# E-Clip Grooving Tool



## bretthl (Dec 17, 2018)

Grooving?  Anyway ... anyone know of lathe tooling specifically for cutting E-Clip grooves?  I currently use a tool made from O1 but it is not great, I have to cut at 30 rpm.


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## David S (Dec 17, 2018)

For some of the larger ones I use my standard parting tool, which is 0.040 wide and for narrower ones I have ground down a HSS tool blank similar to a parting tool.

David


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## bretthl (Dec 17, 2018)

David S said:


> For some of the larger ones I use my standard parting tool, which is 0.040 wide and for narrower ones I have ground down a HSS tool blank similar to a parting tool.
> 
> David


I need a 0.050" wide groove.


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## mikey (Dec 17, 2018)

Use a retaining ring grooving tool like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-100-RR...100+retaining+ring+grooving+0.050"+right+hand

This one has a groove width of 0.030". Allows you to sneak up on the fit.


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## bretthl (Dec 17, 2018)

mikey said:


> Use a retaining ring grooving tool like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-100-RR-030-6-Retaining-Projection/dp/B00QCLA0GK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1545088396&sr=8-2&keywords=micro+100+retaining+ring+grooving+0.050"+right+hand
> 
> This one has a groove width of 0.030". Allows you to sneak up on the fit.



Is that an internal tool?  I need external (E-Clip)


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## mikey (Dec 17, 2018)

My mistake. Yes, that is an internal grooving tool.  For external grooving, a simple HSS parting tool works fine. A P1-N blade is 0.040" wide and should work well.
.


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## David S (Dec 17, 2018)

bretthl said:


> I need a 0.050" wide groove.



Sneak up on it like Mike mentions.  Or if you are doing many then grind one.

David


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## dulltool17 (Dec 17, 2018)

Easy enough to grind one to suit.


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## benmychree (Dec 17, 2018)

Ditto; grind one from a tool bit.


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## bretthl (Dec 17, 2018)

mikey said:


> My mistake. Yes, that is an internal grooving tool.  For external grooving, a simple HSS parting tool works fine. A P1-N blade is 0.040" wide and should work well.
> .



The clip is 0.042".  Do you know of a wider cutoff insert?  That would be ideal.  I have only an HSS cut off.






benmychree said:


> Ditto; grind one from a tool bit.



This is what I have been using but it is slow (O1 Q&T 0.050" thick).  Stays sharp.  Does not cut well.  Have to turn it at 30 rpm with oil.  Is the shape wrong?




I have 60 of these to make (+ additional machining) and I have made only 20 shown below.  T416 1/2" round.


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## benmychree (Dec 17, 2018)

O-1 is not a particularly good choice for a cutting tool, and I'm wondering if the heat colors shown on the shank are indicative of possible lower than ideal hardness in the cutting tool; I think you would be better off  grinding a HSS tool bit for the job.


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## mikey (Dec 18, 2018)

bretthl said:


> The clip is 0.042".  Do you know of a wider cutoff insert?  That would be ideal.  I have only an HSS cut off.



I was referring to a commercial parting tool blade. A P-1 blade is 1/16" wide and would create a slightly wider groove but will work. If you are okay with grinding a tool from a square HSS tool bit as John suggests, just grind it with a flat top and about 5 degrees of relief on both sides. Give it about 7 degrees of front relief and hone it well. The tool will cut your groove easily and last for a very long time.


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## SamI (Dec 18, 2018)

I've been using one of these for external parting and grooving.  One holder and you can order cutting, parting and even threading inserts in just about any size you want.  It's a fairly expensive system and the inserts aren't cheap but I get good life out of them if I use coolant.  Parting and grooving at 1200 RPM on 1" stainless on a manual machine no problems at all.  The only word of caution (which probably applies to any narrow grooving tool) is be cautious of parting under power.  I found it easy to snap an edge off.  I think the problem is that when parting under power you don't really notice the tool dulling until it's too late.  Because of the shape of the insert if one edge snaps it can potentially make another edge useless.


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## bretthl (Dec 18, 2018)

mikey said:


> I was referring to a commercial parting tool blade. A P-1 blade is 1/16" wide and would create a slightly wider groove but will work. If you are okay with grinding a tool from a square HSS tool bit as John suggests, just grind it with a flat top and about 5 degrees of relief on both sides. Give it about 7 degrees of front relief and hone it well. The tool will cut your groove easily and last for a very long time.



I ground a piece of HSS as you and John recommended and am pleased with the results!


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## bretthl (Dec 18, 2018)

SamI said:


> I've been using one of these for external parting and grooving.  One holder and you can order cutting, parting and even threading inserts in just about any size you want.  It's a fairly expensive system and the inserts aren't cheap but I get good life out of them if I use coolant.  Parting and grooving at 1200 RPM on 1" stainless on a manual machine no problems at all.  The only word of caution (which probably applies to any narrow grooving tool) is be cautious of parting under power.  I found it easy to snap an edge off.  I think the problem is that when parting under power you don't really notice the tool dulling until it's too late.  Because of the shape of the insert if one edge snaps it can potentially make another edge useless.



Looks like the ideal tool and will keep them in mind.  I hope they ship to the US.


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