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Found what I needed, thanks.
Found what I needed, thanks.
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I have the Harbor Freight 1/2" holder set, and am very happy with them. They are just as good as any others I've seen for more money.
Dave
The Harbor Freight set is garbage. I just bought it, just to see. I took 2 light cuts in Delrin and the screw snapped off. Not surprised it comes with a handful of replacement screws.
I found some quality tools that I ordered and should be here next week.
I have 2 sets of the 1/4" holders, and one of the 1/2" holders and can say with all confidence, I've cut phenolic, G10, steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminum, Delrin, every ferrule material from Atlas, and a shit ton of wood, and not had a screw break. Maybe I've been lucky, or you had a bad item, or the screw wasn't tightened properly before cutting, don't know, but for what it's worth, their cutting inserts aren't great, but replacing them with good ones, they fit just right with no issues. Also the 3/8" holders I bought years ago from Enco came with a lot of replacement screws also.....so...does that mean they are garbage also???
Dave
I have 2 sets of the 1/4" holders, and one of the 1/2" holders and can say with all confidence, I've cut phenolic, G10, steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminum, Delrin, every ferrule material from Atlas, and a shit ton of wood, and not had a screw break. Maybe I've been lucky, or you had a bad item, or the screw wasn't tightened properly before cutting, don't know, but for what it's worth, their cutting inserts aren't great, but replacing them with good ones, they fit just right with no issues. Also the 3/8" holders I bought years ago from Enco came with a lot of replacement screws also.....so...does that mean they are garbage also???
Dave
For what it's worth, I tried to return the HF set, but they wanted me to sign up for newsletters and things like that, so I just said screw it and kept them. I figured I'd find a way to make them useful for something.
When I drilled out the broken screw, what I found was that the holes were not deburred well. Maybe they missed a chamfering step? I don't know. All of them were like that. It's a tiny burr, but it's more than enough to keep the insert from seating. After I deburred them, the inserts still don't fit as nicely as they do in the holder I linked to, but they do seem to fit well enough to be usable.
Anyhow, I just wanted to follow up with what I found. Maybe it will help someone that has a similar issue. It's nice having the different tools and just paying couple of bucks for them.![]()
So just so I'm sure I have this right, you were able to use the inserts you linked on the 1/4" tool holders you bought from Harbor Freight? I've never been sure if these 3/8" inserts would fit or not. I have a set that are several years old and do not have the troubles you describe.
I haven't tried the new inserts in the HF tool holders, but that should be the correct size insert, assuming they haven't done some other stupid thing that keeps them from fitting. The insert I linked to is very sharp and will cut wood much better than the stock HF insert.
Sounds like you are all set but if your still looking for a good holder give these a look, they are made very good IMO.
http://www.shars.com/3-8-indexable-carbide-turning-tool-set