Lathe cutting tools

[Wayne1984]

Morning all,

Kurt very kindly activated me this morning (hrm makes me sound robotic) and I ve been pouring through the forum, however I can't seem to find any info on which cutting tools people are using with their metal lathes.

Would really appreciate any replies, (or even photos if people are keen of the bits as I am having a hell of a time getting my HSS to preform nicely.

Anyways have a good day, looking forward to your replies,


Wayne

[Alden]

HSS is what you want, but it needs to be very sharp.
This set is not ideal, but it will give you some useful bits at a pretty decent price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110791891301?ss ... 1423.l2649

[Ocelot55]

Excellent link! Thanks Ryan! I don't have a bench grinder yet and a severe shortage of good cutting tools.

[caskwith]

A set like that will not be very useful. Better instead to buy some second hand HSS bits on ebay and a bench grinder. As you progress into more complicated shapes and more efficient production you will find you need to grind special custom bits anyway.

The most basic tool you will need is a right hand turning tool. You can see how to grind one here, increase the rake angle a little for briar and ebonite however as you want more of a slicing action and the radius on the nose. The most important thing after grinding is to hone the tool to a fine edge, this can with done with a simple sharpening stone but as you progress you may find you want a powered waterstone. I use a tormek and it does a fine job of putting a razor edge on all my tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDr4rYLiAk

[Wayne1984]

Thanks for your replies, that video was really good, explained the grinding process well. I'll have to get back to the grind stone and mark up a new bit of HSS stock.

Wayne