# Best Lathe Metal Turning Tools.



## Roskrow (9 Jul 2017)

There seems to be a lot of NOT very good Lathe tools available, can anyone direct me as where to get the BEST.I make Steam engines, which calls for a lot of small detail.
Any assistance very much apreciated


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## Rorschach (9 Jul 2017)

What are you turning, what you turning it on, what is your budget, these are all important factors. What works for a little chinese lathe is not the same as what works for a myford, or a colchester or a big hardinge or harrisson.


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## hawkeyefxr (10 Jul 2017)

Carbide tool bit are best, they hold their edge much better though you need a green stone to sharpen them.
I used HSS steel, you can get it in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch squares and bigger. You can sharpen it to what ever angle you need. I used it all through my apprenticeship in the tool room.


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## Harbo (10 Jul 2017)

I use HSS blanks which I shape and sharpen myself - they cut better than TC and inserts on my small lathes.

Rod


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## chaoticbob (10 Jul 2017)

As Rorschach says, more info needed - it would be helpful to know what tools you are using, on what machine, with what materials and (most importantly) what problems you are experiencing with the tools you have.

The only truly 'bad' turning tools I've used are the ubiquitous cheap brazed carbide jobs. Indexable carbide, bought or self-ground HSS are fine if you you use them appropriately.
Rob.


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## Rorschach (11 Jul 2017)

chaoticbob":3uyhgs4u said:


> As Rorschach says, more info needed - it would be helpful to know what tools you are using, on what machine, with what materials and (most importantly) what problems you are experiencing with the tools you have.
> 
> The only truly 'bad' turning tools I've used are the ubiquitous cheap brazed carbide jobs. Indexable carbide, bought or self-ground HSS are fine if you you use them appropriately.
> Rob.




Those brazed carbide tools are great but only if you have the tools and are willing to spend the time grinding and shaping them properly. HSS is the most versatile for most people.


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## Inspector (11 Jul 2017)

For 90% of the playing around on my 13"x37" lathe I use a tangental tool holder and HHS bits from Eccentric Engineering in Australia. I'm thinking of getting some Crobalt bits for it too. The British distributor is listed on the site. Not cheap though.

http://www.eccentricengineering.com.au/ ... &Itemid=17

Pete


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## Rorschach (11 Jul 2017)

Inspector":1ndjfgfa said:


> For 90% of the playing around on my 13"x37" lathe I use a tangental tool holder and HHS bits from Eccentric Engineering in Australia. I'm thinking of getting some Crobalt bits for it too. The British distributor is listed on the site. Not cheap though.
> 
> http://www.eccentricengineering.com.au/ ... &Itemid=17
> 
> Pete



I have one of those, they are superb. I bought a big stock of fairly cheap HSS blanks and I sharpen up both ends. I like to change bits often to keep a nice sharp edge since I turn very abrasive materials. Having a large stock of sharp bits on hand keeps me working efficiently and then every couple of months I spend an hour grinding and honing them all again.


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## Inspector (11 Jul 2017)

An acquaintance that makes his own competition bench rest rifles has at least 4 holders. Lefts and rights in two sizes. Said the smaller ones are better for fine threads. He was going to get more holders so he could leave them set up for specific tasks. I keep several blanks with different radii on the corners and some round blanks too. 

Pete


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## Rorschach (11 Jul 2017)

I just have the one holder and maybe 20ish ground inserts (double ended), it is by far my most used lathe tool. I also have a small selection of carbide insert tooling and a lot of custom ground tools for various jobs.


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## AES (11 Jul 2017)

+1 for Inspector's and Rorschach's endorsement post re the Eccentic Engineering tools (I bought mine through Australia, before they had a UK distributor I think).

I only have a little Chinese mini lathe ("Red Dog" or some such brand) but for all the general work I do (various bits & pieces in MS, Silver Steel, Cast Iron, Ali, & Brass) they're VERY good indeed. HSS tools which are easy to grind up as required. But they are expensive - someone on here made their own version of the basic "diagonal tool holder" (I forget who, sorry) and VERY nice too it looked.

For my mini lathe I'm not sure I'd go to carbide tools in the eccentric though - fine on Inspector's big lathe no doubt, but I always understood little lathes are not rigid enough for tipped tools.

HTH

AES


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## Inspector (11 Jul 2017)

The crobaloy I mentioned isn't a carbide. It is very high cobalt and can be sharpened with the same wheels as HSS. It is a small group of alloys that came out before carbide. Stellite is another. (Hope I spelled that correctly.) Holds an edge better when run faster and harder than HSS. It is probably more than a small bench top lathe will need but it believe it handles cast well. 

Pete


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## AES (11 Jul 2017)

OK, noted, useful info, thanks Pete. I've heard of Stellite (I think that's how it's spelt too)!

