Which parting tool to get for mini lathe?

muscleflex

muscleflex

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I'd suggest you keep looking.

There is a "T" type HSS cutoff blade with a slight groove in the top to direct chips off the sides. These work WAY better. You'll need a holder just for this blade.

Cutoff is easily the most difficult operation on small lathes. This tool will really help you.

Karl
 
muscleflex said:
Hi all,
Can anyone just please tell me which parting tool is better?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-T-TY...307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item234a44f04b

or this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Lath...mm-/141031590854?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

The latter is the one I have but I find the blade is very hard to keep upright vertically, it tends to lean away from the holder.. so just wondering if the first link I showed is better?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I don't like that second design at all.
 
Karl_T said:
I'd suggest you keep looking.

There is a "T" type HSS cutoff blade with a slight groove in the top to direct chips off the sides. These work WAY better. You'll need a holder just for this blade.

Cutoff is easily the most difficult operation on small lathes. This tool will really help you.

Karl
Click to expand...

I tried grooving my parting tools: the chip just developed a thick spot in the middle. They work well enough without it, though.
 
muscleflex said:
Hi all,
Can anyone just please tell me which parting tool is better?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-T-TY...307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item234a44f04b

or this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Lath...mm-/141031590854?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

The latter is the one I have but I find the blade is very hard to keep upright vertically, it tends to lean away from the holder.. so just wondering if the first link I showed is better?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I personally like the first one. The thing is they must be dead on center or a hair under center to cut properly. A simple way to center one that I have used is to take a small face cut on the end of the stock. If there is a tip on the stock then the holder needs to move up until it disappears. The best method is to make a tool height gauge to help speed up tooling setup. Basically it sits on a parallel laying across the ways. That is one advantage of owning your own lathe, once it is set it will be good for about all your tooling.

Also parting metal needs a lot of coolant in my opinion. Another tip, when parting a drilled part or tubing use a small rod in the drill chuck inserted in the hole as a part catcher. Saves digging parts out of the chips.
 
I bought mine from Little Machine Shop and I use it in a QCTP on my 7x14 mini. It appears to have a hollow ground top, and it's very easy to sharpen if/when necessary. As long as it is square to the material, extended just long enough to make the cut through, and at or slightly below the material's centerline, it works very well. I've used it with no issues on plastics, aluminum, brass, and steel.

However . . . first attempts to use a cutoff tool were miserable and sometimes a little dangerous. That's when I followed the advice of several seasoned members here, and the problems disappeared. Thanks guys.

Tom
 
What advice were they?

n3480h said:
I bought mine from Little Machine Shop and I use it in a QCTP on my 7x14 mini. It appears to have a hollow ground top, and it's very easy to sharpen if/when necessary. As long as it is square to the material, extended just long enough to make the cut through, and at or slightly below the material's centerline, it works very well. I've used it with no issues on plastics, aluminum, brass, and steel.

However . . . first attempts to use a cutoff tool were miserable and sometimes a little dangerous. That's when I followed the advice of several seasoned members here, and the problems disappeared. Thanks guys.

Tom
Click to expand...
 
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