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Where to shop for quality metal lathe tools?
- Thread starter cneuor
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- Sep 1, 2023
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BlondiHacks pretty much tells you what you need and when to buy it in her https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY67-4BrEae-qwNQ3II1G1ZdUFdFYnEYO&si=uGyAoFHQSPCPbUNM playlist.
She also provides a list of where she got her stuff.
And you have the advantage of living in the same country as her (when she made these videos) and unlike me for example (I'm in the UK), don't have to try (and often fail) to find local alternative suppliers.
Okay, those videos were made 3 years ago but most of the recommendations will still be valid.
Be circumspect regarding some of the recommendations on here regarding what you need and the level of quality. They'll not be wrong per se, but they may only be valid in the context that the recommender is in, and not in your context as a beginner. People will understandably often think about what they use now and not think back to what they quite happily got along with when they first started.
Lathe cutting tools for example: start off with a set of decent quality pre ground HSS tools (HSS, not the brazed carbide ones). LMS sell them and those will be fine to start out with.
You don't need to be faffing with inserts when you start out and the pre-ground tools will also give you a visual idea of the cutting edge angles and clearances for when you come to grind your own HSS tooling.
Nothing you'll be doing at first will be affected by the shortish delivery wait when you find you need something and don't have it, so go slow and buy only what you need (see my comments about the BlondiHacks playlist above).
She also provides a list of where she got her stuff.
And you have the advantage of living in the same country as her (when she made these videos) and unlike me for example (I'm in the UK), don't have to try (and often fail) to find local alternative suppliers.
Okay, those videos were made 3 years ago but most of the recommendations will still be valid.
Be circumspect regarding some of the recommendations on here regarding what you need and the level of quality. They'll not be wrong per se, but they may only be valid in the context that the recommender is in, and not in your context as a beginner. People will understandably often think about what they use now and not think back to what they quite happily got along with when they first started.
Lathe cutting tools for example: start off with a set of decent quality pre ground HSS tools (HSS, not the brazed carbide ones). LMS sell them and those will be fine to start out with.
You don't need to be faffing with inserts when you start out and the pre-ground tools will also give you a visual idea of the cutting edge angles and clearances for when you come to grind your own HSS tooling.
Nothing you'll be doing at first will be affected by the shortish delivery wait when you find you need something and don't have it, so go slow and buy only what you need (see my comments about the BlondiHacks playlist above).
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2024
- Messages
- 47
Thank you, @SouthernChap . I completely agree with your point about being mindful of the context when considering recommendations here. From what I've learned through BlondiHacks and this community, starting with pre-ground HSS tools seems like a smart move, especially for a beginner like me. I’ll definitely take it slow and only buy what I need, as you suggested. Thanks again for the thoughtful advice!BlondiHacks pretty much tells you what you need and when to buy it in her https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY67-4BrEae-qwNQ3II1G1ZdUFdFYnEYO&si=uGyAoFHQSPCPbUNM playlist.
She also provides a list of where she got her stuff.
And you have the advantage of living in the same country as her (when she made these videos) and unlike me for example (I'm in the UK), don't have to try (and often fail) to find local alternative suppliers.
Okay, those videos were made 3 years ago but most of the recommendations will still be valid.
Be circumspect regarding some of the recommendations on here regarding what you need and the level of quality. They'll not be wrong per se, but they may only be valid in the context that the recommender is in, and not in your context as a beginner. People will understandably often think about what they use now and not think back to what they quite happily got along with when they first started.
Lathe cutting tools for example: start off with a set of decent quality pre ground HSS tools (HSS, not the brazed carbide ones). LMS sell them and those will be fine to start out with.
You don't need to be faffing with inserts when you start out and the pre-ground tools will also give you a visual idea of the cutting edge angles and clearances for when you come to grind your own HSS tooling.
Nothing you'll be doing at first will be affected by the shortish delivery wait when you find you need something and don't have it, so go slow and buy only what you need (see my comments about the BlondiHacks playlist above).
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2016
- Messages
- 3,304
Little Machine Shop doesn't sell any machines in the 10" size, but they do cater to lathes up to around that size. Mostly less expensive import tooling, but not bottom of the barrel stuff. I've been quite happy with everything I've bought from them.
