# Were to buy 3 - 3.2mm shaft end mills in the UK



## GrahamUK (Jan 6, 2013)

Can anyone help me source End Mills with a 3 - 3.2mm shaft in the UK?

I have one of they cheap 3020 cnc router/mills, and was only supplied with a single endmill.  Although it has done me well for making various aluminium stands and bases from wood laminate, alas it has gone dull 

Tried using the dremel end mill to finish off a wood combination lock that I was working on, that was a disaster, only got halfway around a base in wood at 25mm/min before it ended up in 3 parts, so that got returned to the supplier.

Its a good thing we have the 'fit for use' laws here, i told the guy behind the counter what i wanted to do with the tool and he said it would work - hence no problem returning the broken one.


----------



## Tin Falcon (Jan 6, 2013)

try these guys several folks here have purchased from them and been happy. I should get an order out myself. 


3 mm mills are about $0.90 USD  for HSS and $1.20 for carbide so you can afford to buy a dozen or two they have 2 flute 4 flute and they have ball nose so knock your socks off.

http://richontools.com


http://richontools.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15_51

These are out of Hong Kong but they do ship direct to the UK and USA.
Hope this helps 
Tin


----------



## gus (Jan 6, 2013)

Tin Falcon said:


> try these guys several folks here have purchased from them and been happy. I should get an order out myself.
> 
> 
> 3 mm mills are about $0.90 USD  for HSS and $1.20 for carbide so you can afford to buy a dozen or two they have 2 flute 4 flute and they have call nose so knock your socks off.
> ...



Hi Tin Falcon

Were you ever in purchasing.You are fantastic. Looks like I can forget wasting my time regrinding endmills. Use the new ones for steel.Recycle them for Aluminium.
Just went in to buy 10  pcs  12 mm  10 pcs 10 mm. I have been robbed by other vendors and paying too much for DHL etc. Bought a solid carbide endmill too. But do they stand up better than HSS..Thanks.

Thanks for the sourcing info.

Gus( had a good day fishing,fair weather,no rain and fish bite.Gus Grand Champ today )


----------



## Jasonb (Jan 6, 2013)

Graham is looking for 3mmto 3.2mm SHANK not 3mm cutting endmills and I don't think Richon do any shanks smaller that 1/4 or 6mm.

In teh UK you could go to J&L/MSC they have a few metric and inperial size ones all with 1/8" shanks (3.175mm) and 3mm shanksbut they are not cheap, use the virtual catalogue an look at page 262, 279, 282& 284

http://www.mscdirect.co.uk/cgi/insrhm

Also take a look at Nicks MAN diesel thread he mentions the ones that he uses in his CNC machine somewhere.


----------



## GrahamUK (Jan 6, 2013)

JasonB is correct it is the shank diameter of 3-3.2mm i was looking for, so i will check out they links, but if anyone knows where i could get a 1/4" or 6mm collet that fits the 3020 standard spindle, i could cope with the shipping costs if im paying under $2 for an endmill.

The router/mill was a christmas pressie from SWMBO, so i dont know much about it yet. Im much more familiar with my lathe and its associated tooling.  So all answers are appreciated.


----------



## Tin Falcon (Jan 6, 2013)

OK looked at the sight again : closer this time 
the HSS 3 mm em are 6mm shank sorry missed that. the carbides are 3 mm 
shank so you are good to go there.
You can get ten end mills that for your machine for $ 12.00 us + S & H 

 sorry for the confusion. 
tin


----------



## Jasonb (Jan 6, 2013)

The Richon cutters are OK for general use, I've been using them for several years but in the smaller sizes on a CNC machine I would stick to something a bit better.

If its mostly wood then the FC-3 disposable type cutters are quite good and I would suggest you use two or three flute cutters rather than endmills which tend to have 4 or more flutes as they will not clear the waste as well.

Though having said that if you can get a 1/4 collet then look at the spiral router cutters as they have a cutter geometry that is mor esuited to wood.

J


----------



## Jasonb (Jan 6, 2013)

A quick Google suggests it has an ER11 collet which are readily available.

