HQMaster Spiral Router Bits Down Cut 1/4 inch Shank Solid Carbide Nano Blue Coated Spiral Downcut CNC Bits End Mill for Wood Cut Carving Engraver (1/8 Cutting Diameter)

Tested in mild steel. The cut was very smooth as the bit is very sharp. Should work well in many materials. After testing I used a 1/8 drill to check the size. The naked eye said it was a little large. Was it runout from my setup ? Bent bit ? Manufacturing defect? I checked with a micrometer and found the bit measured .126 Probably not a really big deal in most cases. I will call it a quality control issue. Or maybe when these are sent to us vine reviewers we get the ones that didn’t pass quality control. Might just be the perfect size for some project.

Broke in 5 seconds at 50 ipm and 1/4 doc in mdf! Dont waste your money unless you plan on cutting for 10 hours at 1/16 depth of cut

Im still kind of a newbie in the CNC Router arena, and while learning how to use the software thats needed to work with these machines, I am gradually building up my arsenal of bits so I can effectively use the machine. One thing I look for is bits that are made of solid carbide. They just keep their sharpness longer than high speed steel bits, so they run cooler and smoother longer. I also try to get bits that have a coating over the cutting area of the bits, as this also contribute to longer life and smoother cutting. I used this HQMaster 1/4 inch shank 1/8 inch cutting Ball Nose End Mill today as I was experimenting with 3-D carving. I created a simple half-torus model that I intended to carve, but was running into problems with the machine plunging deep into the wood before starting to carve the shape. It was supposed to start at the surface, but started probably 10 or 15 mm BELOW the surface instead. I never did figure out why it was doing this, and after a long period of trying I have up for the time being. BUT...I was amazed that this HGMaster bit still cut smoothly and evenly despite the fact that it was being forced to carve from a much deeper depth than it was supposed to. I let the program run a few minutes at this wrong depth before I shut it down, and observed the edges of the cuts - they were perfect, really nice and clean. Thats a great testament to the quality of this bit. Most bits can cut well when the machine isnt trying to power through a cut thats outside of its design parameters, but it takes a special one to be able to deal with it and do a good job anyway. Recommended!

Great bit nice and sharp measured to meet specifications. I like the way these bits cut nice and clean.

Skip it, buy a higher quality bit and save the headache.

This is a great end mill for doing 3d cutting. Makes nice clean cuts leaving a nice finish. The price makes this even a better value. Time will tell but so far this has been my goto bit for 3d cuts. Comes packaged well and arrived quickly. I will buy more of these bits

While I would prefer a bearing bit (and I ordered one) this bit came within a few days of order and worked just fine for my needs. I needed to duplicate some Plexiglass objects and so set up the bit to travel along the original and cut the part out. My concern was burning the original (without having a bearing guide) but that was not the case and given the correct speed and movement speed this bit worked like a champ and stayed sharp for the duration of my project. I was cutting 1/4 Plexi and while I thought heat might be a problem it seemed to work just fine

While I would prefer a bearing bit (and I ordered one) this bit came within a few days of order and worked just fine for my needs. I needed to duplicate some Plexiglass objects and so set up the bit to travel along the original and cut the part out. My concern was burning the original (without having a bearing guide) but that was not the case and given the correct speed and movement speed this bit worked like a champ and stayed sharp for the duration of my project. I was cutting 1/4 Plexi and while I thought heat might be a problem it seemed to work just fine

HQMaster’s 1/8-inch carbide ball nose end mill with nano blue coating and 1/4-shaft is a well-made and sharp bit. The nano blue coating improves the heat performance of the bit, and the 1/4-shaft adds rigidity. Both features will increase the life of the end mill. The bit comes packaged in a typical rectangular plastic box. The bit itself comes without any markings on it shaft. I much prefer that the end mill be labelled to allow easy identification and to prevent tool mix-ups. This is a good workhorse type end mill that I will find a lot of use for.

This is a nice quality router bit. It is very sharp and works as its supposed to. It is packaged very nicely. It comes in the standard router bit square plastic case. The great thing here is that the case is labeled very clearly, so you dont have to squint (or get a magnifying glass) to read the side of the shank. This is very useful as you are juggling different bits and needing to match the right bits to the right tool paths. I use these bits on my CNC to carve designs into soft woods. So far, so good, the bit is still in once piece. I am very happy with the performance and the results of this bit.