How long due lathe tools last?

[mickri]

I want to thank everybody. In the future I am going to strive for perfection in grinding my HSS tooling. Being just a hobbyist what I have now will last me a long time.

 

[mikey]

If you grind them well the first time and hone your tools lightly after every use they will last a decade or more and be sharp every time you use them.

 

[projectnut]

Much like you I have worked non stop in machine shops for the last 30 years, haven't used a HSS lathe tool in the last 20 of them aside from the occasional end mill, what industry do you cater to that requires that much high speed steel lathe tooling?

I have been retired for a little over 10 years. Most work now is repairing older machinery and hobby work. When I was working in a shop it was for a food company that designed and made it's own proprietary processing and packaging machinery. The most common materials we used were 316 stainless and 6061 aluminum. Our shop didn't do production work, but rather prototyping and modifying existing parts for better longevity and easier maintenance.

In those days HSS was the choice for almost all tooling. I learned to use and sharpen it and got good results so I tend to stick with it for most things. I do have some carbide tooling with most of it being the cheaper brazed tip style. I also have a few tools that use inserts, but since I already have more than enough HSS tooling that's what I use the most.

Most of my HSS tooling was purchased when the production shops were changing to carbide. The vendors saw HSS as dead stock and were all but giving it away just to get it off the shelves to make room for more saleable items. Since I was comfortable using it, I didn't need the additional speed and feed rates carbide is designed for, and the prices were right I stocked up.

As for mill tooling it's the same story. I have a few assorted carbide end mills and a few tools that use inserts, but 90+% of the tooling is HSS. It's what I learned to use and since I could buy it for pennies on the dollar that's primarily what I use. It's all sort of old school, but I'm not trying to meet production demands and it's easier on the pocket book.

 

[BaronJ]

The accu-finish sharpener is interesting. I have thought of making a similar table for one end of my bench grinder. Thanks for the link.

Do a web search for "Worden TC Grinder"

http://www.jeffree.co.uk/Pages/worden/worden.htm

 

[P. Waller]

I never do more than one part... I take it you have a turret lathe! Well done! Nice work by the way...

The last operation was done in a turret lathe, .478" ream through.
Everything else was done in an old Bridgeport NC lathe, this is where the manual tool changes were required. We do not have a turret lathe that will make the finished part.