Just check the sizes of your existing against this link and they do 1/4 or 6mm collets depending if you want to run metric or imperial cutters.

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Collets/ER-Collets-Collet-Chucks


----------



## abby (Jan 6, 2013)

I buy all my endmills / slot drills from http://www.cutweltools.co.uk/ they are good quality and often posted same day as ordered.
They have a huge selection and give a discount on your first order.
I recommend them highly.


----------



## GrahamUK (Jan 6, 2013)

The link in the above post shows the ER11, i have found the collet nut has printing on the bottom saying ER11A. Does the A make a difference?   I tried googling for '3020 collets' and could not find anything relevant, would you mind telling me what you googled?

I think getting a 6mm and 1/4" collet would make sourcing bits much easier.

I will look into the various bits listed for the various materials, thanks.  I have many plans for my machines, so i will be cutting allsorts on it.  The lathe is so much easier, i invested in a full set of glanze indexable tools, and a nice selection of tips for various metals.


----------



## MuellerNick (Jan 6, 2013)

> Use the new ones for steel.Recycle them for Aluminium.



Best way to consume more of them. The other way round is much better. First aluminium, then steel.


Nick


----------



## Jasonb (Jan 6, 2013)

I searched for 3020 CNC collet and got this, gives ER11 as collet





http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Axis-CNC-...MILLING-MACHINE-With-Claw-Chuck-/390390623824

Agree with nick brass and aluminium first then steel, same with saw blades and files


----------



## don-tucker (Jan 6, 2013)

Whats the matter with good old ebay,did a quick search for "end mills 3mm shank" seems a good few on there
Don


----------



## chipenter (Jan 6, 2013)

3mm shank are tungsten carbide 
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Milling-Cutters/Carbide-End-Mills-3-Flute 
they are not cheep .


----------



## GrahamUK (Jan 8, 2013)

End Mills arrived today, got 5 from ebay, been to the stockholders and picked up some brass and aluminium, and ordered a set of collets for the spindle and some screws.  Once the collets arrive, i will be moving up to 6mm shanks, as they are much more readily available for a good price.  All in all its looking like its going to be a good week 

I am going to start building the Vacuum engine from the downloads section - the one in german.

Thanks for the info on the mills, i appreciate it.


----------



## Swifty (Jan 8, 2013)

I have a lot of small carbide cutters with either 3mm or 1/8" shanks, 2 and 4 flute. They are readily available here in Australia, you might be best to try a supplier that specialises in to the engineering trades. Mine came from Carbitool in Melbourne.

Paul.


----------



## Swifty (Jan 8, 2013)

Here's a link to the Carbitool catalogue.
http://www.envirocatalogue.com.au/Carbitool_Website_2012/End_Mills_Drills/files/mobile/index.html#4

Paul.


----------



## gus (Jan 9, 2013)

Tin Falcon said:


> try these guys several folks here have purchased from them and been happy. I should get an order out myself.
> 
> 
> 3 mm mills are about $0.90 USD  for HSS and $1.20 for carbide so you can afford to buy a dozen or two they have 2 flute 4 flute and they have ball nose so knock your socks off.
> ...



Hi Tin Falcon,

I have no idea they deliver this fast.Maybe Hongkong nearby Singapore with just 4 hours flight. Placed order 7th Jan late evening.8th confirmed shipment made.9th Jan 9 am Emory or EMS came knocking on my door with the endmills. See my good buy.Looks like I have a life's time supply of mills. Plan to buy some 2mm 3mm 4mm sizes too later.
Mills came in same packing as mills I bought last year locally for a bit more$$.


----------



## gus (Jan 10, 2013)

abby said:


> I buy all my endmills / slot drills from http://www.cutweltools.co.uk/ they are good quality and often posted same day as ordered.
> They have a huge selection and give a discount on your first order.
> I recommend them highly.



Hi Abby,

Thanks for the info.
Just asked for quotes on spotting cum chamfer mills.. Sad to say my drilling is haphazard.
Centre popping not good. But I am improving.


----------

