Lathe tooling?

[fireguyfire]

I have a Luxcut 1136 lathe made in Taiwan in 1978, and it’s actually a pretty good lathe.
It came with some old tooling and I’m finally getting around to setting the lathe up as perfectly as possible, and upgrade the tooling.
I like HSS tooling on a mid size lathe like this, and I’m thinking of buying a ready ground set of 3/8” HSS bits, and then I will grind custom bits for the specialized stuff I run into. I figured it would be easy to buy a basic pre ground set as a base to start from.
Can anyone recommend a brand that’s decent quality for a set of 3/8” pre ground lathe cutters?

 

[DavidR8]

I personally wouldn't buy a set because they are generally poorly ground. I would just buy some decent HSS and grind your own as you need them.

Have a look at this (long) thread on Hobby Machinist for three excellent and very useful shapes.

Models for grinding HSS Lathe Tools

In a recent thread by @Darkbluesky, http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/lathe-accessories-tools-ideas-of-what-to-buy.62043/#post-511618, @ttabbal joked about sending me blanks to be ground into lathe tools ... he was joking! But it got me to thinking ... yeah, I know it's not a good thing...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Models for grinding HSS Lathe Tools

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I have a Luxcut 1136 lathe made in Taiwan in 1978, and it’s actually a pretty good lathe.
It came with some old tooling and I’m finally getting around to setting the lathe up as perfectly as possible, and upgrade the tooling.
I like HSS tooling on a mid size lathe like this, and I’m thinking of buying a ready ground set of 3/8” HSS bits, and then I will grind custom bits for the specialized stuff I run into. I figured it would be easy to buy a basic pre ground set as a base to start from.
Can anyone recommend a brand that’s decent quality for a set of 3/8” pre ground lathe cutters?

I got a tip before from @Susquatch and normally I will not buy US made anything right now. BUT I do not know chinese supplier of these... HSS insert tools. The convenience of carbide indexable tooling in HSS.

Use T-15 HSS for:

• Interrupted Cuts
• Underpowered Spindles
• Gummy material like stainless, aluminum, and brass
• Less than rigid setups

Arthur R Warner Company HSS inserts and tooling

 

[fireguyfire]

I’m assuming 3/8” and not 1/2” would be the correct size for my lathe?

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I’m assuming 3/8” and not 1/2” would be the correct size for my lathe?

Depends on the tool post, but yeah 3/8" is typical for 11x36

 

[fireguyfire]

I always run quick change posts on my lathes

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I always run quick change posts on my lathes

AXA? IIRC that would work on your lathe and fit 1/2" tooling

 

[DavidR8]

1/2" will work but you will be removing a LOT of HSS to make your tooling. I use 3/8" HSS on my 12x36 with an AXA tool post

 

[Susquatch]

1/2" will work but you will be removing a LOT of HSS to make your tooling. I use 3/8" HSS on my 12x36 with an AXA tool post

I think they are talking about hss inserts not blanks.

 

[DavidR8]

Gotcha