[Gilmax]

I'm looking for some decent drill bits to get started. Anyone have any experience with them? I will primarily be machining aluminum. I generally would buy end mills from somewhere like Maritool, but if Tormachs stuff is decent, then why not?

[GLCarlson]

I'm looking for some decent drill bits to get started. Anyone have any experience with them? I will primarily be machining aluminum. I generally would buy end mills from somewhere like Maritool, but if Tormachs stuff is decent, then why not?

Because Maritool's stuff is usually cheaper and equal in quality. And shipping speed usually beats Tormach by a few days.

I'm delighted to see Tormach turning into a full-service marketplace. It's very convenient, especially for beginners, to have a source of vetted tooling. The tooling market is confusing and very complicated; having a recommended end mill or drill type really helps, at least initially. But. It's a resale business, and not Tormach's primary focus. There are suppliers, like Maritool and Lakeshore, whose business IS tooling and will be able to carry broader lines at equal or better prices.

Same thing applies to other accessories. For example, Tormach sells the Fogbuster and its own flood coolant systems, but not the Trico MD1200. Zoro Tool has the best price on that system at the moment. TTS style ER holders is another well known example.

I generally start with the Tormach recommendation (now that there are some) but check at least a couple other quality suppliers for a similar item when buying tooling.

As the song says, "ya gotta shop around".

[R.DesJardin]

Tormach's end mills and drill bits are good top quality tools and worth the money, every bit as good if not better as what I used to buy elsewhere.

[GLCarlson]

Tormach's end mills and drill bits are good top quality tools and worth the money, every bit as good if not better as what I used to buy elsewhere.

Absolutely. Tormach (and Tormach-recommended) tooling and accessories are invariably excellent quality, thoughtfully chosen, and priced fairly.

[Gilmax]

Just to follow up on this. I tried out the HSS drill bits and they seem to work well enough. They are apparently made in South Korea.