The hidden costs of cheap cutting tools

Tool steels are alloys of different elements, and there are many types. Each grade of tool steel is made from an alloy specific to the intended use of that tool.

For instance, some alloys are suited to making tools that need shock resistance, such as power hammer parts, and some are better suited to making hole-cutting tools where they require high wear resistance.

The difference in elements used to make an alloy means that some are cheaper to manufacture than others. Using the incorrect alloy materials for hole-cutting tools to keep the prices down can have dire effects on their suitability to cut metal effectively.

Cutting-tool steel has to be incredibly hard to cut other metals. Hardening is achieved by subjecting the metal to specialist heat treatment processes.

However, it's not simply a case of hardening the steel past a certain point, and it will be fine. The margins for error are slim. If the tool is not hardened enough, it will blunt and lose its cutting edge quickly. If hardened too much, it will become brittle, and tool shatter becomes a real danger.

Shortcuts taken by manufacturers during this stage will invariably result in substandard tooling.

Inferior geometry is one of the most overlooked reasons cutting tools are manufactured and sold cheaply. Cutting tools are often complex in design and it comes down to fine tolerances. A lack of knowledge or willingness to allow poor design geometry results in inefficient cutting and poor swarf clearance.

This, in turn, means more effort is required on the operator's part. Inadequate swarf clearance can also damage the cutting edges, especially in more specialist applications such as countersinking.

Coatings are applied to increase the longevity of the cutting tool by providing wear resistance and heat reflection.

By not applying coatings, manufacturers of uncoated products save on an expensive process, but this saving does not translate to the end user who ends up with a tool that burns out quickly and doesn't last.

Cheap cutting tools usually have an extremely simplistic shank design. The shank is part of the cutting tool that fits into the drive tool. The most common is a basic cylindrical shape that can easily slip and spin in its holder when the tool is applied to the workpiece and meets resistance.

By not making an effective anti-slip shank on the tool, again, there is a cost/time saving for the manufacturer from which the end user does not benefit.

Cheap uncoated products burn out quickly. This is especially significant if a job is under tight time schedules and the tools are subjected to sustained, heavy use.

Cutting tool coatings are designed to reduce friction, decreasing the heat that builds up during the process. Keeping as much heat out of the cut as possible is crucial as it can cause issues.

For instance, heat in the cut makes both the tooling and workpiece expand, further increasing friction. On harder materials, heat can cause the edges of the hole to harden; a process known as work-hardening. When there is only one shot at getting a hole correct, this can be a major problem, and a coating can be the difference between the success and failure of the cut.

Coatings also help to preserve cutting-edge integrity by reducing wear. The sharper the tool, the more efficient the cut and the less heat produced.

Not coating products is a prime example of a manufacturer reducing costs for themselves that cost the end user.

Most of the VersaDrive® cutting tool range has the unique ability to be used on Impact Drive Tools. Why is that a factor? Well, impact tooling can cut far faster than standard rotary tooling, up to 15x faster in the case of thread tapping.

Non-impact hole-cutting tools cut through the material by traditional rotary means, usually resulting in a long, slow and laborious process, especially when having to cut thick steel plate. Again, time is money, and standard rotary tools cannot provide the efficiencies that impact cutting tools can.

Additional pressure required on the tooling will amount to extra pressure on the power tool driving it. A cheap, inefficient cutting tool requires much more effort to complete the cut. The strain ends up being forced onto the power tool by the operator. This has significant costs associated with it when you consider the additional wear and tear that it puts on the operator’s power tools, not to mention the effort the user needs to complete the cut.

Power tools are a considerable investment for any installation or fabrication team. Increased wear on the motors and batteries of power tools is another example of a hidden cost that lurks behind the decision to buy and use cheap cutting tools.

Every company has a responsibility to their workforce to supply them with safe tools to work with. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) are in place to ensure that.

A cutting tool that blunts quickly is hazardous to the operative. A blunt cutting tool will snag and snatch at the material during the cut, which can cause painful wrenching of the wrists, particularly in rotary-cutting applications; this doesn't happen with an impact-driven cutting tool.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the other significant danger is that cheap tools can also shatter easily, especially when used in an impact wrench.

Tool shatter can be incredibly dangerous. When it happens, small pieces of sharp metal shrapnel are shot out in all directions, causing injury.

First and foremost, employee safety is paramount, but other hidden costs are incurred. These include staff off work from injury, having to organise temporary cover for injured people, and Health & Safety claims, not to mention the time lost, money spent and hassle that comes with such incidents.

The constant replacement of damaged, blunt and broken tooling causes costs and additional workloads to start stacking up, ones that are not necessarily obvious at the outset.

So, what does that mean?

Firstly, there is obviously having to buy replacements repeatedly, but it goes beyond that. There is more paperwork for the purchasing teams, more hassle for goods in, and more site deliveries to schedule, to name a few; aspects not often thought about when looking purely at low prices on a quote.

Further to point 5, broken tools on site mean having to source new ones in a hurry. What if it is the weekend or night shift work? Will the suppliers be open and available?

The cost here comes in the form of wasted time re-ordering the same tooling, the frustration and unnecessary pressure on procurement personnel, and the high carriage costs that inevitably come with the need for urgent, last-minute deliveries.

Poor quality materials and manufacturing methods mean cheap cutting tools break easily. Broken tools mean holes not drilled/aligned correctly or, even worse, a tool breaking off in a vital hole location. A broken tool stuck, even partially, can be very costly to remove and will most likely cause damage to the hole.

What's the true cost of a site team not being able to complete their task that day?

Labour costs are one of the most significant overheads of any company, and having site personnel standing around waiting to get back on with their work is a huge, and avoidable, cost.

Missed deadlines are an even bigger threat to a company's bottom line. With many construction projects carried out on ever-tightening schedules, large penalties for missing deadlines can be incurred. To have that happen due to a decision to buy cheap tooling is not a position any business can afford to be in.