Tooling Blank Source?

[ACHiPo]

I'd like to get some 3/8" x 3/8" HSS tooling blanks. The US-made ones from MSC are pretty expensive. I've found some Chinese blanks for what seems to be a too-good-to-be-true price of ~$1@ for a lot of 50. Does anyone have experience with Chinese tool steel? What other options are there for tooling blanks that won't break the bank?

 

[kvom]

Shars sells that size for $2.75 each.

 

[RM-MN]

I bought some off Ebay. Do your due diligence before you spend the money. Look for ones with cobalt mentioned in the alloy. It will get you a better, longer lasting steel.

China is quite capable of making good quality lathe bit blanks. They also are quite capable of selling junk.

 

[ACHiPo]

I bought some off Ebay. Do your due diligence before you spend the money. Look for ones with cobalt mentioned in the alloy. It will get you a better, longer lasting steel.

China is quite capable of making good quality lathe bit blanks. They also are quite capable of selling junk.

Agreed. My skepticism is just mentioning cobalt doesn't mean the alloy actually contains it, or that it's fabricated at the right temperature to give the desired properties. My guess is that the Chinese tools are ok at worst, and quite good at best. At a buck a piece, maybe it's worth the gamble.

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Guys,

I agree about the quality of Chinese tool steel blanks ! There is a lot of rubbish palmed off on the unsuspecting.

I've picked up a good bit of tool steel in scrap yards. Mainly lathe and saw tools. A lot of engineering firms also throw out a fair amount of damaged or disused tooling simply because it is cheaper to replace than repair it. Though with the use of carbide tooling this is becoming less common.

 

[tornitore45]

China is quite capable of making good quality lathe bit blanks. They also are quite capable of selling junk.

True, but is difficult to find the nuggets in the sea pf junk.

As far as cutting tools I have written off China unless I plan to use only on aluminum and expect low life.

I had late blanks abrade away like I was turning a grinding wheel.

 

[Wizard69]

There is Warner in Latrobe PA. They actually sell HSS insert tooling but i believe they also have tool blanks.

As for MSC you only buy from them when you have no choice. They seem to run a scam common with industrial suppliers where you get a 75% multiplier if you open an account with them. If you have to buy from them buy from their discounted "sales" catalogs or web specials.

As for other suppliers you can try Travers, McMaster-Carr, DXP, and a whole bunch of other national or semi national suppliers. Looking for local suppliers isn't a bad idea either as you can still find mom & pop shops supplying the machining industry.

Your next stop ought to be the established Chinese importers which hopefully have audited what they import for quality. As mentioned earlier Chinese quality is all over the place, so you either need to experiment with potential suppliers ir trust somebody that has done the experimentation for you.

As for that price of a $1 each for a lot of 50 that sounds like wholesale prices from one of the business to business sites. The problem here though is what do you do with a lot if 50. I can find lots of stuff at good prices on these wholesale sites but who needs 5 identical welders or a shipping container full of bench grinders. Not to mention are the hassles with importing all of that junk. You would almost certainly be better off taking that $50+ dollars and spending it on a variety of tools from MSC.

There is one last option and that is Chinese retailers that can sell in small quantities. You still have the issue if recognizing the quality brand names and then waiting weeks for shipment. You can however use the experiences of others to go this route in selecting vendors and manufactures.

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One comment here though, HSS steel even at MSC's retail rates is a bargain. This is probably the last place id try to save money by going cheap. HSS tool blanks basically last forever in a home shop and frankly it doesn't cost much to stock a couple of blanks for the special cutter jam we sometimes need to get out of. Your question actually has me wondering how many blanks do you think you need? Initially i don't see a need for much more than 5 blanks. In any event i just think it is a big mistake to cut corners here especially when HSS will be some of the cheapest tooling you will ever buy.

Some other points. Don't buy new!!!!! For my home shop i have bought very little in the way of new HSS blanks! Most of what i have on hand at the moment came from auctions, a good portion from Cabin Fever. It isn't uncommon to score a box of HSS for 10-20 dollars! Often you get top grade HSS and generally HSS with lots of life still in it. A side benefit is that they are often pre-ground to usable forms. In the end getting HSS for pennies on the dollar works out well.

Another point here is somewhat dependent upon your machinery and the materials you work with, but going to smaller cross sectional area, that is smaller than 3/8 x 3/8 can save you money. How well this works out depends upon your ability to keep the HSS steel close to tool post for max support. In the end though the steel is cheaper. Another side benefit is that small diameter tooling is easier to sharpen.

I'd like to get some 3/8" x 3/8" HSS tooling blanks. The US-made ones from MSC are pretty expensive. I've found some Chinese blanks for what seems to be a too-good-to-be-true price of ~$1@ for a lot of 50. Does anyone have experience with Chinese tool steel? What other options are there for tooling blanks that won't break the bank?

 

[abby]

A fly cutter I purchased came with a piece of Chinese made HSS , this lost it's edge very quickly and after regrinding two or three times I chucked it in the bin and used a piece of cleveland HSS which is still in use.
However I agree with wizard , in over 50 years I have had very little cause to use new HSS blanks , used tools often have the shape you require almost formed and only a small amount of grinding is required.
If buying used tooling from sites such as Ebay make sure that the tools are long enough to be clamped in your toolpost , and you may find your purchase has some stellite tools included , these can be difficult to grind.
Dan.

 

[ACHiPo]

I just bought about a dozen used USA cobalt blanks off eBay for $25. Should hold me for a while.

 

[Wizard69]

I might add one other possible source of used stuff and that is antique stores. Often the dealers are buying from home sales or auctions and thus from time to time a lot of machinist tooling turns up. Often at very good prices.

Which leads to one other potential source of all sorts of tooling and that is estate sales. In one case i arrived very early in the morning but yet too late to a sale of an estate owned by a former tool and die maker. The shop, a basement, was literally crammed with tooling to the point that only narrow rows existed to navigate the room. A beautiful metal lathe, wood working machinery and all sorts of tooling was sold before i even arrived. Obviously not all estate sales are like this but if the sales list tools GO as you never know what sort of tools they are talking about. In this case the ad was composed of about three lines in the news paper ad and the only hint was one word "tools".