Guster
Well-known member
Someone’s been to MachineryHouse! Next time also get the drill chuck c spanners for your chuck. The keyless chucks do self tighten with larger drills and can be a right ******* to undo. They sell two sizes and I bought 2 of each for the different size chucks I have after getting tired of fighting with the strap wrench and reaching for an old leather glove and pipe wrench to undo them.
That parting tool should be OK for plastic and maybe non-gummy aluminium. I have a larger one of those I use old ground down power-hacksaw blades in for parting plastics on a regular basis. Would be good for practice but I wouldn’t use it for much more than that. For steel you may be better saving and buying an toolholder that takes at least a ~32mm HSS blade or an insert parting blade like these https://www.machineryhouse.co.nz/L465 (not necessarily this specific one). The larger HSS parting blades are quite expensive but better suited if there are interrupted cuts(parting hex or square stock). Otherwise the extra blade height allows for additional tool stick-out when parting. And it is roughly a 1:1 height to stick-out ratio(safety margin). Not saying you can’t part more than 64mm(we all do) but you start taking more risk with potential for destroying the tool or damaging the backgear. In which case spare clean underwear is always handy too. Your lathe should cope comfortably with 3mm width in steel and 2mm in stainless and carbon steel with the backgear engaged. Be aware that some tools are also called parting tools but more suited for simple grooving operations like cutting an o-ring seat. Either due to to cutting geometry or lack of clearance for deeper plunge cutting.
BTW. Those little stainless 100mm/4” scales MachineryHouse sell(sometimes give away) are a very handy thing to have by the lathe. I used to decline them till I realised how handy they are. One lives permanently on the side of the tailstock for checking measurements. I glued a small magnet to one I keep on the mill as well.
That parting tool should be OK for plastic and maybe non-gummy aluminium. I have a larger one of those I use old ground down power-hacksaw blades in for parting plastics on a regular basis. Would be good for practice but I wouldn’t use it for much more than that. For steel you may be better saving and buying an toolholder that takes at least a ~32mm HSS blade or an insert parting blade like these https://www.machineryhouse.co.nz/L465 (not necessarily this specific one). The larger HSS parting blades are quite expensive but better suited if there are interrupted cuts(parting hex or square stock). Otherwise the extra blade height allows for additional tool stick-out when parting. And it is roughly a 1:1 height to stick-out ratio(safety margin). Not saying you can’t part more than 64mm(we all do) but you start taking more risk with potential for destroying the tool or damaging the backgear. In which case spare clean underwear is always handy too. Your lathe should cope comfortably with 3mm width in steel and 2mm in stainless and carbon steel with the backgear engaged. Be aware that some tools are also called parting tools but more suited for simple grooving operations like cutting an o-ring seat. Either due to to cutting geometry or lack of clearance for deeper plunge cutting.
BTW. Those little stainless 100mm/4” scales MachineryHouse sell(sometimes give away) are a very handy thing to have by the lathe. I used to decline them till I realised how handy they are. One lives permanently on the side of the tailstock for checking measurements. I glued a small magnet to one I keep on the mill as well.
