50 endmills

[MikeA]

Hello MB,

Sorry for the late response - didn't see your post 'til this morning!

Yes, I was given a tracking number very early on, when I checked it with the HK Post it stated item received at HK Post (day after my order) and that didn't change for possibly a week or so. Then it said to check the tracking number with the USPS, and you know how fast their system is! When it finally showed up in the USPS system it stated delivered as it was the day after I got it.

In truth, the time from HK to Ohio was pretty quick considering customs and TSA interference - I've had shipments from China previously and 4 to 6 weeks is the norm.

Used several of the mills (I think I ordered about 36 all told) and they do fine for what I need. I've not found anyone selling import mills at prices anywhere competitive with Richon - I'd guess they have a 50% advantage.

Best,
Mike

 

[Metal Butcher]

Hello MB,

Sorry for the late response - didn't see your post 'til this morning!

Yes, I was given a tracking number very early on, when I checked it with the HK Post it stated item received at HK Post (day after my order) and that didn't change for possibly a week or so. Then it said to check the tracking number with the USPS, and you know how fast their system is! When it finally showed up in the USPS system it stated delivered as it was the day after I got it.

In truth, the time from HK to Ohio was pretty quick considering customs and TSA interference - I've had shipments from China previously and 4 to 6 weeks is the norm.

Used several of the mills (I think I ordered about 36 all told) and they do fine for what I need. I've not found anyone selling import mills at prices anywhere competitive with Richon - I'd guess they have a 50% advantage.

Best,
Mike

Hi Mike, no need to be concerned about missing my post, it happens.

I was Not provided with a tracking number for my original order. And when I asked for it after a considerable amount of waiting, Richon Tools offered to refund or to re- ship my order. They did Not ask me to wait any longer. I opted for the re-ship and received an invalid tracking number at the onset. I contacted them and they provided a new valid tracking number.

Since my original order was placed 43 days (6 wk + 1 day) ago, and a tracking number was Not provided, its possible that it was never shipped, and unlikely that it will ever show up. But, you never know.

All I can do now is wait for the re-shipped order to arrive, and post my honest opinions on the quality of the products.

I'm glad to hear that you satisfied with your order.

-MB

 

[Jasonb]

Their site up until a few weeks ago said that a tracking number was not issued on orders under 1.5kg so thats probably why you did not get one on the first order (unless you ordered a lot of cutters)

They now say you get a tracking number on all shipments.

J

 

[Metal Butcher]

Their site up until a few weeks ago said that a tracking number was not issued on orders under 1.5kg so thats probably why you did not get one on the first order (unless you ordered a lot of cutters)

They now say you get a tracking number on all shipments.

J

I didn't notice that information on the site when I placed my order, but thanks for posting it.

Sounds like they had a recent rash of undelivered shipments. And I'm not the only one that didn't receive their order.

-MB

 

[kvom]

Kvom, I think you will find that their 4 flute endmills are not centre cutting, the HSS certainly are not, thats whey they won't plunge cut. The 2 flute slot drills are centre cutting.

j

I looked at the flute configuration, which did look as if they should be CC, but since the website doesn't claim CC, they probably shouldn't be used as such. For manual milling, very few situations would arise needing this anyway. Unfortunately my CAM program generated a couple of places where it did plunge cut.

 

[kvom]

The 2 flute endmills are not center-cutting either. Found out the hard way.

 

[DaveH]

Well my end mills arrived all 65 safe and sound.
Just for the record, they were ordered 25 Jan.
Arrived SA 11 Feb
Arrived Local Post Office 16 Feb
Notification to me 22 Feb
I picked them up from the post office to day 23 Feb

So about 4 weeks.

I have mainly purchased 1mm dia to 4mm dia . Had a quick look seem fine to me, I think I will be able to break these just as easily as the ones I have bought here.

65 end mills cost me $93 including postage. Here I could buy 8 may be 10 for the same price.





Dave

 

[DaveH]

These are the 65 end mills



Dave

 

[kvom]

I have not been impressed with mine. The 1/8" 2-flutes are too fragile for Bridgeport speeds (2400 rpm max). I broke one at .015 DOC and 1 IPM! When I switched to the Atrax (Enco) endmill I had no problem with the same cut. So far the larger ones (5/16, 1/2) have been OK.

 

[DaveH]

Kvom
oooooh should be able the handle that.
1/8" was it HSS or carbide.

Dave

 

[kvom]

Carbide. HSS is more flexible and hence better for this type of stuff. Since they were cheap I figured I'd try them out.

 

[DaveH]

Cheap and cheerful my thoughts, hence not a lot to lose. I hope :-\
I'll see how I get on - but I will be a bit more carefull now.

dave

 

[Metal Butcher]

Today's posting activity reminded me to check on my shipment.

Service(s): Registered Mail™
Status: Processed through Sort Facility

Your item was processed through and left our JAMAICA, NY 11430 facility on February 23, 2011 at 5:16 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

Finally....My shipment is on U.S. soil! Thm:

Somebody.... Pass me the smelling salts! Rof}

-MB

 

[DaveH]

MB
I hope it is what you ordered :hDe:

Dave

 

[Metal Butcher]

MB
I hope it is what you ordered :hDe:

Dave

Hi Dave! I hope so too! *bang*

Did you get what you ordered? scratch.gif

-MB

 

[DaveH]

MB,
Only just ;D ordered 65 got 65

But even better bought a 1'' travel dial gauge.(not a digital one :big Half the price of a metric 25mm travel one, for some strange reason. ;D
Really wanted a 50mm travel but too expensive 4 times the price

Dave

 

[Metal Butcher]

Bis news! I'm so excited today that I can hardly catch my breath! th_wav woohoo1

Or... could it be from smoking too many cigars? :idea:

"Label/Receipt Number: RA93 trashx 727H K
Service(s): Registered Mail™
Status: Arrival at Unit
Your item arrived at 5:08 am on February 28, 2011 in NORTH ROYALTON, OH 44133."

