"Paul T." wrote in message
...

Don't let any oldtimers talk you into using HSS tool bits for this, that
was
cool in its day but times have changed, and its a lot easier to get
repeatable results with the carbide tools, especially for learners. For
this
size lathe you would need the positive relief type tools, take a look at
http://www.thegallos.com/carbide.htm for some background on this.

There's a lot of good advice in your post, Paul, but I strongly disagree
with you about this one. I used mostly carbide when I worked in a commercial
shop but I would never recommend it for a hobby shop. I have both right now,
which I use on my SB, and I don't have to pay for my carbide. Still, I
consider it to be my last choice when doing one-at-a-time work. I use it for
abrasive materials and for those rare occassions when I'm cutting very hard
steel.

And I'm not a Luddite about it. I'm the Tooling editor for Machining
magazine, and I spend a lot of my days researching and extolling the virtues
of new cutter designs and materials. They are amazing. If I could inventory
enough of them and if I could affort all the holders, I might even be able
to do as much with them as I can do with a few pieces of 3/8" HSS. But it
would never quite match it.

adam smith is cutting aluminum; unless he's making his castings from
hypereutectics, there's no reason in the world to use carbide for
aluminum -- unless you're doing batch lots of 1,000 pieces or so. My HSS
cutters ground for aluminum get sharpened once every year or two. g

I realize the arguments about this can go on forever, but, FWIW, I'm well
aware of the latest in positive-rake, cobalt-enriched, multi-coated inserts,
and I find no use at all for them in my shop. Not even for a zero-rake piece
of C2. That is, until I have to cut some filled plastic or to face off some
piece of really hard steel.

Ed Huntress