Hss Or Carbide?
- Thread starter gluton1
- Start date
Hss cuts cleaner right out of the box. I mostly use carbide and I hand grind it on a diamond wheel to get a cleaner & sharper edge. Once reground I cannot tell a diffrence between the two other than the edge lasts longer on carbide.
I agree with Chris. Carbide is fine for turning wood like we do and it stays shart for a very long time.
Good Cuemaking,
Good Cuemaking,
I use alot of HSS. It is cheap, easy to grind and sharpen, and will give a very good finish.
With carbide, you realy need a diamond lap or wheel to correctly sharpen carbide. Neither of the 2 are cheap or easy to buy.
I like HSS for making shaped or form tools.
If you have a low HP lathe, the hss will cut better than most carbide tools, except for the carbide with the Aluminum geometry.
If you are a hobby cue maker , HSS is great.
If you are a cuemaker, and it is your buisness, then you will be better off with carbide and buying a lap or what ever you are wanting to use to keep the carbide sharp.
If you are buying carbide stock, look for the lowest number in reference to the grain. 1 or 2 micrograin is much superior for holding a sharp edge than 4 or 5.
The majority of balnks I have seen are either 3 or 4.
Kobelco make their milling cutters out of 1 grade carbide. They do not sell blanks. I make my turning tools from broken endmills. These home-made tools last much longer than a tool made from a 4 grade carbide blank.
The grade 1 - 5 is from the companies that make the metal powders , which are used in the making of the carbide. The lower the number the smaller the average grain size,and higher the cost. 1 grade powder is about 3 times the price of 4 grade powder.
A 1 grade carbide will hold an edge just as sharp as HSS.
The sharpest of edges, still comes from a high carbon steel, not HSS.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Neil
With carbide, you realy need a diamond lap or wheel to correctly sharpen carbide. Neither of the 2 are cheap or easy to buy.
I like HSS for making shaped or form tools.
If you have a low HP lathe, the hss will cut better than most carbide tools, except for the carbide with the Aluminum geometry.
If you are a hobby cue maker , HSS is great.
If you are a cuemaker, and it is your buisness, then you will be better off with carbide and buying a lap or what ever you are wanting to use to keep the carbide sharp.
If you are buying carbide stock, look for the lowest number in reference to the grain. 1 or 2 micrograin is much superior for holding a sharp edge than 4 or 5.
The majority of balnks I have seen are either 3 or 4.
Kobelco make their milling cutters out of 1 grade carbide. They do not sell blanks. I make my turning tools from broken endmills. These home-made tools last much longer than a tool made from a 4 grade carbide blank.
The grade 1 - 5 is from the companies that make the metal powders , which are used in the making of the carbide. The lower the number the smaller the average grain size,and higher the cost. 1 grade powder is about 3 times the price of 4 grade powder.
A 1 grade carbide will hold an edge just as sharp as HSS.
The sharpest of edges, still comes from a high carbon steel, not HSS.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Neil