jackie schmidt
New member
One of these days Gunsmithing will get out of the stone ages.........jackie
One of these days Gunsmithing will get out of the stone ages.........jackie
On my SB 13" Lathe I've used HSS blades on the old Rocker toolpost at the slowest backgeared speed. No problems, but slow as hell......
There's also something to be said about those old SouthBend spindle bearings. Solid!
It can be a B****. The hss blades are a bomb looking for a fool waiting to pick it up. When that was the only way, you bought them by the dozens. Yes, inverting the blade to allow the cutting process to be reversed does really work quite well. I have parted off 6" dia. rounds this way. Why does it work? Don't know, but it does. It is not even close to what can be done with the likes of Iscar, and others that a chip forming carbide. The depression in the top face of the insert forms the chip to have a varied cross section which causes the chip to narrow, and eliminate friction between the chip and the groove. Now to the subject of feeds and speeds. Consult various sites, as to grades and coatings that match your applications, as well as the recommendations of surface speeds RPM= (4*CS)/DIA. Then increase the feed rate to get the chips to break as "c's" I prefer to place the coolant or oil on the back side of the groove to allow it to make the bottom of the groove. On large dia. pieces, you may need to increase the RPM as the dia. and the surface speed decrease together.
DO NOT stand in front of the groove to watch the show!! That is where the fecal material will come from the fan.
Regards,
Bob
Regards,
No Al,I would imagine that the reason cutting upsidedowney helps is because cutting conventionally you're lifting the chuck, unloading the bearings.
al
Parting tools are as many as burrs in a mules tail..... most are not very good....I use an Aloris carbide insert unit.Best I`ve used.... even so.... it must be set-up carefully.....just a touch... below center....
Most people run parting tools way to slow.... and the chips build up in cut-off groove......that`s what causes the problem...............then snap.....
A combination of feed/speed and tool tip chip curler all have to be co-ordinated to get chips outa groove....
bill larson
No Al,
I think you'll find it's the chips caught in the groove that kill the tools. Doing it upside down makes gravity help with getting rid of the chips.
As for the cutting upside down thing, we do quite a bit of "upside down" machining.
Especially when boring with quite a bit of bar overhang. In fact, when machining large bronze bushings, that could be as long as 20 inches, the usual procedure is to put the tool on the backside, upside down. Of course, the bars we use on a bushing this size is 5 inches in diameter.
The main advantage is it keeps the bar from digging in when it trys to flex. I think it is the same theory that says it is easier to pull something than to push it.
Experienced Machinist learn all sorts of tricks that allows one to make the most of the tooling on hand. It's all in a days work.
A couple of years ago, I posted some pics of a outside boring job where I bored some huge Dredge Boat Stantions that were 45 inches in diameter. I did the job with out 4 inch portable boring bar. It took some rather creative thinking on the set-up, but it goes to show what you can do with a little thought...........jackie
Just curious as to what type of cut off tools you fellas prefer? I have killed two of my dads kennametal cut off tools, and i really dont know why, or how i did this. I must have not been 100% square to my work?? Anyway, i will replace these tools for him, but i think i may try and find a different alternative for myself. His cut off tools were " notice i say were" insert v type tools. I ripped the hole dam head right off the small one. Heck it was even cutting good right before it happened. I was going slow as well. 60rpm to be exact. i dont know what happened!! I just dont care for that type of tool, and i would like something a bit more robust. Any ideas? lee
Anyone who can do cut-offs without snapping off tools has my undying respect and admiration. When Al Gore invented the lathe I don't think he included cut offs as one of the functions.
I use my lathe ever chance i get and i can see were this little machine is lacking in rigidity. Actually it has me concerned a bit. I have often thought about replacing the junk stand this lathe sits on, but even at that i am not sure anything will improve? I am a fairly good welder and it wouldn't take much to make a good strong stand out of steel. I just dont want to throw good money to bad. Perhaps its best left alone?
Lee