I would like to find some carbide inserts with sharper points anybody know of a place. Mine have to much radius. 1/4 inch tool.
Carbide inserts for lathe tool
- Thread starter tomatoetom
- Start date
You want positive rake inserts for wood and plastic. Gives a much cleaner cut.
It's difficult to go out on a limb since most inserts are made for metal working.
That said, i sometimes use the inserts and bars from my Borite boring bar set.
1/64" tip radius, 11 deg pos rake angle. Again, i typically just mount up one of my boring bars when needed.
IME, borite inserts won't fit other bars, but i have not really explored that.
Borite does make regular turning bar holders, which i intend to order but have not done so yet.
Have a couple decades experience with the boring bars in metal & some wood, none with the regular turning sticks, yet.
https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/1-254A-030
Borite sells sets of 5 sticks (holders), too. If you need more than 3 shapes, probably a good deal.
Think i've seen individual 3/8" borite sticks as low as $25 or so. KBC is a good dealer for machine tooling, but you can do your own shopping for cheaper. TT221 pricing is all over the map, too. IMO you don't need TiN coating for wood, so save a buck or 2 by using uncoated inserts.
Honestly, though i use 5/16" square M2 HSS for most wood turning, and grind & hone the tip to suit the app. Can't get any sharper. Can't get any cheaper. You do have to learn to hone as necessary; and reshape/re-grind when needed.
smt
That said, i sometimes use the inserts and bars from my Borite boring bar set.
1/64" tip radius, 11 deg pos rake angle. Again, i typically just mount up one of my boring bars when needed.
IME, borite inserts won't fit other bars, but i have not really explored that.
Borite does make regular turning bar holders, which i intend to order but have not done so yet.
Have a couple decades experience with the boring bars in metal & some wood, none with the regular turning sticks, yet.
https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/1-254A-030
Borite sells sets of 5 sticks (holders), too. If you need more than 3 shapes, probably a good deal.
Think i've seen individual 3/8" borite sticks as low as $25 or so. KBC is a good dealer for machine tooling, but you can do your own shopping for cheaper. TT221 pricing is all over the map, too. IMO you don't need TiN coating for wood, so save a buck or 2 by using uncoated inserts.
Honestly, though i use 5/16" square M2 HSS for most wood turning, and grind & hone the tip to suit the app. Can't get any sharper. Can't get any cheaper. You do have to learn to hone as necessary; and reshape/re-grind when needed.
smt
Go to your local machine tools supplier.
Take your bits there and just ask for the sharpest insert.
That's what I did . Went to RL Stephens and was shown an insert that made my eyes pop. Then I said, shhh8, let me have that .
Take your bits there and just ask for the sharpest insert.
That's what I did . Went to RL Stephens and was shown an insert that made my eyes pop. Then I said, shhh8, let me have that .
Can't use those for cutting the shoulders of the wrap groove before leather or linen install. You might be able to, but the right insert does so much better .
The fun is in the discovery.I'll defer to experience.
OP asked about inserts. Assume he'll choose stick holders to suit app.
You highlighted 2 phrases of my response.
The HSS tools can be ground & honed to do anything.
We'd probably all be interested to see pix of the inserts that make your eyes pop.
One of the plastics type? With the big coved sides and sharp point?
Some good choices for anyone who doesn't grind their own. I don't use them because they have no other app. in my shop that can't be addressed with HSS tools.
smt
I'll defer to experience.
OP asked about inserts. Assume he'll choose stick holders to suit app.
You highlighted 2 phrases of my response.
The HSS tools can be ground & honed to do anything.
We'd probably all be interested to see pix of the inserts that make your eyes pop.
One of the plastics type? With the big coved sides and sharp point?
Some good choices for anyone who doesn't grind their own. I don't use them because they have no other app. in my shop that can't be addressed with HSS tools.
smt
I don't grind. I use a 1/4 4 flute end mill to turn tenons these days . A lot stressful to the wood. Much cleaner cuts.
Heck, I use that to bore holes too .
That knife insert trumps anything in shoulder work.
Attachments
I'm wondering why you think you need sharper points?
In general, inserts designed to cut aluminum are recommended for hardwoods.
HTH
Gary
Thanks for the help I have a tool grinder.I was just looking for more options because the carbide inserts I have are not pointed enough for shoulders. I guess hss is the best for me, thanks.
What do you call the tool used to dress the hss lathe tool.
You're using the wrong inserts. If you take the time to learn about inserts and how they're cataloged you'll find there are some that are razor sharp that can be used for cutting wood with an extremely small radius on the tips. They will shave wood like an apple peeler if you've chosen the correct ones. I use several insert shapes and radiuses depending on what the application calls for.
