# Finally making swarf on my Logan/MW 10"



## Jack C. (Jan 12, 2014)

Some before and after pics of my First Lathe!
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
What a great learning experience.  Jack C.


----------



## Chuck K (Jan 12, 2014)

Looks good!  Now the fun begins.

Chuck


----------



## stevecmo (Jan 12, 2014)

Very nice restoration!  Is that baby seal black paint that you used?  Looks great!

Steve


----------



## RandyM (Jan 13, 2014)

Fantastic! You did a great job on make her whole again. Very nice machine. We appreciate you taking the time to post the pics.


----------



## toag (Jan 13, 2014)

Nice work and congrats!


----------



## Redlineman (Jan 13, 2014)

Hey;

That there's the fancy MW with the power feeds and all. Looks great. How many cutters ya busted already?  Have you done any squaring and truing (turning a test bar) of headstock/tailstock and such? I'd be interested to hear about that process.

Seriously, congratulations on a fine job. It's great to see so many of these machines redone and making chips


----------



## Jack C. (Jan 13, 2014)

Thanks to all for the kind words. Yep, that's the Baby Seal Black color. Local place mixed it up for me with their house brand alkyd industrial enamel. Went on easy & dried hard overnight. Busted all three tips on my first insert before I realized the tool was slightly above center despite the tool holder being bottomed out on my chinese QCTP. Anyone else have this problem? I took a little off the holder w/ my stationary sander, replaced the insert and also switched to a 3/4" aluminum rod to learn on. Much better. Found I was cutting a slight taper (.005 over 8") and got a lot of practice reading my mic & adjusting the tailstock. I am now @ .0005 on the same piece. Starting to feel like a real Apprentice. Is there an exact angle to use between the cutting edge of the insert and the work or is this something you pick up over time? Anyone have a favorite all around insert (3/8" wide - 3/32" thick T***)? Thanks for the help.
Jack C.


Redlineman said:


> Hey;
> 
> That there's the fancy MW with the power feeds and all. Looks great. How many cutters ya busted already?  Have you done any squaring and truing (turning a test bar) of headstock/tailstock and such? I'd be interested to hear about that process.
> 
> Seriously, congratulations on a fine job. It's great to see so many of these machines redone and making chips


----------



## Redlineman (Jan 13, 2014)

Hey;

Yes, anything over an AXA/100 series QCTP will likely have the tool too high. Good catch on that one. You've already learned the importance of proper height, eh? 

Carbide?

I think generally people are going to tell you that is a waste of time and money. HSS is far more forgiving and you can grind them to angles conducive to working with the feeds & speeds this machine is most comfortable with. Carbide stuff tends to be designed for modern machines running high feeds & speeds. The rake angles on many tool holders - very often negative - are ALL WRONG for these old machines. If they are positive rakes, they are not enough to cut well on anything but a modern machine using those cutting parameters. You might ask yourself, "how can a chip a carbide taking such puny cuts on such a little machine?" The answer is it is the wrong tool for the job. Been there!

I would encourage you to get some good old HSS bits and learn about grinding for success. That sort of rudimentary knowledge DOES require a lot of study and patience, but there is a century+ of all the detail you could ever want on cutting tools, and the lessons you learn about tool profiles will speed ALL your future efforts, no matter WHAT type of turning it is. Piano lessons mean scales, endlessly. Lathe work should require tool grinding!


----------



## toag (Jan 13, 2014)

I can root around and see if i have a few 3/8" or smaller tool steel blanks (most stuff i have is 1/2 or bigger).  If i have any i'll send em to you.

edit:
back inside for a coffee (even though it feels like spring outside i need a warmer)  found a few pieces, PM an address and i'll shoot them over to you.


----------



## oneIwilly (Jan 15, 2014)

I agree with Toag. I have a old Rockwell and took the time to learn how to grind my own tools. I have grown to love the ability of HSS. Also I have found that if you want to get into stainless, it is much easier to achieve a better finish with hss as compared to carbide especially on 303 stainless.this is a pic of my current cutter. Front relief, side relief, and chip breaker. Looks pretty easy, lol. It takes lots of practice.


----------



## Jack C. (Jan 16, 2014)

Toag has very kindly sent me some tool blanks. I was looking in some of my books and wondering what is the front clearance angle when held in a QCTP holder as opposed to the older lantern style with the built in tilt. Thanks.

Jack C.



oneIwilly said:


> I agree with Toag. I have a old Rockwell and took the time to learn how to grind my own tools. I have grown to love the ability of HSS. Also I have found that if you want to get into stainless, it is much easier to achieve a better finish with hss as compared to carbide especially on 303 stainless.this is a pic of my current cutter. Front relief, side relief, and chip breaker. Looks pretty easy, lol. It takes lots of practice.


----------



## Redlineman (Jan 16, 2014)

Depends;

Generally, you don't need a lot of relief angle on a QCTP because they hold the tool horizontal. Some rocker holders do too, but some do not. For any holder with a 0* angle, 8-10* of end and side relief, and back rake, is a decent starting point. Some materials do better with slight tweaks to some of those parameters, but those are a good baseline. Different machines like different things as well. What works on one will not necessarily work well on another, as every machine has its quirks, differing wear, etc. It takes patience and practice to figure out what works best.

Anybody who gets really nice surface finishes not only knows how to grind a tool, but knows their machine!


----------

