1.5mm ball end mill supplier in the uk

[Jonathan]

I have it on good authority that I am better to use a small ball nose cutter of 1.5 or smaller for carving

Yes, it's common sense that you'll get better detail from a smaller cutter. The difference between 1.5875mm (1/16") and 1.5mm is almost certainly negligible.

I would rather slow the feed rate and spindle speed down to get a good finish that a larger cutter and fast feed rate and spindle speed

The alternative is you use a bigger cutter to start with for a roughing pass and leave just 1mm (or so) for the finishing pass with the 1.5mm cutter. That will put a lot less force on the cutter, may mean you can use a short a cutter resulting in a better finish. There's more to it than just slowing the feed down...