Boring bars

[Felis]

Guys,
I am considering buying a set of small boring bars for use on a ML7. I do not have any currently.

Looking on Chronos site and RDG site, i find similar small boring bars. Chronos has their Glanze-branded bars, and RDG bars, look similar, are not branded.

Glanze 8mm DCMT Boring Bar Set with 4 Inserts - Chronos Engineering Supplies

Glanze 8mm DCMT Boring Bar Set with 4 Inserts from Chronos Engineering Supplies. Free UK delivery and great worldwide rates.

www.chronos.ltd.uk

Model Engineering and engineering tools online from RDG Tools Ltd Home Page (Engineering Tools) Tel 01422 885069 /884605

6MM & 8MM Shank Boring Bars

www.rdgtools.co.uk

Now i realize that Glanze is not a manufacturer, but rather an importer of tools, from around the globe.
I am guessing that both of these choices are of chinese or indian origin, and ditto for the cutting tips?
Are all of these coming from the same manufacturing factory?

What are your thoughts on the quality, or lack of quality, for these bars and tips?

Then there are other choices from Little Machine Shop, KBC, etc.

Regarding the insert cutting tips, i have read that CCMT tips last longer than DCMT tips, but when a lathe is a mere 1/2 hp, the suggestion is to go with DCMT as 1/2 hp is not nearly enough power to effectively utilize a CCMT tip anyway.

Thoughts please?

 

[phaxtris]

If your going to order import/offshore anyways why not just skip the middle (or is it like the third or forth man?) and order right from china via ali express or banggood

i dont think your going to get full use of either ccmt or dcmt with 1/2hp so go with which ever one you prefer

 

[PeterT]

@Felis as mentioned, just go straight to the source. For the same price of ONE of those RDG bars you can a set of 4 including inserts. AliExpress, Ebay... some sellers advertise on multiple e-stores. Do some checking or some of us can provide you some store names. I just posted some quick screen grabs as an example. The prices & shipping vary a bit. Most of it comes from China. Avoid India if you can.

I prefer CCMT because they will work in small to medium/large boring bars AND they also work in conventional tool holders. So the same insert has more utility. Some sellers even have packages like CCMT lathe tools + boring shanks for a specific nominal shank size, but check prices. Its a bit crazy to navigate but eventually you will get there.

There is no advantage to DCMT for you, at least initially. The inserts are typically larger for the more common ones, so the boring bars are proportionately larger (maybe too large). The cutting performance is dictated by the geometry so choosing the right insert of either outweighs the style. there are scads of CCMTs to choose from. DCMT lathe toolholders offer some unique 'hockey stick' profiles that lends itself to the diamond shape, but that might be down the road for specific applications IMO

 

[Felis]

Thank you guys for your thoughts. It helps.

I have never bought from aliexpress or banggood, i guess now is a good time to try them.

I didnt realize that CCMT inserts allowed for smaller bore holes than DCMT inserts do. Good to know!