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Lathe tooling?

F

fireguyfire

Member
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 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
 
fireguyfire said:
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?
Click to expand...
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
 
We had a thread a couple of years ago that covered similar territory. Still relevant:

K

Thread 'Best Cutting Tools for Lathe Beginner'

It may be an unpopular opinion but for a beginner I would put the HSS and brazed carbide into an inaccessible box (you might need a bit of HSS someday to grind a special trepanning cutter or something similar) and purchase appropriate insert tooling.

Do you have a grinder with guides or do you plan to grind freehand? How will you avoid ruining your diamond wheel when sharpening the brazed carbide?

As a beginner there is lots to learn so why add yet another new skill to the mix? Life is short; spend your time making stuff rather than attempting to learn tool grinding!
  • Like

I maintain that the steves-workshop page I linked to is the best concise description of grinding HSS lathe tools so far. Grind 3 surfaces and 1 (optional) radius and the tool is done! Just need a basic bench grinder with cheap coarse wheel. The tool will work straight off the grinder but the edges can also be refined (and prolonged) with abrasives.

Tool Grinding

Tool grinding
www.steves-workshop.co.uk www.steves-workshop.co.uk

Despite the impression you might get from the Internet, it is NOT hard to grind HSS lathe tools. Feel free to practise with 3/8" key stock. Set the grinder rest to one of the angles and use a sharpie to draw a guide (on the rest) for the other angle. The angles DON'T have to be perfect to cut--close is good enough. Have at it.

Craig
 
Loosenut said:
They look like carbide inserts but are tool steel of some kind, HSS probably.
Click to expand...
Yes they are HSS inserts. That's AR Warner's claim to fame.
For the biggest bang for your buck just grab some 3/8 HSS blanks and grind them to suit. I have a whole drawer full of HSS in various sizes and shapes. Any shape I want is just minutes at the belt grinder.
 
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