Round lathe tool holder (easy/cheap!)

[Makintrax73]

Saw a few tangential tool holder builds, and some made round tool holders of the same ilk. Thought this is an easy-ish project. Lathe, portaband, grinder and drill press are the only tools needed. All milling operations can easily be done in the tool holder on the lathe that the tool goes in with a cutter in a collet chuck.

This is unfinished/test piece, but test cuts leave VERY nice surface finish. Test cuts on 12l14 and drill rod both look great. Perhaps because it is so easy to get the tool razor sharp with one lick on the grinder.

So for fellow beginners looking for a project to develop skills this is a nice project done in a couple evenings with minimal tools.



Super cheap. Uses only a chunk of 1/2" scrap steel for the body, and a broken 1/4" end mill or drill bit.





Unfortunately I badly screwed up the set screw drilling because of the slope the bit wandered. It still works fine but I may re-make it. It still needs relief cuts along the front and sides so the tool can face off work without rubbing.

 

[Eddyde]

It looks like a fun project, do you have any drawings or sketches of the basic dimensions you can please share?

 

[francist]

Looks interesting. I’m going to assume that it is presented to the work in the orientation shown in the first photo? The set screw marks from the tool holder on two different surfaces are creating some uncertainty though.

 

[markba633csi]

I believe the first photo shows the orientation to the work- the other marks were from constructing it I think

 

[Makintrax73]

It looks like a fun project, do you have any drawings or sketches of the basic dimensions you can please share?

It's 1/2"x1/2", then 1/4" step down. I used a 15 degree angle for the face and to drill through. Just sketched it right on the steel didn't have or do a drawing.

 

[Makintrax73]

Looks interesting. I’m going to assume that it is presented to the work in the orientation shown in the first photo? The set screw marks from the tool holder on two different surfaces are creating some uncertainty though.

That's correct.

The set screw marks are because I did the milling operations in an AXA tool holder on the lathe. It's a test piece really so I did a quick and dirty job didn't protect the work.

 

[Shotgun]

I like the simplicity of that. Should be easy to throw one together in an hour or so.
What cut is it best used for? It gives and excellent finish. Does it hog out a rough cut very well?

 

[Makintrax73]

I like the simplicity of that. Should be easy to throw one together in an hour or so.
What cut is it best used for? It gives and excellent finish. Does it hog out a rough cut very well?

Haven't had time to try anything much yet, but it seems best at finishing. Here is a test cut in drill rod. To the touch it feels totally smooth despite minor visual aberrations. You can see in this picture where I still need to clearance the tool. Angle cuts along each side. Out of time today unfortunately



It is certainly VERY easy to sharpen as seen here 2 seconds and done. Or cam experiment with rake angle easily.

 

[benmychree]

To my eye, it looks like it has too much front clearance, which would leave a weak unsupported cutting edge.

 

[Makintrax73]

To my eye, it looks like it has too much front clearance, which would leave a weak unsupported cutting edge.

You may be right. There's an inherent compromise in the design. A More vertical tool requires either less meat in the holder, or more stick out otherwise the tool holder rubs. And it puts more strain on the retaining set screw.

I picked 15 because the others I saw like this used 15. It may be better at 10, and is certainly cheap enough to try.