I'm waiting, Mr.Postman wEc1

-MB

 

[Mike N]

Well my end mills arrived all 65 safe and sound.
Just for the record, they were ordered 25 Jan.
Arrived SA 11 Feb
Arrived Local Post Office 16 Feb
Notification to me 22 Feb
I picked them up from the post office to day 23 Feb

So about 4 weeks.

I have mainly purchased 1mm dia to 4mm dia . Had a quick look seem fine to me, I think I will be able to break these just as easily as the ones I have bought here.

65 end mills cost me $93 including postage. Here I could buy 8 may be 10 for the same price.

Dave

I also purchased 65 end mills, 20 of them are carbide. Some of the HSS steel ones are totally soft. The smaller HSS cutters have very little flute relief & are brittle. The carbide cutters work a little better, but leave a poor surface finish. Based on the luck I've had with the end mills I purchased I would have been money ahead buying 8 or 10 of some good ones. I like the Atrax endmills I get from enco, a 1/8th solid carbide end mill is $3.50 after I use there 20% off coupon.

Mike N

 

[arnoldb]

Thm: Glad to hear you're finally getting them MB

A bit of feedback....

When I ordered my lot, I stated that I would be testing them fairly against what I had up to then.

Just to set the record straight:
1) I'm pretty much a newbie to milling - I'm learning as I'm going along.
2) I've had VERY limited experience with carbide cutters.
3) I have not had the privilege of working with good quality US/UK/EU made cutters - the only reference I have is the South African made cutters that have been available to me up to now.
4) My selection of material is limited - brass, phosphor bronze, aluminium, cast iron, mild steel and silver steel (drill rod). I don't know the fancy alloy numbers associated with any of these; it's pretty much any bits I can get my hands on of unknown original composition. The only exceptions are the silver steel (even though I don't know if its oil/water/air hardening) and the phosphor bronze. I don't have the luxury of ordering material by numbers, and anything goes if a carbon steel junior hacksaw blade can make a dent in it.
5) My milling is hands-on; feeling and looking at what the cutters are doing and how much chips they are removing and the shape of the removed chips - instead of using tables to look up feeds & speeds.
6) Almost all of my milling is done without any form of lubrication/coolant.

From my original order, I've blown three cutters so far - a 10mm and 6mm 2 flute carbide slot mill, and a 2mm 4-flute HSS end mill. Total cost for the three: less than a single 4mm two-flute HSS cutter bought locally. The carbide mills were both pushed hard in mild steel when they broke - basically as part of this testing. The 2mm end mill was also asked to do the near-impossible - take a 2mm depth of cut out of some aluminium.

So far, I have been very pleasantly surprised with the results ;D The HSS Richon cutters gives me a better surface finish then the South African cutters. They don't appear as good with chip removal though, so want to run with slightly slower feed rates - which is OK by me as I'm not doing production work.

The carbide cutters are a pleasure to use, even if I've blown two of the 4 I ordered. More will be ordered soon and used at a slightly less insane rates of feed ;D - I love them!

Overall then, I'm a happy chappy. I got what I ordered at a very reasonable price and in good time. The quality may not be top notch, but it sits just below the top of what I've been able to get up to now - at a tenth of the price. So very good value for my money, and definitely more orders going Richon's way.

Thanks John! Thm:

Kind regards, Arnold

 

[Metal Butcher]

#1 My (re-shipped) shipment was just delivered about an hour ago! Oh what a thrill! Package looked good without any apparent damage. The HK $70.30 translates to about US $9.00. Time in transit was 21 days. The original shipment is still MIA, and I doubt it will ever show up. I still wonder if it was ever shipped.

#2 On to the contents of the package. I was impressed with the tidy looking containers that house the end mills. I opened up each one and looked at them using my Optivisor with Optiloupe. My first impression was that they look pretty good overall. All of the sizes except the 1/4" do not have a secondary relief. The smoothness of cutting edges vary from size to size. I checked the sizes and found some variances that you would not find in top quality end mills and this was expected. Below are the results of the few I checked for size.

3/16"=.190, 3/32"=.0935 & .097, 5/64"=.0795, 1/8"=.125, .127, .128, 7/64"=.111. 1/4"-.250".

In all fairness, I checked a few imports that I already had on hand and found similar variances, all though no more than .0015" over. I compared the surface finish on the cutting edges and found about half were almost the same quality of my other imports, and the rest were a slightly courser grind. Overall quality is just slightly below the average China quality carried by US distributors.

With out actually cutting metal I'm satisfied with the looks my test purchase.
Since I mainly build small projects and will use these on brass and aluminum, they should be fine. I will use them and save my better quality end mills for strict use on critical or complicated parts.

I would consider paying a little more if you can afford to, and buying a better China quality from a local source, unless you like to gamble. As the old saying goes, "You don't get something for nothing", and I got what I paid for, plain and simple.

If it sounds like I'm not happy with my order, that's not necessarily true. I'm satisfied that they will be usable, and they were dirt cheap. I just wanted to portray my assessment of the end mills that I got.

-MB