Where to shop for quality metal lathe tools?

If off hand grinding tools is not your thing ( it’s definitely not mine) old tool and cutter grinders are cheap at auction. Makes grinding HSS lathe tools simple. Perfect angles easy to set up. I have a Rockwell multi-axis vise on an ancient Covel grinder I bought for $50. One of these days I’ll find a Monoset at a price I can tolerate and upgrade. When buying a TC grinder make sure you get the accessories you need. They will end up costing you a fortune piecing them together from eBay. I grind all sorts of tools for my turret lathe tooling which are 1/8-3/8” tiny to 1.5x1” giant tools for the big Cinci shaper. Hone with a cheap diamond stone from Amazon then finish with a good oilstone. Makes for some great surface finishes. Once you get a set of tools ground it’s easy to keep them fresh with stones as long as you don’t abuse them. There are lots of sources available for guidance. I like the tool grinding guide from Norton. That said, having at least a few options in carbide is necessary for peeling scale and any hard material turning you might do. The Warner stuff is also very interesting but I haven’t tried them. For inserts I go to high positive carbide as I am running industrial lathes with 5-10 HP and do a little commercial work that pays for modern tooling.
 
One budget-friendly company to consider is CME Tools here in Warren, Michigan. It was started by a gentleman from China who started importing tooling here 40 years ago, and they are the original importer of many items sold by other vendors. They sell a lot on eBay and on their website. Checking both places is smart as sometimes one is cheaper than the other. They are also extremely helpful if you call on the phone. I work ten minutes from them so I can just pick stuff up, but started out buying a few small things off eBay they had listed as free shipping. I'll put links to their eBay store and website below.

I'm another in the camp of not worrying about learning to grind HSS at the very start. If you want to become a professional machinist 50 years ago, sure....that was what they had you do. If you want to quickly start making stuff, rather than learning relief angles, etc, insert tooling is a good place to start, and it's also what you see used in the vast majority of YouTube "how-to" type videos most of us have watched. That will let you essentially copy the setup you see in the video. Inserted tooling is built so that all the angles are already where they need to be and you simply square up the tool with the face of the chuck for most operations and set the tool on center....then start turning/facing/parting/threading, etc.

If you haven't already, I'd start with watching the entire Blondihacks series on how to run a lathe...really good stuff for anybody just starting out and you'll be making parts very quickly.

At some point you'll want to do something that requires an oddball profile you can't just buy and that's where learning to grind HSS shines. Not long ago I wanted to trepan cut (plunging in from the front) a large chunk off a lathe backing plate but didn't have the correct inserted tool so I made a cutter out of HSS, but stuff like that is pretty specialized and not something you'll like do right away.

For small machines (say 14" swing and under) positive rake tooling is usually going to be a lot better....so tools that use CCMT, TCMT, DCMT are popular choices.

Security Measure

www.ebay.com www.ebay.com

CME Tools | Complete Manufacturer's Equipment Tools

High quality machine tooling for low prices.
cme-tools.com cme-tools.com
 
G-ManBart said:
One budget-friendly company to consider is CME Tools here in Warren, Michigan. It was started by a gentleman from China who started importing tooling here 40 years ago, and they are the original importer of many items sold by other vendors. They sell a lot on eBay and on their website. Checking both places is smart as sometimes one is cheaper than the other. They are also extremely helpful if you call on the phone. I work ten minutes from them so I can just pick stuff up, but started out buying a few small things off eBay they had listed as free shipping. I'll put links to their eBay store and website below.

I'm another in the camp of not worrying about learning to grind HSS at the very start. If you want to become a professional machinist 50 years ago, sure....that was what they had you do. If you want to quickly start making stuff, rather than learning relief angles, etc, insert tooling is a good place to start, and it's also what you see used in the vast majority of YouTube "how-to" type videos most of us have watched. That will let you essentially copy the setup you see in the video. Inserted tooling is built so that all the angles are already where they need to be and you simply square up the tool with the face of the chuck for most operations and set the tool on center....then start turning/facing/parting/threading, etc.

If you haven't already, I'd start with watching the entire Blondihacks series on how to run a lathe...really good stuff for anybody just starting out and you'll be making parts very quickly.

At some point you'll want to do something that requires an oddball profile you can't just buy and that's where learning to grind HSS shines. Not long ago I wanted to trepan cut (plunging in from the front) a large chunk off a lathe backing plate but didn't have the correct inserted tool so I made a cutter out of HSS, but stuff like that is pretty specialized and not something you'll like do right away.

For small machines (say 14" swing and under) positive rake tooling is usually going to be a lot better....so tools that use CCMT, TCMT, DCMT are popular choices.

