Looking for a internal o-ring groove tool

[GunsOfNavarone]

You can grind the carbide inserts very easily . The gov/military always come up with different thread undercuts so I had to do this every day . You said the bore was 2 inches diameter in a previous post , now it's down to .250 ?

Sorry, 2.0" diameter, .250"-.300" deep. Cutting a HSS blank to use as a tool to be used in a AXA holder is one thing, cutting a piece of HSS to use in a boring bar in leu of a carbide insert..that's another.
What is your 2nd and 3rd bar from the right in that picture? Do you have the bar's ID number(s)?

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

I hate to be so anti HSS, I'm not good at sharpening drill bits, so I bought a $300 sharpener. Making my own HSS lathe tools just isn't in the cards. Carbide is the lazy mans means for side stepping that skill. I love that I can grab a new insert and be good to go. I could use a o-ring grooving tool (internal and external) pretty often. What I am finding is, the easiest to source are square, and they may work for me sometimes, but radiused would always be the better choice. I work primarily in stainless and titanium is slowly working into that equation now that I have successfully pulled off a few pieces with excellent results. This also has weight in the decision to stay with carbide. It's crazy I can find the insert, but not the holder. I just purchased a 5/8" to 3/4" AXA boring bar holder, so hopefully that gives more options.

 

[mmcmdl]

Hey Guns , these are all Kennemetal Top Notches . They have radiused inserts as well as square and threading inserts . I may have some radiused inserts down the basement . As far as I know , they're all still manufactured .

 

[Flyinfool]

You are not looking to grind a HSS cutter to replace a carbide in a carbide holder. You are correct, that would be really hard to do. You would grind a HSS to use in an HSS boring bar. The geometry is a lot more simple than sharpening a drill bit.

 

[Jimsehr]

I think you may have trouble finding a Kennametal insert holder small enough for your machine. You might be better off making a tool post to hold a top notch insert holder on your machine.
what size lathe do you have?

 

[mmcmdl]

I can hold up to 2" bars on my AXA . Years back I made up a few sets of holders like the one pictured . Some are straight , some angled . I still have them somewhere , most likely buried in a bucket .

 

[Watchwatch]

Micro 100 offers solid carbide oring grooving tools in the 3/8 range. Made in the USA and reasonably price. Should be under $50.

Buy a few DMT diamond stones to resharpen the tool and you are set for a long time.

 

[T Bredehoft]

For what its worth, when I worked in the natural gas industry, I made plates to bolt on to compression cylinders to test the cylinder for pressure. In some cases the plates were 16" diameter to accommodate the output pipe. I used straight, carbide cutoff tooling to cut a square groove in face of the plate. No radius, the O-ring manufacturers required a square bottom'd groove, not a radius.

 

[kd4gij]

An o ring grove is square not radius,. And if I understand an o ring grove against a shoulder isn't going to seal well.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

Looks like I need a GHIR 9-3 bar (3/4" shank) to go with a GSFU insert. The inserts are available in different sizes so I need to figure that out, but getting there. I'll take a look at Kenametal as the Iscar's are a bit pricey, though I don't see Kenametal as being a bargain, I's rather buy from them (they are a USA company if I remember right?)
My lathe is a G0602 (10x20)...