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Help re insert type
- Thread starter Peter D
- Start date
MashingMetal
Well-Known Member
AR style is facing to a square shoulder, right hand.
You need an AR8 which is 1/2.
Would you not just have a go at sharpening them?
You need an AR8 which is 1/2.
Would you not just have a go at sharpening them?
I have a similar tool which I believe to be about 40 years old.
The cutting pieces appear to be cut down brazed carbide turning tools, mine are also stamped AR as are some of the unmodified tools I have from that era. The rest of the stamping on my unmodified tools is AR-6 which designates the shape/orientation of the carbide insert, the tool is used to cut up to a shoulder. Shank is 3/8”.
You could sharpen and re-mount the cutters or start with new tools and cut them down. Either way you would have to adjust all of them to the same depth.
I chose to cut bait and use the arbor to mount a new shell that uses current APMT inserts. Probably about a break even cost either way.
D
The cutting pieces appear to be cut down brazed carbide turning tools, mine are also stamped AR as are some of the unmodified tools I have from that era. The rest of the stamping on my unmodified tools is AR-6 which designates the shape/orientation of the carbide insert, the tool is used to cut up to a shoulder. Shank is 3/8”.
You could sharpen and re-mount the cutters or start with new tools and cut them down. Either way you would have to adjust all of them to the same depth.
I chose to cut bait and use the arbor to mount a new shell that uses current APMT inserts. Probably about a break even cost either way.
D
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Yes, what Mashing said. The benefit to that style of face mill is the ability to use cheap brazed carbide/HSS lathe tooling and resharpen/reset as needed. IMO that's pretty much the only benefit to that style, and if you're not going to take advantage of it, you're better off buying an indexable carbide insert style like an apkt, which are very reasonably priced and work remarkably well. IMO they also have much better cutting geometry compared to the brazed style and they won't beat up your spindle as much either. With a side benefit of much better surface finishes.
https://www.amazon.ca/EVTSCAN-APMT1...097&sprefix=50mm+apkt+facemill,aps,271&sr=8-1
I know we all love to spend each others money around here, but I think you'd be much better off in the long run switching to more modern tooling. Keep the old one for crunching through torched edges, mill scale, or other stuff that would shorten an inserts life, but sharpen the bits you have there to do it. Just my $0.02
https://www.amazon.ca/EVTSCAN-APMT1...097&sprefix=50mm+apkt+facemill,aps,271&sr=8-1
I know we all love to spend each others money around here, but I think you'd be much better off in the long run switching to more modern tooling. Keep the old one for crunching through torched edges, mill scale, or other stuff that would shorten an inserts life, but sharpen the bits you have there to do it. Just my $0.02
These were predominantly lathe tools repurposed to this kind of duty.
'A' is cutter geometry (there is also square & parting & vee). I'm not 100% on this, you may have to dig deeper
'R' = Right hand tool (L=Left)
'number' is nominal IMP shank size in "16ths
Then details about carbide grade
The better ones of these like Micro100 were pretty good but some of the clones were so-so. You can dress them with a fine diamond wheel, but unless you have that setup, they are kind of spent.
www.traverscanada.com
'A' is cutter geometry (there is also square & parting & vee). I'm not 100% on this, you may have to dig deeper
'R' = Right hand tool (L=Left)
'number' is nominal IMP shank size in "16ths
Then details about carbide grade
The better ones of these like Micro100 were pretty good but some of the clones were so-so. You can dress them with a fine diamond wheel, but unless you have that setup, they are kind of spent.
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www.traverscanada.com
I had one of those too. I still have it. I'll prolly convert it into something else more useful.
I converted mine to HSS shortly after I got it cuz I didn't have grinding stones to sharpen Carbide. It worked like that for many years. However, I have not used it since I bought my first carbide insert face mill.
So I'm with @Dan Dubeau - buy a modern face mill and turn that one into something more useful - tail stock offset?
I converted mine to HSS shortly after I got it cuz I didn't have grinding stones to sharpen Carbide. It worked like that for many years. However, I have not used it since I bought my first carbide insert face mill.
So I'm with @Dan Dubeau - buy a modern face mill and turn that one into something more useful - tail stock offset?
Maybe you can get lucky & find a pail of HSS blanks, too short for lathe work but perfect for you. Just set up some kind of angle jig on your grinder so they are consistent. They are set to a contact datum anyways so that's taken care of. They might perform as good or better than those carbide. The weaker clones were prone to edge chipping particularly with interrupted cuts & that occurs much more on milling. But you will probably be happier with a more current model. Sometimes the tool is bundled with some inserts as a promo, but anyway look for one with a very common milling insert. Lots has been written on forum if you do a search.