Centurion Tools CNC bits...
Guys,
I rarely encounter such enthusiastic and professional treatment from a company as I have with Centurion Tools. When Ed Lang recommended them his endorsement was so over the top I was almost suspicious. You may have read a great review of them before so I won't repeat everything. I'll go to the jest of things you may find useful.
They supply tooling to large companies for machining that is often static. i.e. a furniture company may order the same set of bits over and over. As such their selection is somewhat dictated by previous orders but if you can find what you need in what they have the prices are very competitive. This is not to say they don’t have a good selection of typical tools, they do. You just may not find the same variety as from other commercial vendors.
They can custom mill almost anything you need but they are limited to what their tooling is capable of producing. Again, you might have to go to a commercial vendor to find those smaller bits or odd bits. Custom milled items may cost more and take longer to get but even so, the prices are very competitive and you get a custom tool.
They are use to customers knowing what they want when they call, don’t let that scare you off though, they are very knowledgeable about tooling and can offer help. I would suggest being courteous and realize their time is precious as is yours so “having some kind of a clue” when you call would be the polite thing to do.
Their prices are very competitive and I have received my first order of bits from them. I’ve found the quality to be better than expected. I looked a few of the edges under my microscope and compared them to the other brand. I found a very minor chip on one of the ¼” bits all the way at the top of the cutting flute as it came to the shank. It was only visible to the naked eye once I knew where it was and will not affect performance. Some of my other brand bits exhibited a pit here or there as well. I found nothing to suggest sub-standard tooling. I’d like to compare this to one popular brand “red” bit I purchased which exhibited multiple pits and micro chips fresh from the wrapper.
The 1/8” bit with 5/8” CEL has performed just was well or better than my previous brand. The ¼” compression bit has performed just as well as my compression bit from another vendor and doesn’t exhibit the same shrill “scream” I was getting from the previous bits. Cutting quality is indistinguishable. As for longevity… well at the price I paid if it lasts 35% as long I’ll be to the good. It has already cut about 8% of the expected life of the more expensive bit and cut quality on the last cuts I did yesterday were just as good as the first.
I’ve not had the opportunity to use some of the other bits yet, but as I continue to use the tooling I’ll add updates on what I discover. I’d encourage anyone purchasing bits to give them a try. I was told their new website would be online soon complete with online ordering. They are at www.centuriontools.com
Robert
Reply With Quote
