If you had a choice....

itsjustjay

itsjustjay

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
(1/4", 5/8" or 3/8") carbide lathe bits, say a set of 10 with a good mix of profiles.

One set is the standard China/Taiwan found on ebay or any machine tool dealer for approx 15.00 dollars.

The other set is the same except there old stock USA made (from a good company at the time, ex: Cleaveland or Morse Tool Co.) for 30.00 dollars.

Both are new but the USA ones were more then likely made in the 50's.

Which set would you buy?
 
itsjustjay said:
(1/4", 5/8" or 3/8") carbide lathe bits, say a set of 10 with a good mix of profiles.

One set is the standard China/Taiwan found on ebay or any machine tool dealer for approx 15.00 dollars.

The other set is the same except there old stock USA made (from a good company at the time, ex: Cleaveland or Morse Tool Co.) for 30.00 dollars.

Both are new but the USA ones were more then likely made in the 50's.

Which set would you buy?
Click to expand...

I doubt seriously that I would use a chines router bit if it were free with free replacements. There are many grades of carbide, the finer the grade - the sharper the bit can be sharpened. I wouldn't trust the brazed connections on Chinese bits either.

Dick
 
I would buy the USA made.
You get what you pay for.
But the cheap bits have junk carbide.
Especially the import stuff.
Neil
 
I agree with you. I have heard a few horror stories with high speed tools and a broken off flying chip of carbide.

Is there a source for new USA bits? I only checked a few companies but they all seem to be imports.
 
MSC sells very nice tooling at good prices. May try them, they carry many kinds of tooling needs. There catalog is like 4 inches thick!
Jim Lee
 
itsjustjay said:
(1/4", 5/8" or 3/8") carbide lathe bits, say a set of 10 with a good mix of profiles.

One set is the standard China/Taiwan found on ebay or any machine tool dealer for approx 15.00 dollars.

The other set is the same except there old stock USA made (from a good company at the time, ex: Cleaveland or Morse Tool Co.) for 30.00 dollars.

Both are new but the USA ones were more then likely made in the 50's.

Which set would you buy?
Click to expand...
My $0.02 they don't make things like they used to.
 
J&D CUSTOMS said:
MSC sells very nice tooling at good prices. May try them, they carry many kinds of tooling needs. There catalog is like 4 inches thick!
Jim Lee
Click to expand...


Thanks, just the type of web site I was looking for. It seems there USA bits average between 5.50-8.50 per bit so the old stock set above is a fairly good deal.
 
Depending on what you are cutting, and assuming that you are refering to lathe tool bits, why not get some HSS bits and grind your own profiles ? It is a good learning experience, and you can regrind them easily when needed.

Dave
 
itsjustjay said:
(1/4", 5/8" or 3/8") carbide lathe bits, say a set of 10 with a good mix of profiles.

One set is the standard China/Taiwan found on ebay or any machine tool dealer for approx 15.00 dollars.

The other set is the same except there old stock USA made (from a good company at the time, ex: Cleaveland or Morse Tool Co.) for 30.00 dollars.

Both are new but the USA ones were more then likely made in the 50's.

Which set would you buy?
Click to expand...

http://www.taigtools.com/c1095.html

or http://www.mcmaster.com/ Catalog page 2463
 
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