Wasted $350 on cheap tooling that chipped on the first pass

I bought a set of 20 carbide end mills off Amazon for like $350 3 months ago, trying to save some cash for a side job I had lined up. Big mistake lol. The very first pass on some 6061 aluminum, the 1/4 inch bit chipped up bad and left a nasty finish on the part. I thought maybe it was a fluke so I tried another one, same thing with the next three bits in a row. Turns out the carbide was probably low grade or the coating was garbage, because they just couldn't handle normal feeds and speeds like my usual stuff from MSC. I trashed the whole set and went back to buying known brands, but that $350 is just gone now. Has anyone else gotten burned by cheap bulk tooling like that, or am I just unlucky?

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the_shane1mo ago

My buddy bought the same set and snapped two bits just cutting a keyway.