Where To Buy Inserts?

[rwm]

I used to get most of my inserts from Enco. Now that they are MSC I am looking for another vendor. Where is a good place to buy carbide lathe inserts? I would like decent quality but not break the bank. Think middle of the road.
Is any of the ebay stufff or Cobra Carbide any good?
Robert

 

[kd4gij]

I find the best deals on eBay. Carbide depot has fair prices. I have never dealt with Cobra.

 

[Subwayrocket]

I'm relatively new to machining and I posed this question not long ago because of the widely varying prices from Ebay and the online vendors .
I'm not sure how the ones on ebay are priced so low but i tried a few packs and they have all worked well. I've used them on cast iron, stainless, tool steel, aluminum.
I have some from Cobra , Rishet , KMR tool and some from china sellers . All worked fine .
TNMG432 , APKT1604 , APKT1003 , SEHT1204AFFN-X83 , SEHW1204 .

This is the china ebay I got the SEHT1204 from http://www.ebay.com/usr/4-68086?rt=nc
They were legit , and it looks like they are priced even lower now .

There's alot of good ebay deals on new old stock ...many of those guys will "deal" too .

 

[Sandia]

I have bought from Rishet and Cobra. All seem to be okay.

 

[4GSR]

There are lots of good inserts available on eBay for a fraction of their original cost. Most if not all of my inserts come from eBay. You have to know your insert types, brands, and especially the grade of insert. You can't go wrong sticking with the old brands like Kennametal or Carboloy. It helps to have a couple of the old handy dandy cross reference charts handy that list most of the majors makers and their grades to help in deciding what to buy. Ken

 

[mksj]

Is any of the eBay stuff or Cobra Carbide any good?

I purchased some of Cobra Carbide inserts for a cutoff blade and a threading tool holder, they did not hold up very well and wore out quickly. I agree with Ken, go with a mainstream brand, I purchased most of mine on eBay at about 1/3 the cost of retail. Kennametal, Korloy, Iscar, Seco, Sandvik are way better then Cobra/generic inserts. You need to know the different insert properties/coatings, but it is not such a big deal in a hobby setting to squeeze every iota of performance out of the insert. I often go with inserts that cover a wide machining range of materials, and usually a separate ground edge uncoated carbide for softer materials like aluminum. The finish with the latter is almost like a mirror, but a bit more fragile on the edge. There are also different carbide grades for different materials.

The Iscar CCMT IC907 below covers just about all materials, and is even decent for aluminum, it will last me about 6 months until it needs to be changed. At about $4 an insert it is definitely worth buying higher quality inserts. If you need some help on choosing an insert, post what type you are looking for an we can give you some recommendations.

 

[Dan_S]

I get my inserts from carbide depot, eBay, or amazon.

As others have said, if you know the ANSI & ISO grading nomenclature, you can make out like a bandit. My only rule, is if I can't look up grade and chip-breaker information online then I'm not buying them.

 

[rwm]

Thanks for all the replies. Inserts are a lot to get my arms around. I am having a hard time figuring out the specs of the inserts on ebay.
I have some 1/2" red dragon holders that originally came with "TT 321" inserts. I think that is not standard nomenclature. They are triangular, 3/8 IC and 5/32 thick with a .150 hole. Obviously the first parameter is critical but do the others need to be identical? I would like to try some other insert profiles for use on SS.
I also have a boring bar that takes a triangular, 1/4" IC insert.
Robert

 

[Dan_S]

Thanks for all the replies. Inserts are a lot to get my arms around. I am having a hard time figuring out the specs of the inserts on ebay.
I have some 1/2" red dragon holders that originally came with "TT 321" inserts. I think that is not standard nomenclature. They are triangular, 3/8 IC and 5/32 thick with a .150 hole. Obviously the first parameter is critical but do the others need to be identical? I would like to try some other insert profiles for use on SS.
I also have a boring bar that takes a triangular, 1/4" IC insert.
Robert

check out this page it will help you a great deal.
http://www.carbidedepot.com/formulas-insert-d.htm

I think the TT 321 is just some marketing persons short hand.

T - This is the shape designation (triangle)
(unknown) Relief angle. C is the most common and is 7 degrees.
(unknown) Tolerance, M & G are the most common
T - Hole type designation T is the most common for screw down inserts

3 - this is the inscribed circle size, 3 = 3/8"
2 - This is the thickness of the insert not accounting for any extra thickness a chip-breaker might add 2 = 1/8"
1 - This is the tip radius 1= 1/64"

 

[mksj]

I assume the insert pocket is flat/parallel to the holder not tilted and they use a screw type of clamp and use a single sided insert. There is nothing on-line about these holders. Assuming the inserts you are using have a cutting edge on only one side, the usual nomenclature would probably be TCMT for molded inserts, and TCGT for a sharper ground edge insert (more appropriate for fine finish and softer materials). The size of the insert would be most likely a 32.52 or slightly smaller nose point 32.51. There is also other nomenclatures so something like ANSI number of 3252-FP 3(2.5)2 32.52 or ISO number 16T308. You will also see a -UF for Ultra fine finish, -LF (light finishing), -MF medium finish, -FP (finishing positive), etc which is the chip breaker design (see master catalogue). You do not want an ultrafine finish or delicate edge, so something like a LF, MF, FP, MP

If you look at something like the Kennametal inserts on eBay, general coatings that cover a wide range of metals include KC730, KC5010, KCU10, etc. There are a lot of inserts, but you also need to look up the insert specifics, as some insert profiles and chip breakers are designed for specific materials. Often on the insert box it will give some indication of materials the insert is designed for, but not on Kennametal insert boxes.
https://cets.com/resources/kennametal-grades
https://www.kennametal.com/content/...terCat_stationary_ISO_ANSI_inserts_metric.pdf

Assuming your holder doesn't have some weird/odd insert then something like the following inserts should work well. The BEYOND series is there latest and greatest holders/inserts, but YMMV:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEYOND-seri...-52-16T308-KCU10-Carbide-Inserts/181599756425
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TCMT-32-52-LF-Grade-KC730-Carbide-Inserts-NEW-Kennametal-5-Pcs/172154842490
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Kenname...-KC5010-Carbide-Inserts-fit-TCMT/181819137790