Hi everyone,
I think this might be my first post on this section of the site
So... I'm getting a lathe now (chair)
I have decided on the Grizzly G0709. It is a 14 X 40. Grizzly sells it as a "Gunsmith's Gearhead Lathe." It got some reasonable comments over the net. At some point in the future I might convert it to CNC, though an unknown amount of part swapping may need to take place. But that is probably a year away (famous last words).
On the lathe itself, I'll be pulling the trigger tomorrow night.
In the past I got my feet wet with CNC milling, but this is my first "lathing" experience. I'll be more careful with the lathe, so no crash videos on youtube this time
So yes... the tooling...
I like tools. One of my prized ones is an Albrecht chuck (R8). For what I do, home shop, I could manage with a generic import, but there is a certain pride and pleasure in owning and using tools of that quality. I do the roughing on my milling with US made Hanita clones. I like having a few higher end SGS end mills, etc, etc. Generally I do not buy "imports" tooling, though there have been exceptions.
With that in mind I'm looking to spend about $200-$300 on new tooling and inserts to welcome my baby.
It comes with a 200 series quick change tool post and a 1/2" MT#3 drill chuck. I already have (long story) a generic 7 piece set of indexable tools in 3/4" (product code 404-1054 from Shars). The 200 series post only takes up to 5/8", but I'll be getting a pair of extra tool holders and mill them down so that the 3/4" will fit. The tech support guy at Grizzly said that there is enough material in the holder for that. That is the extent of my tooling at this point. I do not have extra inserts or anything else. Well I do have a generic set of 3/4" boring bars, but these would not last very long if I really start to use them.
I stopped by carbidedepot.com (where I get most of my end mills) and noticed that brand name holders start at about $50-60 and inserts at around $10. Did not check eBay, but I presume that if I knew what I wanted I might be able to get some stuff from there too. However, since I'm a total newbie I'm not even sure what shapes of holders/inserts would be likely to see the most use.
- I know I probably would like a nice parting tool, but I'm not even sure if I should be going for a indexable tool for that, or sticking with plain HSS.
- I probably would like a couple of "special occasion" tools/inserts that would give me the best finish I can get with the machine...
- I do not know how much threading I'll be doing. Of the projects I have in mind threading does not play a big part. But threading is cool too.
- I suppose a couple of smaller holders (1/2" ?) to get where the 3/4" can not.
- I would also be turning some hot rolled, so I'm not sure what is the best strategy to handle the scaling as far as tooling goes.
- I'm not big on grinding my own tools. I would rather use inserts unless we are talking very simple grinding.
- I'm not sure if it is worth to spend on brand name inserts for that 3/4" set.
So as you can see I'm a little bit lost. Yet I would like to welcome my lathe with a few nice tooling pieces.
Ideas? Suggestions?
BTW, I'll be turning mostly mild steel, some aluminum, and on occasion plastics and an odd piece of copper or two.
Thanks!