All Industrial Tool Supply offers a wide variety of tools and tooling, from budget to high end brands. The budget stuff is often import, but like LMS they don't do bottom of the barrel. Free shipping for a lot of items once you get over a certain threshold (I think $75). I find their prices to be very competitive. Like LMS, I've had no disappointing purchases from them.
Shars is a popular mid range seller. Mostly import stuff and they have a large selection. I've bought a few things from them, no complaints. Do watch their shipping though, their prices are good, but I find high shipping prices often negate that. My Shars purchases have generally been when I couldn't find it elsewhere.
Precision Matthews (You are certainly aware of them). They sell more than machines, don't overlook the tooling they offer for the machines they sell. I own no PM machines, but I have bought a couple bits of tooling from them here and there.
Grizzly like PM Grizzly sells a lot more than just machines. I'm far more likely to buy a machine or tool from them, rather than tooling but they do carry a lot and have some good sales, or have that thing I just can't find elsewhere.
MSI-Viking is a good source for real brand name metrology tools (calipers, micrometers etc). Brand name counterfeit tooling is a known problem buying from many online sources like Amazon or Ebay. If you are spending the money for a good quality measuring tool, it is worth buying from a registered dealer of those tools. Not much use saving $20 on a Miyutoyo digital caliper only to get something that looks like the real thing but has cheap internals. Some are obvious with look alike names, but others go to a lot of effort to capture the look of the real thing, and are only given away by minute details and inferior quality.
On that note good measuring tools are nice, but when just getting started don't be afraid of buying some of the less expensive brands. Many are good enough and can serve as your beater tools after you replace them with better ones. General, I Gauging and even Harbor Freight are serviceable for most hobby work.
Ebay can be a good source for used tooling, but used always carries a risk, particularly with sensitive precision tools. There are a lot of tool repair shops and dealers who use Ebay to sell their refurbished trade ins. MSI Viking above is one of many that have an Ebay store front to sell off the used tools that they take in. Most of my good metrology tools came used from Ebay, good quality USA, Swiss, and German brands I could not afford to buy new.
All Industrial Tool Supply offers a wide variety of tools and tooling, from budget to high end brands. The budget stuff is often import, but like LMS they don't do bottom of the barrel. Free shipping for a lot of items once you get over a certain threshold (I think $75). I find their prices to be very competitive. Like LMS, I've had no disappointing purchases from them.
Shars is a popular mid range seller. Mostly import stuff and they have a large selection. I've bought a few things from them, no complaints. Do watch their shipping though, their prices are good, but I find high shipping prices often negate that. My Shars purchases have generally been when I couldn't find it elsewhere.
Precision Matthews (You are certainly aware of them). They sell more than machines, don't overlook the tooling they offer for the machines they sell. I own no PM machines, but I have bought a couple bits of tooling from them here and there.
Grizzly like PM Grizzly sells a lot more than just machines. I'm far more likely to buy a machine or tool from them, rather than tooling but they do carry a lot and have some good sales, or have that thing I just can't find elsewhere.
MSI-Viking is a good source for real brand name metrology tools (calipers, micrometers etc). Brand name counterfeit tooling is a known problem buying from many online sources like Amazon or Ebay. If you are spending the money for a good quality measuring tool, it is worth buying from a registered dealer of those tools. Not much use saving $20 on a Miyutoyo digital caliper only to get something that looks like the real thing but has cheap internals. Some are obvious with look alike names, but others go to a lot of effort to capture the look of the real thing, and are only given away by minute details and inferior quality.
On that note good measuring tools are nice, but when just getting started don't be afraid of buying some of the less expensive brands. Many are good enough and can serve as your beater tools after you replace them with better ones. General, I Gauging and even Harbor Freight are serviceable for most hobby work.
