usually means crap. Don't get me wrong: I learned a lot using cheap bits (if you break one, it's in the single digit price range, so no big drama) but I also learned that a cheap bit usually breaks when you don't want it to: when your project is 99% done and leaves you high and dry or spending way too much time fixing the mistake (sanding, re-cutting, frantically trying to figure out a way to recover from this mistake). Most of those lessons gave me valuable insight in what NOT to do, and consequently I've moved on to the higher end tools (mostly Amana, via ToolsToday.com). I have made bone-head mistakes with these expensive bits, but at least it was me failing myself, not the hardware failing me.

Once you are past the point of snapping a (cheap) bit once or twice a project, it is worthwhile to move up to the better stuff, IMO. Any cost savings you get upfront [with cheap bits] will invariably bite you in the butt when you least expect it, on a long run (my cuts are in the 10+ hr range for my more advanced stuff) and on a nice piece of wood (or whatever material you're using). I have some of my Amana bits that I have put 100's of hours on (one 1/4" ball nose is probably pushing 1000 hrs (I used ball nose vs end mill for my 3D roughing, as it's far superior)). Other ones (in the $50 price range) I destroyed within seconds due to my own stupidity (trying to cut 1/4" plywood with a 1/8" endmill at 100+ IPM because I thought it could, and I was in a hurry....). I destroyed 3 30degree bits in about 5 minutes ($10 each, but awesome: Drillman1 ebay listing) on my NWA PirahnaXL machine because the touchplate wiring was flaky and I was in a rush).

Not to sound like a snob or anything, but I don't understand how people (not just in this group, but in many CNC-related forums I frequent) will spend $5000 (or more) on a CNC machine, but won't spend $50 on a bit that might last them many months/projects, and then complain that the results they are getting don't look like what they are seeing from advanced users that are using high-end bits. Same goes for materials: I read one post where a guy was trying to deal with all the fuzzies/tear-out on a piece of pine and when asked why he didn't use maple/cherry/walnut/etc, he said they were too expensive. If you are making something the size of a football field, and painting it, yeah, sure, use pine. If you are making something that is going on someone's wall, possibly for the next 50-100 years, spend the extra $5-$10 per board foot and get a nice wood. Any money you save on the cost of the material (using pine, for example) you will end up paying for in time, sanding, using filler, trying to match the filler to the rest, etc. Pine is fine for testing out your design, but don't expect it to look like a nice hardwood. [Disclosure: I live in Canada, and we have an abundance of cheap woods available (oak, walnut, cherry, etc) as well as literal forests of pine, and I tend to stick to native species just to get my skills up, I have purchased purpleheart, yellowheart, etc for nicer projects, and will likely go more exotic as my inlay projects get more advanced].

TL;DR version: buy the best you can afford, as you usually get what you pay for, and when something is spinning at 24000 RPM on an expensive/valuable piece of material, you want to be sure it's not going to disappoint you. Would you buy a Ferrari and then put Walmart tires on it?!?

SOrry for the long read, but I had to get that off my chest

[ricphoto]

Jul 27, 2018 11:57:25 GMT -5 aluomala said:

buy the best you can afford, as you usually get what you pay for, and when something is spinning at 24000 RPM on an expensive/valuable piece of material, you want to be sure it's not going to disappoint you. Would you buy a Ferrari and then put Walmart tires on it?!?

'nuff said...stick with a major respected brand of bits...there's more than enough variables to manage without having to worry that your bit will fail (or not be what you think it is)...

We call it the Reebok theory: You can buy 1 pair of Reeboks or 5 pairs of cheap Big 5 sneakers...both do the basic job but the Reeboks feel better, last longer, have a better R&D department and much better quality control...

[parkin79]

Great ty guys for the advice. i am of the same mind set to buy something at a better quality and not buy more of the cheaper pieces.