Hi Will,
One thing that is often overlooked by "hobbyists" when choosing which tip to buy is the chip breaker. This is far more important than often thought. A decent manufacturer of tips will list the depth of cut (DOC)figures for each of their tip's chip breaker, there is no point in buying a tip that will only work with a 5mm DOC! We as hobbyists will often require to take cuts of a few thou or less, so picking a tip with a chip breaker capable of such a cut will pay the time taken to find the right one. Picking the wrong tip, easily done, will lead to disappointment, you have been warned.
Why is rated DOC important? Well if a manufacturer says a tip can take a small cut, they mean it will still give a good finish at that DOC. The fact that a tip that is meant to take a large cut will still remove metal is completely irrelevant if the finish it gives is like a ploughed field.
As for a good make, Sumitomo are a very reputable supplier, proving you get the right shape, grade, tip radius, and of course chip breaker, for the job in hand. Who said life was meant to be simple?
Any wonder why I am a fan of Tangential tooling?
chriStephens