One of the areas that seems to be a bit thin on detail in the build and budget phase of hobby CNC routers is that of what constitutes a good selection of bits to start out with. Single flute, ball nose, engraver? what sizes, 2-8mm??

Any thoughts from those who have been there and got the T shirt as to a good selection to start with and how much to allocate to that part of the budget? I can't think of anything worse than having everything ready to make chips and then waiting for the right bit to arrive! lol.

Although some builders have a specific material in mind, others will be interested in machining a wide variety of materials so some general assumptions needed perhaps; 2.2kw water cooled spindle and if working alloy, wood, dorian, acrylic even PCB perhaps?

Any suggestions please?