I guess I will try and one with the small radius and also use hss. Thanks
If you want to sharpen HSS a aluminum oxide wheel works well. I have a 8" bench grinder with one aluminum oxide wheel and one CBN grinding wheel.
I have the one from Chris where do I find larger one larger one or longer one. Thanks
I'm more of an observer here not building cues so can only speak to carbide and steel in general.
Carbide does not provide a cleaner cut than steel provided the hardness of the steel, keenness of the edge, and geometry of the tool matches the operation and material being worked on. This is where carbide might be more than good enough and make sense in ease of maintenance and longevity. So long as you don't risk breaking the tip, you could use a tool suboptimal for the task and get the results you need. Fewer tools and tool changes sound pretty compelling as reasons to go carbide, but the reasons in reality it works better for you might be related to knowledge of selecting the right tool (and how to use it properly), quality of the steel, accuracy of the grind and sharpening, etc. Steel is only ever going to be as good as its heat treat/temper, so I've learned to stop trying to save money by tuning up cheap tools. With enough effort, you can get just about any piece of crap preforming well for an appropriate application, but If it's not going to keep an edge or chip on you, you've ended up wasting both time and money.
Carbide does not provide a cleaner cut than steel provided the hardness of the steel, keenness of the edge, and geometry of the tool matches the operation and material being worked on. This is where carbide might be more than good enough and make sense in ease of maintenance and longevity. So long as you don't risk breaking the tip, you could use a tool suboptimal for the task and get the results you need. Fewer tools and tool changes sound pretty compelling as reasons to go carbide, but the reasons in reality it works better for you might be related to knowledge of selecting the right tool (and how to use it properly), quality of the steel, accuracy of the grind and sharpening, etc. Steel is only ever going to be as good as its heat treat/temper, so I've learned to stop trying to save money by tuning up cheap tools. With enough effort, you can get just about any piece of crap preforming well for an appropriate application, but If it's not going to keep an edge or chip on you, you've ended up wasting both time and money.
While I do agree that a good grade of hss is very good, few now know how to properly sharpen and hone an edge. That aside, there are now very fine grain carbide grades now that will hone to an edge sharper than that achievable for hss. These inserts are used in the plastic seal turning industry, and are extremely sharp. So sharp, you can not rub your finger on the edge without being cut. Iscar in Israel make these special inserts. Maybe there are other companies also making the super sharp inserts for the seal industry as well.
In general , to use on woods and most plastics, get the ground inserts, will have a G in the code, like a CCGT Rhomboid ground insert , or TNGG Triangle ground insert.
In general , to use on woods and most plastics, get the ground inserts, will have a G in the code, like a CCGT Rhomboid ground insert , or TNGG Triangle ground insert.
Carbide inserts.........
You'll be hard pressed to get a better cut with anything for the work we are doing. This is on a piece of BE maple. If it's cutting this good on maple you can only imagine how ebony or a dalbergia will shave off.
Granted, I have some custom grinds in 5% cobalt blanks for specific profiles but I only wish I had I had all the hours back standing in front of grinding wheel making facing and tenon cutters.
If you feel you would need a sharper inside corner, a single edge razor blade would do the trick in about 5-10 seconds. But in my experience that inside corner is well enough for either linen or leather in a wrap channel.
This particular insert has about a month of cutting on the same point and is still going strong. Phenolic will make you change out more often but they'll last a long time in wood.
These are inexpensive Korloy inserts that can be had for $1-1.25ea if you have good shopping skills. :wink:
Last edited:
Looks like TCGT inserts.
Carbide inserts.........
You'll be hard pressed to get a better cut with anything for the work we are doing. This is on a piece of BE maple. If it's cutting this good on maple you can only imagine how ebony or a dalbergia will shave off.
Granted, I have some custom grinds in 5% cobalt blanks for specific profiles but I only wish I had I had all the hours back standing in front of grinding wheel making facing and tenon cutters.
If you feel you would need a sharper inside corner, a single edge razor blade would do the trick in about 5-10 seconds. But in my experience that inside corner is well enough for either linen or leather in a wrap channel.
This particular insert has about a month of cutting on the same point and is still going strong. Phenolic will make you change out more often but they'll last a long time in wood.
These are inexpensive Korloy inserts that can be had for $1-1.25ea if you have good shopping skills. :wink:
They come in different corner radius too.
Or is that radii .
Joey~My English needs more learnin'~