"CW" wrote in
m:

"Meanie" wrote in message ...

A coworker of mine who also turns indicates he has a friend in a
machine shop who can make any of those tips for a few bucks. My
coworker plans to stock up on each shape. He said he'll get me some as
well.

I've also read the same on this group from those who had a machine
shop make them as well. Maybe they will chime in.
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They don't make them, they buy them. Making them takes a lot more
specialized machinery than a machine shop would have. Not cost
effective. That said, the man in the machine shop probably knows that
these are metalworking inserts that can be had for less than half the
price the woodworking places charge. As low a $2.00 to $3.00.

The $2-$3 carbide inserts probably are negative rake and have a
significant radius on the cutting edge to make them more rugged. That's
fine if you are removing lots of metal, but I doubt they'd work well in
wood. If you have the appropriate grinding equipment, you could put a
shaper edge on them, but they wouldn't necessarily fit the holder tightly
afterward.

The really sharp ones tend to be a bit pricier. Even so, the "scary
sharp" positive rake inserts I use for plastic & aluminum are ~ $10-$12
each.

Doug White