In article ,
Jon Elson wrote:


filister wrote:
Hello, I have been looking to purchase indexable tool holders for use with
my 14X40 lathe. The selection is quite vast and am hoping that someone may
suggest what manufacturer and types would be good for a home shop starter
set.

If Enco still has their 3/8" indexable set, that's what I have, and it
works quite well for the kind of stuff I do. If you do a lot of heavy
stock removal on steel, you might go for the 1/2" set, instead.

To my mind, with that size of lathe, you would want at least
5/8" shanks on the tooling, and perhaps more if your toolpost can handle
it. The fatter the shank, the less likely that the shank will
contribute to chatter. If I could handle a CXA toolpost size, I would
opt for 3/4" shanks instead.

I like the Valenite insert tool shanks, with negative rake, and
the TPCN (IIRC -- it is too late to go down to the shop and check, now)
Triangular, Positive rake with the aid of a special chipbreaker groove.

Iscar makes a similar quality shank which will accept the same
inserts.

Note that you can sometimes get the inserts for little money in
large quantities (e.g. 100 at a time) from eBay auctions. This makes
the extra money spent on a good Valenite insert shank to be well worth
it. The cheap sets with 1/2" or smaller shanks have too thin a
positive-rake insert, and it breaks easily under heavy cutting. And the
cost of the inserts in that size (not an industry standard -- for good
reason) will make up for the additional cost of good insert shanks in not
too long a time.

But what I *really* like for most work these days is an Aloris
holder for their quick-change toolpost which accepts the inserts
directly. I'm using a model 16N (the 'N' for negative rake), which
holds two inserts -- one in the right position for turning, and the
other in the right position for facing. I'm using this on a Phase-II
wedge style toolpost -- series 200 (BXA size equivalent).

Ted will show up with his web page telling you how to make your
own as he does. (His may already be one of the articles out there which
I have not yet read. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

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