Thread: Symtec Cutters

Hi Jim,

Are the tools for Symtec lathes something special?

I have seen the lathes demo'd at shows, and thought how neat it was to use what looked like a bit of standard tool steel, as used on metalworking lathes.

If that's the case, the steel will be easily (and inexpensively!) available in any State.

A friend of mine in Qld. has a Taig mini-metal lathe, and we made up numerous tools from bits of tool steel I had squirrelled away, and old blunt tungsten-carbide bits we scrounged from our local Tech.

Ian bought himself a green wheel to grind T-C, and we were away. Some bits of square "key steel" (that's just bright, square steel - 1/4 inch in his lathe's case) and a bit of silver solder and we had tools aplenty.

I'd be interested in corresponding with a Symtec user, as I want to build a Symtec-style freehand copier for my little lathe.

Again, at the shows, I was impressed at how Symtec had pared copying down to the bare essentials ... No rails, rods linkages and levers.

Best regards from sunny Tasmania.

DenisB
www.bayviewguesthouse.com