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)

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.

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

Nice ball nose CNC router bit. Good quality. Clean, sharp cutting edges along entire flute.

I bought the 1/8” cutting diameter bit, and used it with my router and DIY circle jig to cut a perfect, 11” diameter circle in 1/2” plywood. The down cut left no splinters on the top side of the plywood, and very few on the bottom side. I do not know how long it will last, but it worked very well on its maiden voyage.

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 1/8 cutting 1/4 shank ball nose bit came in a standard end mill case that protected it during transit. The case was nicely labeled so you dont have to. The nano-blue coating covered the top end of the bit evenly and cleanly. The ball nose left a nicely rounded bottom on the groove. The bit cut easily and dispelled chips well due to the up-cut flute design. This bit seems well designed and stayed sharp through my testing on both soft and hardwoods and I expect to get a good long life out of this bit.

TLDR: Duller than a bus trip to Branson. I Picked this downward-cutting end mill for some prototype packaging I wanted to develop using standard EVA foam. This endmill cut beautifully at 10K RPM for about ten pieces and then quickly began to dull. The CNC would continue to push the cutter through the foam, but the material would just flex and compress until the cutter passed leaving an inconsistent and wavy finish. This must be the lowest quality carbide they could source. I had to double-check the listing to ensure I didnt buy an HSS end mill by mistake. I am going to try to cut some aluminum or other harder material just to see if the other reviews for this product are fake. Id be shocked if it even cuts a chip given how poorly it wore doing something as simple as cutting foam.

I made a test cut with this bit on a piece of Gaboon Ebony to see how it fared. It cut clean and held its edge even on that brutal wood, albeit I only ran about 12in/305mm. Being coated carbide, I expect that itll hold up well if it made it through that first run without immediate dulling. As with any router bit, RPM and feed speed are critical in getting the best results. I ran this at 25,000 rpm on my router table and fed the workpiece by hand, feeling for the proper speed. Only experience can guide you if youre feeding it by hand. If youre fortunate enough to have a CNC, follow the appropriate guidelines for the material youre cutting for best results.

Works great

This cutter is dimensionally accurate according to my caliper. That is good as sometimes 6mm shank are sold as 1/4 (6.35mm). Under magnification the ball end is smooth without burrs. It is only 2-flute so I wouldnt try to cut metal with it but wood and plastic should be fine.