Tell me about this 14-1/2 x 6’

Yes, CXA size toolpost and holders, and get 3/4” shank tools, not the half inch.
 
I have found the 3/4" shank tools to be exponentially more expensive than the 1/2", though. And not nearly as readily available.
 
Most of this stuff is expensive new....
There are many sources for new and used tooling.
I buy used for the most part.
 
You guys are spending my money! Ha!

I see that PM sells a CXA kit, but there are lots of others on Amazon.

But PM doesn't sell 3/4" insert holders. I see several different brands of those (given that the stuff at MSC, KBC, McMaster, and so on are much more expensive)--primarily OSCARBIDE and Accusize Industrial. Any issue with those? I know the inserts may be cheap, but if they hold standard inserts then that will improve as I replace them.

Tool post set: https://www.amazon.com/Accusize-Too...0333/dp/B00HWFMOS2?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

Indexable insert set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0812BKG1...olid=3J604AKL7X4JP&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I see much less expensive choices on ebay, but with less definable U.S. presence. But it makes me wonder if all these are the same. I have this feeling that KBC's house brand (and even PM) are the same products with more markup to cover the costs of a U.S. support presence. That would be much more important for the machine itself to my thinking.

I know that you get what you pay for, but I also know that I'm not going to buy this stuff at all from Dorian or Aloris any time soon.

So, tell me how I'm screwing up :)

Rick "wants to take advantage of the size of the lathe with a functional basic set of tooling" Denney
 
I put one of those cheap tool posts (AXA size) on a Craftsman 12x36, and it worked just peachy. So well, that I put the $250, piston-type, in the CXA size on my Sebastian. I don't know what I could get from Aloris or Dorian that would be worth 10x the price.

I've got a few 3/4" toolholders. They seem to be more rigid, but truthfully the 1/2" set work just as well and was only $50 for seven toolholders. I got a half dozen ten-packs of inserts from Alibaba at about $1.50 per insert. I wouldn't trust them for production work. . . but, then again, I'm not doing production work.
 
Yeah, one advantage of going big with the tool post but smaller with the tooling is that bigger stuff will fit, when the small stuff proves to be too small...

...if it proves to be too small.

And then when I tell the go-big-or-go-home guys that they were right all along, and I get some 3/4" tooling, the half-inch stuff would be quite useful for someone who has a smaller lathe, or for smaller projects. There's no reason why one can't install smaller tooling in the CXA blocks.

Has anyone used those Accusize tools? If so, do you cuss them or do they just work?

Rick "lots of choice to contemplate" Denney
 
They just work. At least for me.
One thing is that I can make about 1/8" DOC passes. Seems about all that ol' Sebastian's 2Hp can take. The bits for the larger tools cost about 4x as much (if I can find cheap ones), but I'm still only using that 1/8" near each tip. The $1.50 bits are about 1/4" to 1/2" on the side. Going bigger didn't do much for me other than making it harder to get into tight spots.

I tend to choke up on the tools as much as possible. If I"m doing a long cut with little to no shoulder, I may barely have the tip of the tool sticking out of the holder. If I needed to go out an inch or two to reach down into a valley, I might be singing a different tune.
 
I have an offshore e-bay special CXA on my 14½... I also have an Aloris CXA on my 14" Hendey. The Aloris is nicer... but the offshore brand works fine. I also have 2 offshore brand BXA's on other lathes... they work fine, also.

I would buy the ¾" toolholders over the ½"...

-Bear
 
I have what I think is the same or similar machine, it did not come with any kind of collet system. I have moved it a couple of times using a standard engine hoist. I did not remove anything that was bolted down except perhaps the tailstock. I have had it about 40 years and still use the lantern tool post with HSS bits. Someday I will perhaps end up with insert carbide tooling but most of the cheepo ebay stuff I have tried has not worked as well as HSS for most things. I have some brazed carbide bits. I know quick change tool holders are well, quicker but usually I am not in a rush anyway...
My thought is run with what you got, at least for awhile.
 
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