AES


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## Robbo3 (13 Jul 2017)

Chronos sell all sorts of lathe tooling.
Sets of HSS
- https://www.chronos.ltd.uk/cgi-bin/sh00 ... SCT2661002


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## Keith 66 (21 Jul 2017)

There is a lot of disinformation about lathe tools, Most carbide tool sets that can be bought cheaply are just junk, good replaceable tip carbide tooling is excellent but far above the needs of the average turner, its meant for serious production work.
A properly ground & sharp HSS bit with the correct angles will cut better than any cheap carbide one. I use HSS all the time & machine a lot of stainless steel with it as well, Good coolant is just as important.


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## AES (21 Jul 2017)

+1 for what Keith 66 says - exactly my experience too.

But just to put "confused" newcomers' minds to rest (there have been at least a couple posting here recently), the confusion surrounding tipped tools is hardly surprising - for example, when I bought my "Einhell" (aka "Red Dog" or something) no lathe tools were included, as usual.

But with the "manual" there was a note included which said "special, boxed set of lathe tools suitable for your new lathe can be ordered here". So in my innocence (read "ignorance") I bought a set. Not rubbish exactly, but tipped tools which in fact proved much less suitable than some HSS which I bought later on. Nice wooden box though!!

AES


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## marcros (21 Jul 2017)

Keith 66":9ik2oajy said:


> There is a lot of disinformation about lathe tools, Most carbide tool sets that can be bought cheaply are just junk, good replaceable tip carbide tooling is excellent but far above the needs of the average turner, its meant for serious production work.
> A properly ground & sharp HSS bit with the correct angles will cut better than any cheap carbide one. I use HSS all the time & machine a lot of stainless steel with it as well, Good coolant is just as important.



And good knowledge on how to grind HSS. My issue is that I am new to lathe tooling, and it is difficult to know how to grind blanks correctly. There are several faces to grind and getting any one of them wrong (I believe) would mean that the tool would not function well. 

The tipped or indexable options become more attractive to me as an absolute beginner with nobody to teach me.


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## MusicMan (21 Jul 2017)

There's a series of not expensive books by Harold Hall that give all the fundamentals of what you need. I suggest the ones on Lathework and on Grinding Cutting Tools.

I use HSS for the majority of my metal turning. It actually can be sharper than carbide. I have a replaceable insert carbide tool for heavy stuff such as cast iron.

A good stiff tool post is important. I can't stand the cheap quick change ones, as they flop around. I use a Dickson quick change, or an ordinary single-tool post.


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## novocaine (21 Jul 2017)

enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__A2xtLF0AU

and if after that you still want insert tooling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFFWYo8ugw&t=399s

I have both because I'm a lucky lucky boy.


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## Jelly (1 Sep 2017)

Keith 66":2q7bsn1r said:


> There is a lot of disinformation about lathe tools, Most carbide tool sets that can be bought cheaply are just junk, good replaceable tip carbide tooling is excellent but far above the needs of the average turner, its meant for serious production work.
> A properly ground & sharp HSS bit with the correct angles will cut better than any cheap carbide one. I use HSS all the time & machine a lot of stainless steel with it as well, Good coolant is just as important.



I'd disagree; to an extent.

You're bang on that properly ground HSS is very capable, and in some cases (turning/boring copper, PTFE or Babbit for instance, where you might even consider very finely sharpened carbon steel toolbits) generally superior.

You're also right that there's no substitute for the correct tool geometry.

But, Good replaceable tip tooling is not far above the needs of the average turner... for "Normal" tasks It's a nice to have, rather than a requirement, I'm a big fan of Korraloy tooling for their price point, but Sandvik-Coromant have a better range of weird and wonderful tooling.

Once you get a bit more advanced or impatient however they're a worthwhile, sometimes neccisary investment, but you need to know why you want it to pick the right insert and holder geometry.

This is coloured by using big lathes (13"×48" Laing, 17"×60" DSG, 7"×30" Warco) but even on a small lathe like a Myford 7 or my tiny 3"×16" gearhead lathe you can get impressive depth of cut (0.125" was all I could acheive on a super 7, 0.385" was nearly the full width of the insert and it still had more to give on the big lathes) with a decent carbide or CBN tool and the power feed; the actual advantage of the carbide here is not the DOC per second but being able to turn dry, at high speeds and take the heat out in your nice thick chip (ideally they come off somewhere between blue and glowing slightly). 

I wouldn't be without replaceable tip tools, for turning tool steel, finish turning hardened parts (to achieve a good finish you want a "G" or better lapped tip, in CBN not carbide so you can run dry at very high speed), taking the abrasive "case" off castings or rusty stock (an ideal use for a worn tip which isn't quite done or the "unused" corners of a C, D or W shape insert) or just hogging off material quickly.


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