Richie
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2025
As a machinist in the trade itโs still hard to pay the big bucks for a facemill to be used on a Bridgeport every now and then. A pack of inserts, facemill, r8 shank, and a torx wrench all for under $60 is an awesome deal. I cut some 1018 steel with it today. Cut well and a lot less cutting force compared to the apkt face mill and indexable end mills I have. I faced some 1.5โx1.5โ blocks. About 50 of them and still on the same cutting edge. Running it dry. Iโd buy another one of these in a different diameter if i needed it for anything!
VineReviewer
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025
I ordered the R8-FMB22-7/16 shell cutter. It comes in 2 plastic sleeves. One contains the end mill cutter that holds the inserts, an 8 pack of incerts, and the star drive wrench to secure the inserts. The other sleeve holds the R8 arbor shaft. The end mill cutter slips on the arbor and is secure with an 8mm allen wrench (not included). There is a little rotational clearance between the drive dogs on the arbor, and the end mill but once you tighten the 8mm screw, it stays put. The drive dogs have a 4mm allen wrench to secure them (also not included).The carbide inserts use a tapered screw to self-center when you tighten, and the threads feel reasonably smooth to engage. Once the inserts are attached, the mill no longer fits in the sleeve so I store it with the inserts removed.Overall, the quality looks good for the price point, and the finishes on the tool look clean and polished. Thread engagement feels solid on the mounting screws. This is a nice affordable shell mill with a spare set of inserts, and if you are a student of machining like myself, those will come in handy if you get a little too agressive and break them.