Enco is gone??

[dirtcrasher1]

I guess it's been quite awhile since I ordered any tooling but ENCO is now MSC; I thought they were always a portion of MSC....

I had bought a set of 3/16 to 3/4 TIN coated end mills 8 years ago for like 30$. And I've been using them all this time and they have dulled up a bit and I figured I'd get a new set.

Now that they are MSC, they are 150$ and up/up.

Where do we go now for inexpensive tooling that gets the job done without breaking the bank??

Thanks for any suggestions

[John Evans]

Try Traver's [sp]

[SteveHGraham]

Ebay.

[SteveM]

Keep an eye out in the for sale section here and at practicalmachinist.com.

Sometimes people have endmills for sale cheap. I just sold about a hundred carbide endmills here a couple of months ago.

Other option is to have yours resharpened. If they are quality end mills, resharpening them can be a good value. If you need the coating, many of the resharpening shops can re-coat them as well.

Steve

[WesHowe]

Grizzly also sells those sets of end mills, maybe more now than what you paid back then though. Their selections of tools are more hobbyist oriented than some of the other retailers, but then if you are a hobbyist...

Also, look at Amazon, too. Almost any tooling is available there (in Business and Industrial) , but be sure to shop the prices... sometimes they are great and sometimes not so very...

- Wes

[ctwo]

Some other options

http://www.shars.com/3-16-3-4-tin-coate ... d-mill-set

http://www.shars.com/1-2-3-4-hss-four-f ... ll-set-1-1

And even something to play like the big boys

http://www.shars.com/1-2-9-16-5-8-mini- ... d-mill-set

[dirtcrasher1]

Great suggestions guys!! Thanks so much!!

I forgot all about SHARS. I have their 1" to 6" mics and they work fine for what I do.

Do any of you guys have an opinion on SHARS?? They seem to have decent tooling....

[SteveM]

I had an AXA wedge toolpost that I think came from them (I bought it used) and it was no better (in fact worse) than my Phase II piston post.

That's the only direct experience I have had.

I have heard favorable comments about them on other stuff, though.

I would be sure to check other people's opinions on the end mills. Some import endmills lose their edge if you just look at them the wrong way.

Steve

[ctwo]

I'm trying to remember what I bought from Shars. I think they carry some higher quality tools as well as the inexpensive choices. They do have a selection of USA end mills with the appropriate price.

I do have a Shars live tail stock center that is just fine - it came with one of my lathe purchases as a new accessory. I am considering buying a small toolmaker vise from them. They did not seem to have such great sales over the holidays or I might have more to say about their stuff...

[JimGlass]

My shop almost ran on tooling from ENCO. I really miss them and I dislike MSC even though MSC owned ENCO. It
was a weird arrangement but it worked well for me. I'm still looking for a new tool vendor. Jim

[Rick_Johnson_IL]

Shars has taken up the slack for me with tooling, not so much with consumable tooling though, I shop around more.

Jim Glass, as Shars is in St Charles, not too far for you to make a will call for something heavy. Been there a couple of times, they don't have showroom or sales counter, order online, send them an email stating that the order is a will call and they credit back the shipping charge.

[EOsteam]

I have purchased the following items from Shars. 1-2" Hub micrometer, Number 2 morse taper live center and an ER32 collet set with R8 holder, wrench etc,. The ER32 collets seem to be spot on but only have checked the ones used most often. The hub micrometer is a nice item as well. The only fly in the ointment is their customer service. Thy sent the wrong item instead of the hub mic and wouldn't send out the correct item until they received the incorrect item back. What should have taken 4 days ended up at almost 3 weeks.

HJ