CNC Mill tool essentials

Hey guys,

I just recently purchased a CNC mill for the garage for rapid prototyping car parts and wanted to get your suggestions on essential cutting/milling tools regarding end mills, drill bits, ball mill, roughing, finishing, 3 flute, 2 flute, hss, cobalt, carbide, etc...
One advice I received was to not buy tools that I think I might need but to rather buy them when its needed but for starting out I know I should have certain tools like half inch end mills, spot drills, drill bits in jobber length or mechanical length?
Looking forward to your suggestions. Cheers

I like 3 flute carbide for aluminum. I like 4 or 5 flute carbide for steel. For drilling, you will need a spot drill, then whatever drill you need. I generally just buy decent HSS drills. You can get a lot of mileage out of them if you get the F&S right. I use my chamfer mill as a spot drill, it works, fine. I use carbide 2 flute chamfer mills in both steel and aluminum, I have like years on the thing. With my machine I used mostly 1/4", 3/8" tooling, but I also have a 2" face mill that I rather like. For special jobs of course there is a long list of specific tooling you will need.

On my tool changer I keep a 3 flute 3/8" carbide for finishing, the same tool but in worse condition for roughing, they are my go to Aluminum working tools. I keep a 2 flute 1/4" carbide for aluminum as well. I keep a 1/4" 4 flute and 3/8" 5 flute carbide, these are my go to steel tools. I keep the chamfer mill, 2" face mill, a 1.5" slot cutter, and usually a drill bit that the size is set from whatever job I had last. Finally, I like to keep a thread mill around. Those are like my 10 generic tools that get the core of most machining done. I like bullnose end mills as they last the longest. From there I use a ton of other tools, ball nose, tiny tools, long tools, slotting tools, drills, etc..

You should just get some fairly generic stuff to get rolling, then as you get a feel for what you like and don't like you will start narrowing down what you need for basic machining. I buy OnlineCarbide, Shars, Kyocera, All Industrial, and whatever brand it is that McMaster sells me when I am in a panic to get a tool.