Ebay can be a good source for used tooling, but used always carries a risk, particularly with sensitive precision tools. There are a lot of tool repair shops and dealers who use Ebay to sell their refurbished trade ins. MSI Viking above is one of many that have an Ebay store front to sell off the used tools that they take in. Most of my good metrology tools came used from Ebay, good quality USA, Swiss, and German brands I could not afford to buy new.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2016
- Messages
- 3,304
Very much this. While this site is HOBBY Machinist, there are many members who are current or past professional machinists. There are some hobby machinists here who work to extreme levels of precision out of need, or simply because they find it fun to work to 0.0001" tolerances even when 0.01" would be perfectly adequate. I think a lot of us are tool junkies, who might be a little too free to add a new tool even if we don't "need it". It runs the other way too, some are simply
It really helps when you to start to learn the personalities behind the names. Most are offering good advice, but it helps to know the POV that advice is coming from.
Like me personally all I care about is that a tool is more accurate than I am, and I still think more like a woodworker than a machinist so...
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- Oct 17, 2018
- Messages
- 987
My advice and comments are always meant to help! They have night classes. I would recommend looking into it and seeing what they have. You might be surprised. I teach at one place where you pay for about 4 months of access and can come anytime they are open, which is 8-9 pm, M-Th. At the community college, they have a class that meets twice a week from 4-10 pm for 8 weeks.
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- Dec 18, 2013
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- 2,418
Yes but it can be quite annoying to not have the right tool for the job then trying to wing it. That's typically how I get injured.
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- Nov 24, 2014
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- 3,618
It seems to me that an excellent step toward getting you up to speed would be to connect you with a mentor. The good news is H-M has a specific forum dedicated to Mentors & Mentees.
www.hobby-machinist.com
The bad news is that there are no Mentor offerings in the Austin area. None the less, you should still read the introductory post and get yourself on the Mentor/Mentee Map. A Mentor could appear at any time.
www.hobby-machinist.com
Looking at the Member Map (find it under "Members" at the top of every page) there are at least 5 other H-M members around Austin. Maybe you could contact each (via starting a Conversation) and ask if anyone can help you get started. Face-to-face communication may be more productive.
Maybe there will be interest in starting a Regional Member Group around Austin.
www.hobby-machinist.com
MENTORS & MENTEES - SIGN UP HERE!
H-M is all about HELPING OTHERS. If you are willing to MENTOR someone less experienced in your area, please sign up here!
www.hobby-machinist.com
The bad news is that there are no Mentor offerings in the Austin area. None the less, you should still read the introductory post and get yourself on the Mentor/Mentee Map. A Mentor could appear at any time.
Mentors & Mentees - Read This First!
Hello H-M Members, We are introducing enhancements in the MENTORS & APPRENTICES sub-forum intending to improve participation. We think the proliferation of mentors is an excellent idea but the current sub-forum doesn’t seem to be getting much traction. Essentially, this is a relaunch. First...
www.hobby-machinist.com
Looking at the Member Map (find it under "Members" at the top of every page) there are at least 5 other H-M members around Austin. Maybe you could contact each (via starting a Conversation) and ask if anyone can help you get started. Face-to-face communication may be more productive.
Maybe there will be interest in starting a Regional Member Group around Austin.
REGIONAL MEMBER GROUPS (You May Want To Join These!)
These are social groups of members who have something in common. You may want to join. Check them out.
www.hobby-machinist.com
To know what tool to use you have to decide what you are going to make and out of what material.
For most projects and most materials you can start simple. Even a wooden stick will cut butter. You can purchase a few pre-ground HSS tools, but also buy a grinder, some steel, or better still some high speed steel blanks and grind a away. Read about materials, shapes, surfaces, cutting rates etc. and try things and see if you agree. Some times you want a sharp point... other times a rounded point but don't forget the attack angle. You can ask yourself why something worked so well or failed... each time you try something different? After you have some simple experience you will know more about what you want to spend your $s on and whether or not you can get by with less. Remember, most things were made by old time machinists long before the modern or fancy tools and materials became available. One of the nice things about HSS is that if you screw up the cutting edge you just have to regrind or resharpen it. If you screw up a good carbide cutter, $$, you usually just have to throw it out. HSS tool works find, and sometimes better, on soft materials such as copper, brass, Aluminum, mild steel etc. The edge might not last as long as a carbide tool edge, but .... just re-sharpen it. Also, you will note that carbide inserts are commonly for specific cuts or types of cuts. So you need different shapes and materials for different jobs. You can quickly spend your budget on items you may never used. Buy David Best's book on Carbide inserts, insert holders, and tool posts etc. @davidpbest
You purchased a PM lathe. They sell a limited number of carbide tools and inserts that are not the most expensive expensive. They are fine for many jobs and certainly for starting out. PM also sells a simple set of milling HSS end mills which sometimes come in handy when you want to drill a simple smooth hole via your lathe. These PM cutters may not be the best of all that you can buy, but Matt has taken the time to select products that are at least decent.
