[noobCNC]

Where is the cheapest source for cutting tools like end mills, drills, inserts, etc?

Ebay? What else?

[dtman2]

Busy Bee Tools has some stuff, Cutting Tools - Busy Bee Tools

[DareBee]

kbc or Travers

Question is, why would you want to buy cheap tools?

[noobCNC]

How long do your (expensive?) tools normally last you when maintained well?

Ive had hits and misses with cheap tools. I also have expensive tools but the cheap tools seem to work fine most of the time. I for one am very happy with some of the end mills I bought from Shars tool. Many of their tools are pretty cheap. I have this Shars roughing end mill that I've been using for quite a while and its still going strong and cuts into aluminum like butter. And I bought a few of them when I ordered too so short of stupid programming mistakes, wont be running out any time soon.

I also bought some cutters from fastenel before and theyre not bad too.

[SirDenisNayland]

Tools "working alright" is quite relative to the context you are working in.

Jobmate tools work alright, but you would never catch any professional using them.

It comes down to your true requirements and how anal you are about things.

I have about 100 used 1/8th uncoated endmills that will still "work alright" but they no longer perform as they did when they were new. They may push a bit, some may have slightly chipped corners (which I am very anal about) causing them to leave a less than absolutely stellar finish etc.

The differences between brands can be hard to distinguish and to the untrained uncaring eye they all look the same and are all designed to do the same work; remove metal, but some do better than others. Some tooling may last longer but give you semi decent finishes, another tool may burn up at a certain point but up to that point it may give you the best finishes you've ever accomplished.

Again going back to the jobmate comment, assess your situation and your needs. If all you're doing is tinkering around cutting delrin in your garage you certainly don't need to go spending on a high end coated solid carbide variable helix hanita end mill, chances are you just won't ever notice the benefit over a run of the mill "metal removal" (yes it is a brand) hss endmill.

Tooling is very vast and it is easy to get lost and confused in the world of it. Start off by assessing what you need and pick a reasonable tool to work with as a starting point and go from there as work, and/or your desires for more speed, better finishes, etc begin to build and you begin to build a base of knowledge for the tooling YOU prefer.

Cheers