Lathe tooling.

[BigJim]

I have acquired a 8X29 lathe and am just starting out. Would like some suggestions on tooling type (HSS or Carbide) and tooling size (1/4,5/16, or 3/8).

 

[Dabbler]

--- it depends. Do you have an American Rocker or Aloris style toolpost? Do you own a bench grinder or a bench belt sander (not the handheld one).?

Are you mostly into turning brass, or aluminum, or will steel be your main material?

Are you interested in skills development? - if not, then do what it takes to go to carbide insert tooling. If you do, then HSS can be very rewarding, especially if you use it on soft materials like brass and aluminum. You can easily use HSS on steels, but I'm trying to make distinctions here.

so it depends.

 

[vocatexas]

When I first started with my 9x20 lathe I bought insert tooling. After watching videos and reading here, I bought some HSS and started grinding my own tools. I rarely use carbide now, unless it's on a particularly hard metal. HSS is so cheap compared to carbide inserts, and you can always tweak the profile a bit to get results you want.

 

[BigJim]

--- it depends. Do you have an American Rocker or Aloris style toolpost? Do you own a bench grinder or a bench belt sander (not the handheld one).?

Are you mostly into turning brass, or aluminum, or will steel be your main material?

Are you interested in skills development? - if not, then do what it takes to go to carbide insert tooling. If you do, then HSS can be very rewarding, especially if you use it on soft materials like brass and aluminum. You can easily use HSS on steels, but I'm trying to make distinctions here.

so it depends.

I’ll probably be turning aluminum and maybe mild steel. I do have a bench grinder and wouldn’t mind learning to grind/sharpen tools so I guess HSS would be best for my application. I have the 4way tool post commonly supplied with Chinese lathes. What size tooling would be best.

 

[Dabbler]

You should buy some HSS blanks that will fit your tool post.

by 'fit' - now bear with me - isn't the largest tool that will fit. for a rough gauge, measure with calipers from the bottom of your 4 way slot where the tool will rest to the point of your tailstock centre. Get HSS blanks that are the next larger size. E.G. if you centre is .266 above the bottom of the slot, you will have to use 5/16 HSS stock, etc.

Grinding HSS for a 4 way requires a little more precision than an american rocker, and there are dozens of youtube videos about grinding these tools.

Your first few attempts will be less than great, but the skill can be acquired with modest effort.

You can get a few carbide tool holders that will fit your toolpost and you make them so they are on centre without shims. this is for another day, but PM me for more details. For an 8X 29 lathe you should try to use only positive rake tooling. More on that later as well.

No matter what tooling you get and what grinding you do, the tool tip must always be on centre. You will aslo need a holder for a HSS parting tool, and that will have to be +0.00 to -.004 of centre.

 

[tweinke]

There is an excellent thread on here regarding grinding HSS for us guys with smaller/ less rigid lathes with lots of guidance from Mikey, i will bet you can even get examples of the main tools that we talked about so that you can see them and copy for your own use. Generally it was done ith key stock which is cheap for practice then on HSS. This worked well for me, and the how and why of it all is discussed so that you understand what all the angles do and what changes to them affect. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/models-for-grinding-hss-lathe-tools.62111/

 

[Beckerkumm]

Check out David Best's excellent book on Indexable Tooling for the Lathe. Dave

 

[akjeff]

These lathe tools work incredibly well in my Craftsman, and are intended for hobby sized/bench top type lathes. Curtis is also a great guy to deal with, and knows what he's talking about.

https://latheinserts.com/TOOLS-FOR-HOBBY-LATHES_c82.htm

 

[Dabbler]

For someone just starting out, a person has to learn about positioning the tool on the centre line, and knowing about positive rake tooling, and how leade angle affects the cutting performance and finish. Insert tooling can come later - getting tooling on centre for a novice can be a little complex.

I don't think it is a great idea to take personal experience and project it onto someone else... They certainly come from different experience, and skill level. We all end up at insert tooling eventually, but it takes more work to set up insert tooling for a 4 way toolpost.

These are just my thoughts, guys and everyone has had a different experience. If we all "had a million dollars" (Barenaked Ladies reference) then we'd all start with the best lathe, a QCTP, Insert tooling from Sandvik or Kennemetal, etc.

I'm just trying to start him off with making chips in Aluminum and brass without spending too much money, and developing essential skills.

 

[Dabbler]

I was going to describe how to determine centre on your lathe, and after thinking, I decided to refer you to Joe Pieczynski - he occasionally comes to this forum, and really knows his machining...