Tooling I bought for a hobby shop from Shars what I think about it.
As the title says, I'm rating tooling I've bought from Shars. Some are good, and a few had problems. I'm mostly trying to pass on information to other hobbyist, but those who have businesses could benefit also. I'm not doing this to knock this particular company, so please, don't you either. I would think most of my comments would apply to other companies that sell inexpensive tooling also.
These have been purchased for my hobby shop at home, which has a Kent 3 axis CNC knee mill and a Feeler High Precision Type II Toolroom lathe. I've retired from owning two CNC machine shops and will comment about some tooling (very little) we did buy from Shars for them.
I'm going to try to keep it simple and rate them as "VG" (Very Good), "G"(Good), "F" (Fair), "P" (Poor), and "U' for (unusable)
Each will have a short comment/ explanation also.
Please, if you post about your experiences with Shars purchases here use the same format.
1) 505-2228 Diamond wheel "G" I use it for necking and grinding flats on Carbide EM's ect. in a bench grinder. You need to make a hub sleeve to fit it on the grinder.
2) 505-2201 - 7 Diamond Polishing Compounds "G"
3) 303-6323 6" square "G" My was square to .0003 over the 6".
4) 303-7201 1/8" 10 pairs of parallel (set) "G" within the .0002
5) 303-7250 1/32" 20 pairs of parallel (set) "G" Claimed to be .0001" but I have not had time to check them yet. They look good.
6) 303-5600 2-4-6 Blocks "G" I have not checked them for matched tol. I use them mostly for set up on the mill, great for that. I have two sets.
7) 303-5111 4 parallel angle block set "P" They are too short to be of much use.
8) 303-9102 9x12x2 Granite Surface plate "G"? I only claim good as I use it for sanding and scribe work. I never checked acc.
9) 202-6025 Indicator stand granite "P" and "U" The Micro screw adjust was unusable I ended up making my own.
10) 303-2513 Digital Depth Gage "P" I knew it was poor when I bought it but I bought it to check parallel and material clearances from the vice jaw top when milling on the CNC. Sometimes, drilled hole depths its fine for that. If you want one for accurate measurements, buy a good one.
11) 303-2653N 0-6 inch Micometer set "G+" This surprised me very much, they were checked at a lab and passed their test. Now this was about 6 to 8 years ago I bought them on sale at around 80 bucks. BTW - I never use the one inch as I have a Mitotoyo .00005.
12) 303-1055 24" HD Vernier Caliper "G+" Another nice surprise when compared against my calibrated DRO on the CNC, they were within .001 or better when sampled six points.
13) 202-3010 5C spin index fixture. "P" I do not own one. I have a Surburban, but have seen them used in a weld fixture. The shaft is two piece and they kept loosening up in use as did the collar. I wouldn't buy one unless I planned on spending a lot of time rebuilding it.
14) 202-3012 5C H/V 5C collet fixture "G"? We bought one for a customer's fixture ( They said to use this one) it was OK but little stiff in use. I never checked the squareness.
15)202-1108 Speed Handle "P" The Handles are too long thus making them hard to use unless you cut them down.
15)202-1381 Quick clamp "P"? I bought 2 but ended up replacing the caps screws as they were so poorly made.
16) 202-0008 Adjustable Mill Stop "G" I had to stone the base and buff the edges so that it wouldn't scratch the table plus replace the screws. I gave it a good because even with the repairs it was much cheaper than making one.
17) 202-5191 1/8 to 7/8" R8 collet set "G" Again I was surprised, I checked the threads and runouts on a sampling (4) none of those were more them .0003 RO.
18) 202-5282 5C by 1/64 Collet set and 202-5262 through to 5269 (1 1/64th through 1-1/8th) "VG"
The only very good I gave. I have checked more than half of them and all are no more than .0003 RO some are .0001. They were checked with gage pins and the ones yet to be used are marked with a felt pin so that I check them before use.
19) 202-3504 Live center "G" Seems to be of good quality. Ugly and bulky though.
