Finally bought a lathe, now I need tooling!

The AR Warner tooling is top notch, can't go wrong. The HSS index tooling has its uses and will work very well for gun and barrel work. Get their threading tool, profile tools and turning. While you are on the phone ordering, order some Vipers Venom cutting oil tool. Works great with HSS and stainless.

I live about 15 min from them and run over when I need new inserts. I only have their threading tool and a small parting tool. I do want to pick up the right and left profile kit, but don't want to spend the $120 on them, LOL.

As you progress, you will find yourself using different tooling for different jobs. For gun work, I use the AR Warner threading tool, a Grizzly 5mm carbide shank boring bar(expensive, but worth it!), cemented carbide turning bits and a few custom ground HSS bits ground to my need and liking, and a parting tool.

Also, for gun work, you will find yourself making all kinds of special tooling just for barrel and gun work. I made quite a few specialized items that I use for chambering, such as a reamer holder/pusher, front and rear spider, tools to measure headspace, cone length...


I'll crown with my ground HSS bit. I use the Grizzly boring bar to pre-bore my chambers, bore a muzzle brake hole to .020" over bore size, counterbore and/or cut chamber cone. Very nice and handy item.

Start small and as you progress order tooling as you need. Enco always has nice sales and you can get tooling pretty quickly. Order an Enco catalog and Grizzly catalog and flip through and familiarize yourself with all the tooling out there. Once you start making chips, you will learn pretty fast what you need. If you get stuck, post a question here....i'm sure someone will have a good answer!
 
+2 or 3 on the HSS tooling when you are starting out. Grinding an adequate tool is pretty simple and when you do something stupid, you can just re-sharpen it. I switched over to carbide some time ago, but I am coming back to HSS. I find I get a better finish with it in lots of applications. As mentioned above, carbide chips very easily and, after a while, it is tough to keep throwing away $9 inserts. As far as what to get started with I'm not a big fan of just buying one of everything in case you figure out what it's for later on. As you will find, tooling up costs as much as the machine. Beyond getting a QCTP and a couple of basic cutting tools I wouldn't go hog wild yet. I try to get tools as I need them for specific tasks. Most stuff can be had in a day or two off the internet. I like McMaster-Carr. If I order by dinner time today, it comes tomorrow. You can find better pricing if you hunt, but I don't think you'll find better service. So, pick a project and get the stuff you need for it as you go along. Don't jump right into trying to modify the breach block of a rifle. The chances of a disaster are too great. Down load some plans for a wobbler steam engine and see how that goes. I think you will find that having a project will give you a specific direction and some goals to meet much more than throwing a piece into the machine and reducing it to chips. For operations that are new to me, I always do a rehearsal piece or two to learn how that operation works before I try it on a part that I want to keep. I think one of the most important things to learn in lathe work (or about any other) is how are you going to hold the part while you work on it. If you need to make a 1/2" thick part 1.1"dia with a hole concentric to the OD it is relatively difficult to hold onto that and work on the OD and a hole in the middle w/o some extra stock to hold onto so you don't start with a 1/2" slice of round bar.
Basic stuff that you will need: QCTP, drill chuck for tailstock, three jaw chuck for spindle, four jaw chuck for irregular parts, probably a face plate, but not right away, decent set of drill bits, center drills, three or four cutting tools, book about basic lathe operations like the classic "How To Run A Lathe" originally from South Bend but available all over the internet. Haven't looked, but it can probably be downloaded for free someplace.
Good luck, it looks like you have a nice machine to start with.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys.

I ended up buying a few kits from Arthur Warner to try out. I got the following-

http://www.arwarnerco.com/p-12-kit-8-38-inch-turning-c-right-hand-left-hand-and-boring-bar.aspx

http://www.arwarnerco.com/p-19-kit-16-35-degree-profile-v-right-hand-left-hand.aspx

http://www.arwarnerco.com/p-22-kit-18-12-inch-threader-nv.aspx

Ed T,

I like your list of must haves for a beginner as I've got everything on it now! :nuts:

The machine came with all this equipment standard- I'd like to upgrade a couple items in the future but they'll do the job for now.
6" 3-Jaw chuck with reversible jaws
8" 4-Jaw chuck with reversible jaws
11" face plate
Steady rest/follow rest
Full length splash guard
Quick change tool post with 2 tool holders
2 MT#3 dead centers (1 carbide tipped)
1 MT#3 live center
1 MT#5 - MT#3 sleeve
Pull out chip pan
1/2" drill chuck w/ MT#3 arbor
 
I'd look into upgrading your tool post holder to an Aloris or Dorian and stock up on tool holders. Shars on eBay offers tool holders for a reasonable price and shipping. Nice to have one for each of your most commonly used tool bits. Can never have too many, LOL.

You will definitely like the AR Warner stuff. The only downside to them is the replacement inserts are just as much as carbide. Its all good though. Carbide does have its spot and definitely handy to have around. I know I ran into and instance where I was turning down a Savage bolt handle and HSS steel would not come close to touching it. Carbide, not a problem...carbide center drills are nice to have as well. If you ever need to modify a sizing die, you will need carbide...
 
I've bought (literally) boxes of used HSS cutting tools on Craigslist for pocket money. They were almost all from estates where a master machinist had passed away. I've been studying the different grinds, and there is some cool stuff in there. I've found a number of grinds that I really like, and have started to duplicate myself. I like to think that even though they are no longer with us, they are still teaching newbies like me about their trade.

Grinding HSS cutting tools is not difficult.

GG
 
What are the shortcomings of the import quick change tool post? I only ask because I already have several tool holders for it and am tryin to be conservative as to where I put my money as it is limited after all the purchases I've made lately.
 
Slayer_MN1 said:
What are the shortcomings of the import quick change tool post? I only ask because I already have several tool holders for it and am tryin to be conservative as to where I put my money as it is limited after all the purchases I've made lately.
Click to expand...

I bought a wedge style Bostar AXA quick change tool post from CDCO, and I like it a lot. $110 for the whole thing including a set of 5 tool holders. Extra tool holders are $10 each. I have enough that I can do most common cutting, boring, and threading without having to change cutting tools. For a hobby budget, it doesn't get much better.

I'm not a master machinist, but I haven't found any shortcomings.

GG
 
Good to hear, my lathe is equipped with a grizzly 200 series (BXA) and I picked up 5 extra holders from CDCO so I have a total of 7 as of now.
 
just today i installed my new lms/tormach qctp, so far i like it. i went 6 months using the stock post, stacking up feeler guage blades to get the height right, and the way i used a parting blade was horrible. those two reasons alone are what sold me on the qctp. i also put in brass gibs, smooth! my very first mod was a camlock for the tailstock. on such a small machine as mine, im always moving (usually removing) the tailstock, and i got tired of the stock setup really quick. its a pretty simple project for a beginer too. i also did a cam-style caraige lock.
 
Jesus! I was gonna join in and say I got my first lathe as well this week... but compared to your lathe, mine is like a toy! I'll hide in a corner I think.
 
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