Purchasing carbide lathe bits for the first time. Am I buying the right stuff?

+1 on choosing quality tooling.
 
Good choice on the inserts, I use the UF inserts for steel and am very happy with how they perform. I also have some HP grades that work well on aluminum as well as steel, but for aluminum my favorite is Korloy H01 grades. The HF grade is not rated for steel, but it does work well. Since it has a sharper edge, it might not last as long at the UF grades, but if you can find a good deal on them, I wouldn’t pass it up.
 
Thanks TonyBen for starting this thread. I will be buying the book as well to advance my limited knowledge, thank you David Best.
As well, I can appreciate you wanting to purchase quality USA made tooling but am afraid even the most recognized brands have moved off shore. I don't believe the newer Kennametal brand line is made in America
 
slowneasy said:
Thanks TonyBen for starting this thread. I will be buying the book as well to advance my limited knowledge, thank you David Best.
As well, I can appreciate you wanting to purchase quality USA made tooling but am afraid even the most recognized brands have moved off shore. I don't believe the newer Kennametal brand line is made in America
Click to expand...
You're welcome!

And yes, to my dismay, the tool holders I bought were made in Brazil and Bulgaria. Although that doesn't bother me as much as it would if they said "made in China."
 
I haven't really paid attention, so I just took a look. I have one Bulgarian Kennametal toolholder, the rest are US. Most of them came from J&L (which was later absorbed by MSC) or MSC after the J&L'pocalypse.

GsT
 
slowneasy said:
Thanks TonyBen for starting this thread. I will be buying the book as well to advance my limited knowledge, thank you David Best.
As well, I can appreciate you wanting to purchase quality USA made tooling but am afraid even the most recognized brands have moved off shore. I don't believe the newer Kennametal brand line is made in America
Click to expand...
You're welcome. Yes, not all of the big name brand tooling is made in the USA or Europe. I have some Kennametal lathe toolholders for instance that are made in India. All of my HAAS tooling is made in China. The difference here is a high level of quality control, and often direct involvement of the brand in the manufacturing facility oversight.
 
Well, looks like I made a little mistake. I went to use the thread tool and something didn't look right. With my toolholder straight, the tip of the insert (60˚) wasn't anywhere close to aligned. After looking up the tool dimensions, I realized I ordered a right hand tool holder (which is what I want) and left hand tool bits!

I ordered NTF2L KCU25 when I should have ordered NT2FR KCU25.

Parts are already on their way back for a refund. Correct inserts have been ordered.

Tony.
 
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