Thread: Left and Right Tool Holders

Ray
As a part answer, If you hold the tool holder with the front of the tool facing you, if it points to your right side its right handed and if its to the left its left handed. This means that when the holder is in the tool post, a right handed holder is bent towards the headstock and a left handed towards the tail stock. So you would use a left handed holder to get up to a shoulder near the chuck.

I can't comment on the threading tool holders as I have never used an insert threading tool but I was taught that you use what ever tool holder you had, that enabled you to get the job done as fast and accurately as possible.

I've never heard of (or thought of) an internal (boring bar) holder as being right or left handed.

bollie7

I cant help you out as I have no insert thread tooling.

I came across this a while back, which I thought was a good idea.
It's a threading, grooving, left hand, right hand, inside and outside, forward reverse threading tool. (wow that's a mouth full .lol)
Threading Tools : Mesa Tool

A few guys in the US have reported buying them and are happy with them.

Dave

Hi Dave, Bollie,

I think I have it figured out, I've ordered right-handed internal and external and I'll get some 55 and 60 degree inserts.

Still have no idea as to how the left handed internal threading tool holder would work, except if you ran the chuck in reverse?

I finally found what I was looking for in the black book, couldn't find it in Machinerys Handbook, I need a later edition I think.

Here it is for future reference.



And here is the boring bar names..


Regards
Ray

Hi Ray,
Thanks for that I will file it away for future use.
What do you think about the Mesa threading grooving tool? Looks versatile.
Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

Hi Ray,
What do you think about the Mesa threading grooving tool? Looks versatile.
Dave

Hi Dave,

They look like they do everything I could ever need. So... I went to order one with a few inserts, and guess what!

Got to the last stage of checkout and....

"Sorry, we are not shipping to your region at this time."

They just lost a customer!

Regards
Ray

Originally Posted by bollie7

Ray
As a part answer, If you hold the tool holder with the front of the tool facing you, if it points to your right side its right handed and if its to the left its left handed. This means that when the holder is in the tool post, a right handed holder is bent towards the headstock and a left handed towards the tail stock. So you would use a left handed holder to get up to a shoulder near the chuck.

Sorry, if the holder points to the tailstock, how do you use it for a shoulder near the chuck? I've never used angled holders. Is my mental picture all wrong?

He might of worded it incorrectly and meant Tail Stock.
If needed they can also be used for for the stated answer as well as using a Left Hand tool for work at a Head Stock shoulder.

Originally Posted by Bryan

Sorry, if the holder points to the tailstock, how do you use it for a shoulder near the chuck? I've never used angled holders. Is my mental picture all wrong?

Don't worry, it took me a while to get my head around it when I was an apprentice (along with most of the blokes in my year)

The idea is you mount the left hand holder on the left side of the tool post (assuming a 4 way tool post) and then you rotate the tool post anti clockwise (looking down on it from the top) until the front part of the tool holder is roughly parallel to the face of the work (or chuck) Using a right hand ground tool bit (if using HSS) enables you to get the tool up close to the job or chuck without the toolpost getting the way. Obviously the toolpost angle has to be adjusted to suit the actual tool bit angles etc.

Hope my description makes sense. I'd do a rough sketch but my scanner doesn't at the moment.

Looking at the tool diagrams in RayG's post, I reckon the left hand boring bars are designed for CNC production work rather than an engine lathe. I personally wouldn't buy one to use on a lathe at home. Lots of other things the money would be better spent on.

regards
Bollie7

Thanks Bollie7. That's the exact opposite of how I thought they were used!

Originally Posted by RayG

Hi Dave,

They look like they do everything I could ever need. So... I went to order one with a few inserts, and guess what!

Got to the last stage of checkout and....

"Sorry, we are not shipping to your region at this time."

They just lost a customer!

Regards
Ray

They just got a customer back!.. I got an email from Jim at Mesa Tool
and it appears they just have a problem with their website.

Nice to see a company that responds quickly and corrects problems. Pleasant change.

Regards
Ray

Originally Posted by bollie7

<snip>
Looking at the tool diagrams in RayG's post, I reckon the left hand boring bars are designed for CNC production work rather than an engine lathe. I personally wouldn't buy one to use on a lathe at home. Lots of other things the money would be better spent on.

regards
Bollie7

Even on a cnc machine, I still can't see why you would ever need a left handed boring tool, let alone a left handed internal threading tool...

Regards
Ray

Generally they are used as the description suggests,Right from Right to Left and Left from Left to Right.

As long as the tool you want to use will do the job you need done it dosent matter what orientation the tool is.

It could be upside down ,backwards etc.

With the Boring Bars a Left hand tool can be usefull if cutting a bore that is smallish and you would like to be able to get a view of the cut,or you could just invert a Right Hand bar.

In regards to the Threading Tools they could be designed for Right and Left hand Threads rather than Right or Left hand opperation,more so if they are for Partial form rather than Full form threading.

Originally Posted by RayG

They just got a customer back!.. I got an email from Jim at Mesa Tool
and it appears they just have a problem with their website.

Nice to see a company that responds quickly and corrects problems. Pleasant change.

Regards
Ray

Good to hear they contacted you it and fixed the problem. Let us know how it goes when it turns up.

Dave

Originally Posted by RayG

Even on a cnc machine, I still can't see why you would ever need a left handed boring tool, let alone a left handed internal threading tool...

Regards
Ray

For goodness sake Ray, stop being so discriminative.... Just because us left handed people are not in the majority does not mean we should be left out in the cold...
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