pipemakersforum.com

Hi All

As the title says I'm after a Ken Lamb drill bit with the Cutty profile. Ideally 13/16 but I'll consider other sizes.
Any offers gratefully received!

Regards
E

Not trying to discourage a sale, but you can make your own easily with a bench grinder.

andrew

A bit beyond my skill. I can sharpen my turning tools and that's about it!

If you are drilling first just get a spade bit and grind it down on belt or disc sander then sharpen on grinder. It takes only a few minutes. If you are drilling after shaping, the J. Alan bits are much better than the Lamb bits, and are readily available from PME and VF.

I actually am interested in those J. Alan spoon bits, but that would be a whole new approach for for me...
I've used ground spade bits before and they just don't do it for me. I suspect the spade bits I've used probably needed sharpening, but I'm just not very handy in that area. So my best results have come from Ken Lambs bits.

Hints and tips always welcome though.

Cheers
E

If you're drilling first, grind your own. I understand not being handy in that area. I'm not naturally inclined in that area either. However, developing that skill will serve you far better than just purchasing an expensive tool.

Take it from someone who couldn't cut a bit to save his life and after practice can cut a great chamber bit ground from a spade bit.

Buy five of these and ruin a few of them to teach yourself the skill. You won't regret it.

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You've inspired me to fix my Ken Lamb spoon bits. They came pretty dull and don't cut well as they are. I have some steel drill rods to make my own, but haven't been able to reduce the shank on my lathe yet. I think I air hardened the steel.

But I do recommend making your own chamber bits. And lathe tools.

One of the most important skills to develop for a pipemaker is proper shaping and sharpening techniques for tools. It is an easy skill to develop with practice and research. I am still not sure what type of bit you are looking for:

Silver Deming that is profiled with a taper or one of Lamb's spoon bits with a taper?

If the Silver deming, the lamb bit is made very well and worth the money, but good luck getting in contact with him. I would grind my own on a belt sander then hone on the grinder. If you really do not want to shape it yourself, just buy a S&D bit and find a local machinist or handy man to grind the profile for you.

If the Spoon bits, the lamb bits that I bought are just not very safe and they do not cut very well. With a little grinding and shaping, they may turn out alright.

I apologize if this next question and statement sounds rough but here it goes. How can you expect to make a nice pipe without knowing and learning how to shape and sharpen your tools properly? Shaping and sharpening tools should be the first thing you learn to do before even making a pipe.

Almost all of my cutting tools (except for standard drill bits) have been re-shaped and they are sharpened on a daily basis.

Premal's question is a good rhetorical question that one should ask themselves and is the reason I recommend leaning how. I sharpen my cutting tools a few times on a weekly basis and am still learning to do it better.

Creating and sharpening your own tools is one of the most important skills I'm developing. Saves tons, and I do mean TONS, of time once you know how.

Only way to learn is to do it.

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I have been working through remaking my lathe tools and find that a properly aligned and sharpened bit saves a ton of sanding later. It use to take me an hour or more to turn a tenon. Now it takes me 2 minutes to sharpen my tools and about 10 to 15 minutes from rough shape to polished tenon.

Now to learn how to sharpen drill bits other than the spade bit. Maybe I should open a new thread for this, though.

Im in the same boat. I didn't sharpen my lathe tools at all for the first year. I spent hours and hours shattering acrylic, chasing grain tear out by hand sanding, and ripping grain out with dull spade bits. Now I spend about 5 mins. sharpening/honing the tools I know I will use every time I start a pipe. You can buy A lot of premade expensive tooling for pipemaking. I usually buy one of something premade and replicate it as I need more. That would be my advise. Buy one spoon/spade/s&d bit and duplicate it in the sizes you want. It's intimidating at first, but so is every other process in pipemaking.