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plogue
16th July 2015, 07:37 PM
I'm toying with the idea of making my own turning chisels, using 12m.m. square mild steel bar and carbide steel cutters. Where do I buy the steel bar, an approximate length per chisel, and where do I buy the carbide cutters from? Any technical details re the steel and cutters, and the tapping device for the screws to fix the cutters to the mild steel would be appreciated.
Thank you

Pat Logue.

issatree
16th July 2015, 08:09 PM
Hi Pat,
If you are going that way, then you will have to buy the correct wheels to sharpen them with.
Then you have to find a way of attaching them to the steel.
If you buy some HSS from McJings, it will be most likely half the price, cut better. They have a lot of different sizes, round, square & rectangular. They have a Catalogue somewhere on these Forums.
I now have about 14 pieces of this Steel, & I can't Fault it in any way.
From what I've heard Carbide is hard to Sharpen, can't get it as sharp as you wood like.

Treecycle
16th July 2015, 09:49 PM
You can get your carbide inserts from these places.
Pop's Shed (http://www.popsshed.com.au/Product_List.aspx?cid=26&scid=152)
Ebay (http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/azcarbide/m.html?ssPageName=&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2654)
Be careful if you go the Ebay path as the prices of the tips and shipping are in US dollars.
You will need to go to an Engineering supply place to get the taps for the screws that mount them onto the bar as they are a very small and uncommon thread.
Someone from your local area may be able to point you towards a steel supply place.

VikingCode
16th July 2015, 10:06 PM
I'll toot my own horn - my blog post (and video) has more details http://thewoodknight.com/carbide-chisels.html

I went with AZCarbide for my cutters as they come with the relevant machine screw. For the square bars, I went with stainless steel from ebay. If you go the stainless route, get some cutting/tapping fluid otherwise you'll have a really bad time cutting threads!

old1955
17th July 2015, 01:25 PM
Welcome to the forum Pat.

orraloon
17th July 2015, 05:06 PM
Welcome to the forum.
I think McJings will have all the things you need for that project. If you have the time to visit the shop it is an Aladdin's cave for the shed minded person.
Regards
John

https://mcjing.com.au/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

turnerted
17th July 2015, 05:46 PM
Pat I buy my mild steel for tool shafts from Edcon steel unit7/122 Milperra Rd Revesby . They will cut to size and sell any length . Sometimes you can pick up offcuts a cheap rate.Ted

Andrew LB
23rd July 2015, 05:49 PM
I'm in the process of finishing up making my own 3 tool set of carbide tipped cutters, partly because it's a good learning experience and mainly because they cost an insane amount of money at either of my local stores here in Southern California that carry wood turning tools (woodcraft and rockler).

The first two were made with hard maple handles roughly 14-16" (355-400mm) in length, 3/8" (10mm) square cold rolled steel bar stock, and the ferrules are made from copper pipe fittings that any hardware store should have. Getting the end that holds the cutter right was kind of tricky because the carbide cutter has to sit absolutely flat or it will break when used. For the square cutter mount I ground the end to roughly where I wanted it and followed up with a series of metal files, then managed to get it very flat using a series of diamond hones. The "Easy" brand cutters I used and the ones from AZCarbide that are compatible require a #4-40 tapped hole that's slightly countersunk. The tips designed for the larger 1/2" steel rods require a larger hole so make sure you tap the correct hole for the carbide tip series you're using.

here is how it turned out after finishing the handle with SolarLux NGR American Walnut dye and a few coats of lacquer.

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh485/AndrewKalionzes/Turning/th_Maple_Lathe_Tool_zpsrqvxnxc8.jpg (http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/AndrewKalionzes/media/Turning/Maple_Lathe_Tool_zpsrqvxnxc8.jpg.html)

The diamond profile cutter was made the same with careful grinding with a dremel and a diamond hone to finish it off. I don't have any photos of that right now.

The round cutter was a bit more tricky to get correct. to get that round profile I drilled it part way using my drill press and plenty of cutting oil followed by a "center-cut" 3-flute End Mill bit to square things off and get the nice round profile.

I decided to do change things up a big with this one and make the handle out of a piece of East Indian Rosewood I got at Woodcraft for $10usd and since I was going fancy with the handle, I decided to use gun-bluing (I'm a gunsmith) on the steel rod which gave it a nice deep black with a hint of blue in it. Here are some photos of the handle and rod. I plan on assembling it tomorrow.

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh485/AndrewKalionzes/Turning/th_Blued_Steel_zps9frqe0u9.jpg (http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/AndrewKalionzes/media/Turning/Blued_Steel_zps9frqe0u9.jpg.html)

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh485/AndrewKalionzes/Turning/th_EIRosewood_Handle_zpstxfbdqb1.jpg (http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/AndrewKalionzes/media/Turning/EIRosewood_Handle_zpstxfbdqb1.jpg.html)

I just signed up on this forum to see the photos in a long thread on putting variable speed dc motors on lathes that I found via google, and since I'm here I thought I might as well see if I can help anyone with projects I've done or am currently working on. You Aussies have a beautiful country that I'd love to visit one day. My cousin is there frequently because he's an editor for an American surfing magazine and he loves everything about it except for the plane flight. lol.

Sawdust Maker
23rd July 2015, 07:44 PM
Pat I buy my mild steel for tool shafts from Edcon steel unit7/122 Milperra Rd Revesby . They will cut to size and sell any length . Sometimes you can pick up offcuts a cheap rate.Ted

:whs:

I bought some stainless for the same purpose not long ago - playing with it using the mill down in the local men's shed

They also sell brass tubing in various diameters, grab about 12" worth of a couple of different sizes to make ferrules - heaps cheaper than buying ready made

Sawdust Maker
24th July 2015, 09:41 PM
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-quality-woodworking-lathe-machine-performance-annie-mastec?trk=mp-reader-card

and that's relevant because ??????