Save this thread and after a few projects and experience come back and look at the more expensive suggestions. Once, you have experience you maybe able to appreciate the difference, "Nice tools are Nice to have."
For most projects and most materials you can start simple. Even a wooden stick will cut butter. You can purchase a few pre-ground HSS tools, but also buy a grinder, some steel, or better still some high speed steel blanks and grind a away. Read about materials, shapes, surfaces, cutting rates etc. and try things and see if you agree. Some times you want a sharp point... other times a rounded point but don't forget the attack angle. You can ask yourself why something worked so well or failed... each time you try something different? After you have some simple experience you will know more about what you want to spend your $s on and whether or not you can get by with less. Remember, most things were made by old time machinists long before the modern or fancy tools and materials became available. One of the nice things about HSS is that if you screw up the cutting edge you just have to regrind or resharpen it. If you screw up a good carbide cutter, $$, you usually just have to throw it out. HSS tool works find, and sometimes better, on soft materials such as copper, brass, Aluminum, mild steel etc. The edge might not last as long as a carbide tool edge, but .... just re-sharpen it. Also, you will note that carbide inserts are commonly for specific cuts or types of cuts. So you need different shapes and materials for different jobs. You can quickly spend your budget on items you may never used. Buy David Best's book on Carbide inserts, insert holders, and tool posts etc. @davidpbest
You purchased a PM lathe. They sell a limited number of carbide tools and inserts that are not the most expensive expensive. They are fine for many jobs and certainly for starting out. PM also sells a simple set of milling HSS end mills which sometimes come in handy when you want to drill a simple smooth hole via your lathe. These PM cutters may not be the best of all that you can buy, but Matt has taken the time to select products that are at least decent.
Save this thread and after a few projects and experience come back and look at the more expensive suggestions. Once, you have experience you maybe able to appreciate the difference, "Nice tools are Nice to have."
Good list. I'll add Adam Booth (Abom79) ...When I started down this rabbit hole I was just like you. I didn't know squat about machining. I stumbled onto Mr Pete's videos. IMHO he is the best of the best for learning the basics of how to operate a lathe. He is a retired high school shop teacher and knows how to teach. Start with his first videos and work your way through them. It will be time well spent.
mrpete222
My channel is devoted to the wonderful world of MACHINE SHOP! I have about 950 video demonstrations on the Bridgeport mill & South Bend, Atlas, Clausing, and Logan Lathes. There is also groups of videos on the subjects of FOUNDRY, MODEL ENGINES, TRACTORS, ANTIQUE ENGINES & much more. 52...www.youtube.com
#1 MACHINE SHOP TIPS tubalcain playlist #1 thru #100
Share your videos with friends, family, and the worldwww.youtube.com
#2 MACHINE SHOP TIPS tubalcain playlist #101 thru #200
Share your videos with friends, family, and the worldwww.youtube.com
#3 MACHINE SHOP TIPS tubalcain playlist #201 thru #300
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
#4 MACHINE SHOP TIPS tubalcain playlist #301 thru #400
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
Go through the various play lists I linked to and watch what seems pertinent to what you need to learn to know how to do some task.
Have fun with your new lathe.
Facing, turning, threading...basic ops and you can learn the basics with the help of those above. Get yourself some Delrin or Acetal- easy cutting, relatively inexpensive, good to learn on. I didn't see where you indicated if you had a specific use/application in mind, or if it's a "just because"-and be able to make a part when you can't find what you need. Depending on the operations you'll be doing, and the level of precision needed be prepared to spend more than you did on the machine, on tooling. From indicators and holders to set-tru chucks to holders/inserts. As mentioned, it's simple enough to get what you need, when you need it and spread that cost out over time. Welcome to the rabbit hole.
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