I have used Chinese routing cutters( for wood ) on aluminium and have experienced no problems. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Head" <ron.head@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 7:10 PM Subject: [modeleng] TiN coated tools Hi chaps My M.E. arrived yesterday, and in it was a catalogue from Arc Euro Trade. A very good catalogue too, and it would seem, produced especially for the ME trade. Most if not all of the stuff in it is undoubtedly Chinese, but it does look to be fair quality if pictures are anything to go by. My attention was drawn to their end mills and slot drills. These are TiN (titanium nitride?) coated and are incredibly cheap, for example a 1/2" end mill is GBP4, about a quarter of the price of a Dormer HSS end mill. A set of seven end mills covering sizes 1/8" to 1/2" is GBP18. Even Tracy Tools can't do them this cheaply! I'm tempted to order a few as I can never have enough milling cutters, but has anyone else had experience of these and are they a bargain? As I understand it the TiN coating reduces friction, but surely it must wear off and in any case it won't be present if the tool is re-ground. Comments welcome! Regards Ron Head Oxford UK MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.