Kennametal Replacement Parts?

[Beantown]

This is a sticky situation. At least the tool is not obsolete. I ran into an old machinist at a conference who told me that all these things are cheap compared to the time that you spend messing around them, and real machinists can get very annoyed if you waste a lot of time to save a little money. Since it was a blacksmith conference, and there were a lot of artists in attendance, there were a lot of diverse views. I was just showing off my railroad spike contest entry, which was a wedge lock negative rake insert tool holder made entirely from a single railroad spike. The shim and shim screw were chiseled from the same spike, since the rules were one spike, and no scraps. Even the insert came from the same spike, and it was carbo-nitrided to glass hard. If you want to make chips, you know what to do. If you want to tinker, hide that tool until you have the skills and equipment to finish it. That hollow screw can probably be fabricated in pieces and silver soldered together.

Yea, I'm planning to just rabbit hole this until I can find parts. I'm a home gamer, so I don't need to worry about a bottom line....but then time is my most precious resource. It's the only thing I can't buy more of.

The good news is the eBay seller gave me my money back and told me to keep it. After he blamed me for not noticing the shim was missing. I just ordered based on the part number and the logo looked genuine. Maybe that is partly on me, but I have never thought that "used" meant that it could be missing parts that make it functional or not. I think he was just hoping to scam someone that wouldn't notice.

Now that I am in this $0 I can justify paying for parts to fix it.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

well that's good news. The seller should have listed it for "parts or repair", then he would have been justified in his response.

Offer still stands for when I get home mid-December, I've got a fishing tackle box full of screws, shims and clamps

 

[Beantown]

well that's good news. The seller should have listed it for "parts or repair", then he would have been justified in his response.

Offer still stands for when I get home mid-December, I've got a fishing tackle box full of screws, shims and clamps

Yea, that is how I felt about it too. They should have said something.

That would be awesome! I'll be patiently waiting!

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I had a look and I don't have any Dxxx shape shims or shim screws of that style, sorry

 

[Beantown]

I had a look and I don't have any Dxxx shape shims or shim screws of that style, sorry

No worries at all! I had totally forgotten about it. I was able to find a partial set on eBay for a really good price. Since they gave me my money back on the tool itself, I ended up WAAAY ahead of the game anyway. Thank you for offering and checking nonetheless.

 

[rwm]

This problem may be solved but I have a dumb question. Could you not make a shim and modify a screw to fit? Surely it can't be that hard?

 

[Beantown]

This problem may be solved but I have a dumb question. Could you not make a shim and modify a screw to fit? Surely it can't be that hard?

Maybe someone that wasn't a noob could, but I'm so new my lathe hasn't even been delivered yet.

I could make the screw I imagine, but the shim is made of carbide. I'm not sure how I could ever make that. The shim looks like a carbide insert almost. I imagine it's very precise as well.

 

[rwm]

Someone school me on this. I thought the shims were softer material to prevent wear on the tool holder? I would think insert screws were standard sizes. I bought a pack for some of the tool holders I have. They were not the same brand but work fine?

 

[mattthemuppet2]

Shims are always carbide, they take the beating from the insert not the softer steel of the tool. They can shatter but they're much easier to replace than the tool holder. You can also rotate them to a fresh "tip" if they're not too damaged

The screw in this case (if I have the tool holder model right) is a hollow countersunk screw with id threads for the insert screw. Most shim screws are simpler as the insert is clamped in place or the shim screw is eccentric. There's a pretty huge variety of systems out there

 

[mattthemuppet2]

No worries at all! I had totally forgotten about it. I was able to find a partial set on eBay for a really good price. Since they gave me my money back on the tool itself, I ended up WAAAY ahead of the game anyway. Thank you for offering and checking nonetheless.

That's cool, I'm glad it all worked out!