Carbide tool advice.

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Twissy

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
573
Location
Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire
Decided (discovered!) I need some carbide tools for pen turning, and am asking you good folks for some advice......I probably should have done that before ordering THIS & THIS !

There is very little available in the UK, at least not at what I'm prepared to pay for it!

I've sent a message to the seller asking for the thread size so I can get a holder made up before they arrive, but if anyone here knows it then I'd be grateful for the info.

My main question is, should I make a round bar holder or square or both? I know most use square, but is there any advantage to having a round one so the cutter can be at an angle to the work piece a bit like a skew?

Secondly, I was going to make the holder from an old 1/2" socket extension bar I've got, but is there any reason why aluminium couldn't be used given that I will only be turning pens with it, It's not as if there is going to be force against it. I quite like the idea of the lighter weight which should give me more feel.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
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Square will give you a more of a rock solid platform to lay on the toolrest. Round will tend to roll into the material easier , which means you could end up taking off more than you wanted. Not sure I would go with aluminum. Even with 'just pens' I put quite a bit of pressure on the tool to hog away the material faster. Besides, there could be a time when you want to turn something larger.
 
i agree with Bruce. Get some 12mm key stock and grind a flat recess to hold the cutter. it is easy to rock the bar onto a corner for skew cutting. That is 97% of what I do. I only go flat to finish.
 
I like the square bar type. Mine is a Wood Chuck Pen Pro from Wood Chuck Lathe Tools. I'm very pleased with it and it cuts through material like butter. It's great on all material from wood to aluminum and tru-stone.
 
I made mine out of round bar. (1/2 inch for the size of my inserts which leaves the flat part of the inserts in contact with the bar and the angled part going outwards without the bar being in the way)

Easy enough to do, just mill a flat on the end that presents a radius at the back to keep the insert centered -this can be done in the drill press with any center cutting endmill- then carefully measure the point to drill the screw hole to provide an exact fit of the insert to the tool (or do as I did if you're in a hurry and just want perfect results without layout technique practice and loctite the insert in place as as drilling guide to get an exact fit). Drill an appropriately sized hole for the size screw you are going to use and tighten it in place and grind the part sticking out of the bottom off to get a perfect fitting radius end on the screw as it will be when in place, Heat the locktight up enough to soften it and remove the insert, clean it off put the insert back on and add a handle and you're done (about a half hour or less).

You may need to angle the end of the bar under the insert backwards a bit to keep it clear of the insert when turning.

I like the round bar since it allows me to easily use the tool at any angle I desire and minimizes and friction with the tool rest. I think most people use a square bar.

My total cost for both of them including the inserts and round bar was around twenty bucks. I operate on a pretty tight budget and have to make everything that would be expensive otherwise.
 
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