Originally Posted by
sansbury
So, here I am looking at the Enco catalog for some random bits of tooling I could use. Taps, various types of endmills, that sort of thing.
In most cases, you have the choice of "Enco brand" for say $4, OSG or Putnam for $18, and sometimes a generic "USA brand" for $8, all for nominally the same 3-flute cobalt roughing endmill or whatever it is. Ditto with taps, drills, etc.
I'm not opposed to spending $20 for "the same tool" you could buy for $5 but I'm also not made of money so I like to spend it efficiently. I am wondering how much difference I am likely to see as a hobbyist with hobbyist machinery working with hobbyist volume and tolerances in hobbyist materials between the $20 tool and the $5 one.