I Need Boring Bars For My 7x10 Lathe: Brazed Carbide, Hss, Or Carbide Inserts?

I'm with Bob Korves and Karl T.
I like my Everedes.
I may have a few extras should anyone want any.
The holder I made works well in both my old crossfeed turret and now my quick change.
The triangular cutters are readily available in HSS or carbide.

Also, please note that you can make your own boring bars and insert HSS or brazed on carbide.
Not at all difficult. Depending on your machining needs/tolerances and budget this might be the cheapest way to go.

Daryl
MN
 
Just to add that you can't prepare brazed carbide tools with diamond honing paddles. Honing does not remove enough metal.
Considering the original post the insert route makes the most sense especially if you can get HSS inserts already ground and ready to go. Start with HSS or you will likely be chipping carbide inserts by the ton and have to remortgage the house before you get the hang of it.
 
The Everede boring bar set I still have today was my first "real" set of boring bars. I bought the set back in 1978 and paid $75 for it! I've since added many different sizes and duplicates to the set. I don't use them as much as my carbide bars, but they still get used. The tool bits used in the Everede bars are getting hard to find for a reasonable price.
 
Daryl,

Those are very reasonable prices from ENCO for Everede stuff!
 
Wow.
Mike, I think you pegged it. There appears to be way more to this than I thought.
Like you said (paraphrasing here :) ), I thought it was a simple choice of economics vs. finish / quality requirements. I understand that different cutter materials and geometries have varying impacts on materials, lathe power, speeds, etc. I clearly underestimated the possibilities and ranges of choice...

Thanks to all contributors! I've got a lot of material to digest, which will (undoubtedly) lead to more questions, answers, questions, and on and on.
I'm going to take this material and start researching. Once I get a better handle on my needs and a better overall perspective, I'll resurrect this thread and continue on.

Again, my thanks to all; the Hobby Machinist Forum comes through for me again!
 
Cavediver said:
The thread title pretty much says it all! I need to pick up some boring bars for my 7x10 HF lathe, and I don't know what I should get. Aluminum will be the material I use most, followed up by plastics and brass. Steel will come into play somewhere down the road, but that likely won't be for a while.

I'm inclined to buy the inexpensive brazed carbide bars as trainers. I know the carbide will probably need to be sharpened, but I think I can handle that by hand with some diamond sharpening paddles. Any reason I should skip these and move on to one of the other choices? I would buy the HSS version, but my grinder / sharpening skills are way below adequate. They'll eventually get better, but I need to get rolling on this project sooner than that...

As far as the insert bars are concerned, I have no idea where to begin. Soooo many choices for both insert and tool, so many material possibilities, etc. I'm quite lost at this point, and am not sure if I should go this route or not (following the "buy once, cry once" method).

If it matters, I'm still using the stock tool post at this point. A QCTP setup is in my future, but not for a while yet.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The bottom line with all internal boring is to use the largest, as in dia, that will fit inside the hole you are boring. Also keep the boring bar a s short as possible. Rigidity is crucial. The choice of tip material is dependant on many things, but with Al, brass and plastic HSS is more than sufficient, and is even good for steel unless you're talking high production rates.

Boring bars using HSS are very easy to make A simple design I have used is to weld an old stub of HSS to the end of a suitable bar grind it up and go. Make sure you have sufficient clearance underneath the cutting point.
 
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