Security Measure

www.ebay.com www.ebay.com

CME Tools | Complete Manufacturer's Equipment Tools

High quality machine tooling for low prices.
cme-tools.com cme-tools.com
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I've used CME twice. good stuff both times. including an unfinished L-1 chuck backing plate. a very well-made casting. guy I spoke to about it was very helpful. the 2 items I bought were actually made in India.
 
yota said:
I've used CME twice. good stuff both times. including an unfinished L-1 chuck backing plate. a very well-made casting. guy I spoke to about it was very helpful. the 2 items I bought were actually made in India.
Click to expand...
That was probably Gary...he usually answers the phone there and is a good guy. He lets me walk back into the warehouse when he's grabbing stuff for me and it's nuts how much stuff they have. He told me they bought a larger warehouse just up the street and will be moving their main operation to that facility (in process now) and the current building will be overflow and for the less common items they sell.

I'm not surprised they import stuff from India, and I think the angle table I bought from them was made in India as well.
 
cneuor said:
Hi everyone,

I’m a beginner and currently have no tools at all, so I’m looking for everything I’ll need for a metal lathe. I’ve been relying on recommendations from this forum and learning as I go. From inserts to measuring tools, I’m not sure what specific items I need yet.

Amazon seems to have mostly cheap options, and I haven’t found much elsewhere. Any recommendations for quality tools and sites that won’t break the bank on shipping?

Thanks again for your help!
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Shars and Accusize have good offerings and are reasonable with decent quality.
 
To help with learning how to use your lathe, I am partial to starting with books and using YouTube to reinforce what you learned. I like that I can quickly find what I need instead of sitting through a video that might not answer my question. I would recommend the two volume set of Machine Shop Practice by Karl Moltrecht, it covers lathes, mills, grinding, etc. and is a good reference to look something up as needed. These are old industrial books, so mostly based on how a home shop machinist works. You can use Youtube videos to help in your learning process, but these books have the formulas you will need for all the various machining activities and I still reference them as needed.

You mentioned at some point in this thread not knowing what MT meant, that is the taper of the tailstock quill bore, and the bore of your spindle. The specifications of your lathe will tell you what size you have, that size will be important for tools you use in the tailstock such as a drill chuck and a live center. Your machine probably comes with a dead center, that is one that does not rotate with the work, but that has friction with the workpiece. A live center rotates with the workpiece, so that is better for higher speeds and what many of us use.
 
Ischgl99 said:
To help with learning how to use your lathe, I am partial to starting with books and using YouTube to reinforce what you learned. I like that I can quickly find what I need instead of sitting through a video that might not answer my question. I would recommend the two volume set of Machine Shop Practice by Karl Moltrecht, it covers lathes, mills, grinding, etc. and is a good reference to look something up as needed. These are old industrial books, so mostly based on how a home shop machinist works. You can use Youtube videos to help in your learning process, but these books have the formulas you will need for all the various machining activities and I still reference them as needed.

You mentioned at some point in this thread not knowing what MT meant, that is the taper of the tailstock quill bore, and the bore of your spindle. The specifications of your lathe will tell you what size you have, that size will be important for tools you use in the tailstock such as a drill chuck and a live center. Your machine probably comes with a dead center, that is one that does not rotate with the work, but that has friction with the workpiece. A live center rotates with the workpiece, so that is better for higher speeds and what many of us use.
Click to expand...
I would add to that "The Amateur's Lathe" by Sparey - I consider it the best book I've seen for hobby lathe work. Also, if you can find it, "Audel's Machinist's and Toolmaker's Handy Book".

GsT
 
GeneT45 said:
I would add to that "The Amateur's Lathe" by Sparey - I consider it the best book I've seen for hobby lathe work. Also, if you can find it, "Audel's Machinist's and Toolmaker's Handy Book".

GsT
Click to expand...
Yes, I have that one and forgot to mention that. I’ve heard about Audel’s, but haven't gotten around to getting a copy.
 
Ischgl99 said:
You mentioned at some point in this thread not knowing what MT meant
Click to expand...
OT Alert!

Sorry, but since I can’t do anything in the shop I’m having to live via the Forums and I can’t resist regaling everyone with a story:

50+ years ago at University, one of the grad students and I were helping the Department Machinist, Ed (a retired Toolmaker) take down a Pilot Plant setup. Ed “walked” a gas cylinder over to the rack near the dock, chained it in place, took a small piece of chalk out of his pocket and marked “MT” on the bottle. The grad student asked, what does MT mean, Ed?” Ed answered, “That there’s nothing in it, so the gas company knows which bottles to exchange.”

Well, I thought it was funny.
 
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