carbide inserts where are you buying them
- Thread starter packrat
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Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:
In past I only used inserts.
Now I just HS for most work. The cost became to high. Now I only use carbide for hard steel.
I only use grade C5 or C6 they will hold up for most work.
I look at carbide cutter how long they carbide lasted .
The cost carbide was going up & up and did seem like lasting any longer than end mills.
They work best for hard steel . I still have lot inserts but rarely use them today.
If I look for inserts I go-to Amazon
Dave
Now I just HS for most work. The cost became to high. Now I only use carbide for hard steel.
I only use grade C5 or C6 they will hold up for most work.
I look at carbide cutter how long they carbide lasted .
The cost carbide was going up & up and did seem like lasting any longer than end mills.
They work best for hard steel . I still have lot inserts but rarely use them today.
If I look for inserts I go-to Amazon
Dave
I bought the last batch here: Inserts For Sale | Carbide Depot Shop Online Have not bought any in years so cannot comment on current prices.
WOB
WOB
I have in the past used many different carbide inserts, made my own holders, and bought most of my tips and some holders direct from China. Have a look on Bangood or Alibaba,
For general lathe work, I have returned to HSS cutters which if ground carefully can produce a good result and are easily resharpened. The HSS solution is certainly more economical.
Good Luck
For general lathe work, I have returned to HSS cutters which if ground carefully can produce a good result and are easily resharpened. The HSS solution is certainly more economical.
Good Luck
grahamgollar
Well-Known Member
Cutwel in Blighty have the biggest and best selection of inserts of all configurations of sizes and materials at prices that won't raise your blood pressure. Each group of inserts is accompanied by recommendations for use i.e. mild steel, non ferous or exotics etc. web address:-
www.cutwel.co.uk
www.cutwel.co.uk
I've purchased from Lathe Inserts with complete satisfaction. latheinserts.com They do have some T series inserts for the generic toolholders most of us have at least a few of, more in the C and D series. They aren't the place to go if you find $2 to $4 per tip ($5 per insert and up) overpriced, but for folks that feel that is too pricey I'd really suggest sticking with HSS and learning to grind and hone really well. The $2 a piece triangular inserts haven't been worth using for many years, and back then odds are they were as expensive in todays dollars. The polished inserts for aluminum are really excellent if you do a lot of boring.
I have several toolholders from Lathe Inserts as well, excellent quality stuff at lower cost than the big name folks.
Carbide Depot, already mentioned above, is a good vendor.
KBCTools is another good vendor, particularly if you catch a sale on the inserts for your tooling.
MSCDirect is good for many inserts, although they tend to focus on the Valenite, Kennemetal, Iscar, and other name brand higher cost inserts.
If you are using a small lathe with lower power you may find HSS is far better than carbide. Many hobby folks don't cut aggressively enough, and HSS will put up with sneaking up on each final dimension.
Carbide tooling and how folks perceive it is interesting. When I had a clock restoration business, other clock guys would ask how to handle replacing pivots on clocks with hard arbors. I'd advise using MA Ford or other name brand straight flute solid carbide drills, which cost around $18 to $20 in the sizes we are talking. With care, I could repivot 4 to 6 hardened steel arbors before tossing the drill. Some would totally freak out about paying $20 for a single drill bit. We have a $500 to $5000 clock on the bench. We have many hundreds to thousands of dollars in lathe and workholding. The average cost to replace a single pivot from a horological machinist or EDM shop is $50 and up. We are charging for our work. BUT a $20 dollar cutting tool is just silly to spend money on. Go figure...
If you have only used carbide that came with five toolholders and 10 inserts for $35, you haven't used good carbide. Sorry, but that's the world of carbide. Put a $5 to $8 insert in one of those tools and you may see a difference, assuming the toolholder has a correctly machined pocket. Carbide MUST cut to work well, none of those 0.0005 dust passes or the results will be disappointing.
If you have had only poor results from carbide in the 9 inch or smaller lathe sizes, treat yourself to a 1/4 inch Micro100 brazed carbide tool. It's around $11. That is a tool that will show you what very good to excellent carbide can do on a small machine.
The last time I knew of a really cheap consistent source of excellent inserts was 20+ years ago when Travers Tool house brand inserts were made by Kyocera. Haven't seen those deals in a long time. A good quality insert used correctly will outlast a cheap insert several times over, while giving a better finish. Cheap good carbide is really hard to find, but good values in carbide do exist. As Warren Buffet puts it so clearly, "Price is what you pay, value is what you get."
Cheers,
Stan
I have several toolholders from Lathe Inserts as well, excellent quality stuff at lower cost than the big name folks.
Carbide Depot, already mentioned above, is a good vendor.
KBCTools is another good vendor, particularly if you catch a sale on the inserts for your tooling.
MSCDirect is good for many inserts, although they tend to focus on the Valenite, Kennemetal, Iscar, and other name brand higher cost inserts.
If you are using a small lathe with lower power you may find HSS is far better than carbide. Many hobby folks don't cut aggressively enough, and HSS will put up with sneaking up on each final dimension.
Carbide tooling and how folks perceive it is interesting. When I had a clock restoration business, other clock guys would ask how to handle replacing pivots on clocks with hard arbors. I'd advise using MA Ford or other name brand straight flute solid carbide drills, which cost around $18 to $20 in the sizes we are talking. With care, I could repivot 4 to 6 hardened steel arbors before tossing the drill. Some would totally freak out about paying $20 for a single drill bit. We have a $500 to $5000 clock on the bench. We have many hundreds to thousands of dollars in lathe and workholding. The average cost to replace a single pivot from a horological machinist or EDM shop is $50 and up. We are charging for our work. BUT a $20 dollar cutting tool is just silly to spend money on. Go figure...
If you have only used carbide that came with five toolholders and 10 inserts for $35, you haven't used good carbide. Sorry, but that's the world of carbide. Put a $5 to $8 insert in one of those tools and you may see a difference, assuming the toolholder has a correctly machined pocket. Carbide MUST cut to work well, none of those 0.0005 dust passes or the results will be disappointing.
If you have had only poor results from carbide in the 9 inch or smaller lathe sizes, treat yourself to a 1/4 inch Micro100 brazed carbide tool. It's around $11. That is a tool that will show you what very good to excellent carbide can do on a small machine.
The last time I knew of a really cheap consistent source of excellent inserts was 20+ years ago when Travers Tool house brand inserts were made by Kyocera. Haven't seen those deals in a long time. A good quality insert used correctly will outlast a cheap insert several times over, while giving a better finish. Cheap good carbide is really hard to find, but good values in carbide do exist. As Warren Buffet puts it so clearly, "Price is what you pay, value is what you get."
Cheers,
Stan
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