Tooling

[hdwrench1]

Hello everyone,
Has anyone ever ordered any tools from Alibaba in China?
I've seen some nice end mills etc on their site and wondering if anyone has had any experiences ordering from them.

Cheers
Wayne

 

[gus]

Been getting bad reports from friends who tried to save pennies and ended losing Pounds.

 

[Blogwitch]

If you want cheap and cheerful end mills, then you can't go far wrong with Richon Tools

http://richontools.com/

Unless you can really get up to speed on your mill, then don't get anything under 4 or 5 mm in diameter, all you will do is snap them off, but for the price, if you do break something, it isn't worth crying about.
I have just got a very nice set of t-cutters for very little money, and they should do the job admirably, plus they also have some small slitting saw sets, but their diamond wheels are not only very cheap, but good as well.

John

 

[Cogsy]

Thanks John. I've never heard of this supplier before but they've got a heap of stuff on my shopping list at very reasonable prices, and shipping is a decent price too. Now I just have to sweet talk the wife...

 

[Blogwitch]

Cogsy,
For the milling cutters, as long as you accept them for what they are, cheap and classed as disposable, they really do a good job, I have been using them for a few years now and I have no complaints at all.
If anyone is into Stirling engines with glass tubes, if you can't find a diamond cutting disc on that site, then I doubt you will find one anywhere.

John

 

[Cogsy]

I can accept that. I have an 8mm roughing end mill that I've been using a lot on steel lately. I just looked up the replacement cost at $48.73. I can't afford another one.

Richon sells the same size in HSS at $3.48 - I'll buy a few and it won't bother me at all when they go blunt at that price. Plus, I can now afford a few ball nose end mills from them as well. I won't use them much so they'll last a while, but not having any is a pain.

 

[///]

I bought a bag full of the Richon tools a couple of years ago, vague memory of hearing about them from John.
From memory I got two each of the HSS 2F and 4F sizes up to 3mm, and one each up to 10mm and all sizes of the the ball nose.
One cutter came with a defect, I tossed it in the bin. I snapped a 2.5mm, tossed it in the bin.
For the price they can't be beat.
I would love to buy quality cutters, and will probably do so for the most used sizes, but not until I can afford to buy/make a T&C grinder.

I must place a replacement order with Richon, thanks for the reminder!

 

[Ethan D]

I have purchased from aliexpres which is pretty much the same as alibaba.
I brought some hrc60 carbide bull nose cutters, flat cutters and ball nose cutters for cheap. They so far work amazingly well however I have only been cutting aluminum. I guess I'll find out when I cut harder material.