Could this be a solid carbide lathe tool ?

[Alcap]

This tool came in a machinist tool box i bought . Going through the different square HSS bits i saw this one that appeared cracked , sure enough i broke it with little ease . It kind of reminds me of broke carbide but never saw a solid square . Any thoughts ?

 

[mmcmdl]

Hard to tell if its carbide from the pic , but sure , they make carbide squares .

 

[WobblyHand]

Are they heavy for their volume? Tungsten carbide is roughly twice as dense as steel.

 

[WobblyHand]

Ultramet carbide shows their carbide bars are 94% Tungsten carbide and 6% Cobalt. Density is 14.94 gm/cc, compared to around 7.8 gm/cc for low carbon steel.
Ultramet
Density of steel

 

[Ulma Doctor]

hold a piece of HSS blank in one hand and then hold the blank in question in the other hand,
the carbide blank will feel almost twice as heavy as the HSS

 

[woodchucker]

also see if it is magnetic, while not a perfect test, carbide barely attracts.
Also see if you can grind it with a normal wheel or belt.
if not.. it probably is.

I see you're in Bangor, do you go to Jacktown? I notice they have not put up the page for the upcoming show in October..

 

[WobblyHand]

If you grind it, wear an appropriate mask and don't breathe the dust. Tungsten carbide is toxic and causes silicosis like pulmonary scarring. In layman's terms, that means the lung tissue gets permanently scarred and can no longer function as a lung.

 

[Alcap]

I’ll get out the garage tomorrow to check all the advice, thanks. Woodchucker I go to Jacktown, there’s going to be a October show I’ll get you more details. Your right there’s nothing about the fall show ,, Ive been a member for years but now I’m retired have been helping more , Mondays are work days and really enjoying helping and learning the working on those old machines . I’ll let them know about the fall show not on the home page . On their Facebook page theres a flyer showing all the shows in 2021

 

[Alcap]

I was going to see if a magnet sticks but both pieces stick to themselves! I tried to find a HSS tool that was about the same size but I couldn’t tell any weight difference but that’s just holding them in my hands . It didn’t seem to scratch the HSS blank so could it be cobalt ?

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Cobalt is HSS, with up to about 12% cobalt in it
it may be just HSS
Carbide is waaay heavier for the same volume