Just ran a job with two different end mills and the finish was night and day

I cut the same aluminum part, one side with a generic 3-flute and the other with a Niagara Cutter Stabilizer. The Niagara left a mirror finish with zero chatter marks, while the generic one had visible lines. Is the price jump for premium tooling always worth it for finish work, or can you get by with cheaper stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.lisa2mo ago

Honestly, that "chainsaw finish" line is too real. Ngl, I've made some parts that looked like they were chewed out by a beaver. You can absolutely get by with cheaper tools, but then you spend three hours sanding to fix what a good end mill does in one pass. The price jump hurts, but so does looking at a part you're almost ashamed to show anyone.

faithg262mo ago

Been there, done that. I had the same thing happen with some steel brackets, cheap end mill looked like it was done with a chainsaw. Once you see that mirror finish from a good tool, it's hard to go back. For parts that actually matter, the good stuff saves so much time on hand work later. It hurts the wallet up front but never seems to be a regret.

fiona3322mo ago

Remember when we thought saving money on tools was smart? That chainsaw finish on my last project changed my mind for good.