Curious if there’s any consensus here regarding a brand or online source for bits that folks are having good luck with?
I’ve been using SPE bits, but am starting to question how accurately they are made as I’ve been having issue with cut accuracy on my LR4 (see my thread in Troubleshooting).
I’ve looked at IDC Woodcraft, Cutting It Close (CIC) and Amana bits (on Amazon) - I’m sure the quality of Amana bits is great, but so is the price tag. And I’m guessing IDC and CIC are just sourcing bits from China and labeling them as their own.
So what bits are you using and where do you buy them?
I’ve been trying the bits @Ryan sells in the v1 store lately and really like the 1/4" single flute he has. Though up until now I’ve only run 1/8" bits on my machines so it’s my first larger bit - but I’m impressed with how much material it can move and how quickly it does it:
I just picked up his 1/8" ball end and 1/8" 45 degree v bit to play with. I’ve never tried doing much carving since I had a lot of Z issues on my old overly large very early design MPCNC (but I knew the risks building it that large and my primary use was cutting foam sheets with a needle cutter so I wasn’t that worried about z accuracy.) Haven’t had time to try them yet but looking forward to it soon.
While I didn’t do a ton of spindle work on my old machine my go to cutter has been these single flue kyocera bits from “drillman1” on ebay (now oliver tool company):
They’re also available in 5 packs. For the price they’re a great bit for smaller work and do great on acrylic and polycarbonate (which is what prompted me to try them) as well as wood.
They have other kyocera bits in other sizes and flute counts as well at great prices, shipping is usually really quick to and gets to me in AZ in just a few days.
But - I’m just recently starting to do much actual work in wood and still very much learning how to dial in speeds and feeds. Most of the last 9 years I just used my machine for foam cutting, and when I did attach the spindle it was only in very soft woods at very slow speeds. My machine was just too big and not nearly rigid enough to do much more. I was honestly a little surprised when I was able to use it to cut strut plates for my new LR4 in only 3 tries And really most of the reason it took 3 tries was user error since I hadn’t done any cutting in awhile.
You get what you pay for with cutting tools. I think Ryans bits are Kyocera (good stuff) if I remember right. Pretty much all of my end mills I get from Shars these days (kennametal carbide blanks, ground and coated in house). Diamond bits for composites like carbon fiber I go cheap on since the name brand ones dont last lon enough or cut that much better to make the price worth it. I have also had decent luck with Colton end mills from AllIndustrial.
I am buying from Sorotec in Germany, they have them manufactured for them and they are pretty good. They now have a value collection as well that is a little different at the tip but besides that they are the same as the expensive ones.
SPE Tools is Hangzhou Fengchi Import & Export Co., Ltd. from China.
I have some Dreanique bits. These are from the same company.
Price is good for the quality.
I like the Dreanique bits, and have no complaints about them.
Edit :
The production company is : NCC Cemented Carbide Tools in China.
Japanese Tungaloy Corporation is a 21 % shareholder.
I often wonder why a good bit costs € 5 in China and around € 50 over here in a specialized shop.
And really most of the reason it took 3 tries was user error since I hadn’t done any cutting in awhile.