20) 202-9406 AXA Change Tool holders import "G" I have 10 of these and replaced all the screws, but that was my own preference as the Allen wrench stuck in the hex in some and they were a little loose on the threads. Also note that I have an Aloris tool post and some, though they fit, are a little tight going on. A friend has the 202-9474 set…his are not tight.
21) 202-2214 Milling machine power feed for the knee (They Call it the Z axis) "G" Works good however I do not use the hand crank set up I have a round crank with a folding handle… safer. I have a neat why of mounting this if anyone is interested.
22) 202-5162 Shell mill R8 ardor "U" I had to return it as the threads minor diameter was oversized and was tearing up my draw bar.
23) 404-1883 face mill "P" I sent it back as the pockets were not of the same height and the manufactured quality was so poor.
24) 202-1049 Slotting saw arbors "U" I threw it away as the steps had too much play and the hut was soft in the hex.
25) 404-7347 tapping guide "U" Nice idea but just made so poorly it broke I even tried a second one it also broke.
26) R8 ER -16 collet chucks "U" Looked great however they (3) had oversized minor diameters on the thread thereby damaging the draw bar if used. These were also sent back.
27) 202-5302 and 2025303 R8 end mill holders 2 of the 2/8 and two of the 1/2. 'G' correct tool fit and threads I just bought two more 1/2 " but I haven check them yet.
28) Cat v-er collet chucks 202-1499 through202-1459 'G' All have performed well and without problems. The ER collets all have performed well.
I hope this helps…some more to follow...
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Re: Tooling I bought for a hobby shop from Shars what I think about it.
Hasn't anyone else bought tooling from them and have comments? When buying from this company (and other well known) I would think you would be interested in having an idea of what you are getting. Later I will post more, I just don't have time right now to write it up. Coming up ER collets and Cat 40 holders, transfer punches, drill chucks, arbors, large drills, and turning tools. Not everything from Shars.
Re: Tooling I bought for a hobby shop from Shars what I think about it.
I have been looking at some of their turning tools, I'm not sure exactly what I want yet though.
Thanks for the review of all those things, I'm sure it will help someone out, even if they dont write to let you know.
I'll add to this.
Bxa wedge type tool post: fair. Must replace screws for this to usable. It's a bit clunky in operation. The center lead screw and wedges are sloppy and jam a bit so it's not nearly as smooth as a name brand qctp. Other than that it is repeatable and a good value. Basically what you would expect.
0-6 mic set: As far as I can tell these are good. I checked them against the few gauge blocks I have, and they were pretty accurate. Within .0002 on all, I might trust them to .0005 for hobby work. They feel smooth and the lock works. Good enough
1/2" KEYLESS DRILL CHUCK WITH MORSE TAPER 3 INTEGRAL SHANK 13MM p/n 202-5092A: good. I have not checked to see if the runout is as advertised, but these work quite well and feel like they are made to a high quality.
.008" DIAL TEST INDICATOR with graduation's of .0001": fair. The spring is heavy so you must have a rigid stand for repeatable readings. My h.f. dial indicator stand was not up to the task. It kept drifting until I removed the adjustable pivot arm. Once I had a solid holder, it read well.
P/n 404-1053, 5/8 indexable set: fair. The holders seem ok, but the carbide seem to be poor quality. The parting groove tool insert is not a normal insert and mine broke immediately... you have to buy them from shars for $10 each, eBay or similar. Same for the single point.
I may update this at some point
Aluminum frame CNC router, JET GHB-1340 Lathe conversion, Bridgeport BOSS Retrofit, I'm gonna be busy for a while.
Re: Tooling I bought for a hobby shop from Shars what I think about it.
I recently bought a 3/8 index able end mill that was supposed to be a 90 degree shoulder cutting end mill ,well as you can guess it was a piece of junk.
The insert would not fit correctly ,it stuck out at the to by 15 degrees at the top and cut top and then bottom and then left a gouge in the side wall.
Went around and around with them no luck,i will never buy any thing from these idiots again ,
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