Notes from the shop floor

Tool selection, cutting data and supply notes from the people who grind the tools.

8 entries Ask about a specific tool

Ordering Custom Carbide Tools from China: A Buying Guide

What a custom tool manufacturer actually needs from you, what a serious factory asks in return, and how to de-risk the first order.

Cutting Data Basics: Starting Parameters for 4-Flute Carbide End Mills

Surface speed, chip load and the two adjustments that fix most cuts. A no-nonsense starting table for 4-flute solid carbide tools.

Coating Guide: AlTiN vs AlCrN vs DLC for Carbide Tools

The coating is 3 microns thick and decides half your tool life. What each family actually does, and the applications where it wins.

Why Your End Mills Chip in 304 Stainless: 7 Field Causes

Chipped edges in austenitic stainless are almost never mysterious. These seven causes cover most of what we see in customer returns and field reports.

Aluminium Milling: Beating Built-Up Edge

Soft, gummy aluminium welds itself to the cutting edge and drags across your finished wall. The fix is geometry and speed, not more coolant.

Ball Nose Finishing in Mold Steel: Stepover, Scallop and Tool Life

The stepover you choose decides three costs at once: polish time, tool life and delivery date. A practical method for mold work in P20…

Variable Helix Geometry: Why It Stops Chatter in Deep Pockets

Unequal flute spacing breaks the harmonic loop that turns a stable cut into a screaming one. Here is the physics, in plain language.

Choosing Carbide Grades for Stainless Steel Machining

Sub-micro grain, 10–12% cobalt, and a controlled edge hone — how grade selection decides whether your stainless job survives a full shift.

Can't find the geometry you need?

Most of what we ship is ground to a drawing. Send yours — we quote within 24 hours.

Request a Quote Made to drawing