Re: [multimachine] Lathe tools from leaf spring steel
Hello Gus A leaf sping seem to me like you would have a grinding to do to get
a turning tool out of it.
A leaf spring is abot 5/16- 3/8 in thick and about 2in + wide.
You can get the tool blanks from the big tool suppiers for cheap.
I got some 3/8 HHS blanks from Enco for about $1.50 each on sale
about a month ago.
I lke to have some blanks around for special tools.
Most of the time I use 1/2 shank insert tools.
Gus do you have a special wheel to grind the 10% cobalt tools?
I got some 5%cobalt tools and can not seem to grind them.
Maybe some insight about grinding them would be helpful.
Keith Deep Run Portage Back Shop " The Lizard Works"
--- On Mon, 6/29/09, Gus Rodriguez <gusrod1948@...> wrote:
From: Gus Rodriguez <gusrod1948@...> Subject: Re: [multimachine] Lathe tools from leaf spring steel To: multimachine@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, June 29, 2009, 8:45 PM
As a rule, most tools for small lathes are in the 3/8" or 1/2" range, although the small lathes use even smaller tools. A typical profile would be for a tool of 3/8" x 3/8" x 3" or 1/2" x 1/2" x 4". If I was going to use a leaf spring, I wouldn't straighten it, just try to grind it to shape, unless you have a lot of experience with heat treating and hardening metal because you would probably have to heat it to straighten and then reheat to temper it again.
I grind my own tools from high speed steel alloyed with 10% cobalt and I cool (quench) in water every few seconds. Let your fingers tell you when it's hot enough to need cooling. I pay $3-$5 each for blanks and although imported from china, they work well enough for me. You can get them from a variety of sources, like Enco.com, Shars.com or CDCO.com. I use a Grizzly 10x22 lathe to take cuts up to .050" deep at a feed rate of .006" and 300 rpm on 3" diameter stock, with no problem. I've never thought about using a leaf spring for cutting metal but it would be interesting to know how it works out for you. Please let us know, if you do this. Thanks.
Subject: [multimachine] Lathe tools from leaf spring steel
I found an old leaf spring I can cut up to make tools for use with my lathe according to the book in the files section, but it does not go into detail on this. Has anybody ever done this? I've ground lock picks before on my bench grinder and I imagine it should be similar, grinding a little bit then quenching the piece so it doesn't get hot and lose the temper? Should I quench it in water, and if so how often? The spring is pretty curved, can I straighten out pieces or just grind it down to shape?
I found an old leaf spring I can cut up to make tools for use with my lathe according to the book in the files section, but it does not go into detail on this....
As a rule, most tools for small lathes are in the 3/8" or 1/2" range, although the small lathes use even smaller tools. A typical profile would be for a tool...
You can't heat without altering the temper and you can't straighten without heat. Lots of grinding time and cool water are your friends! Use a coarse wheel...
Maybe this tasks will generate a small heat treat oven project. Bruce ... From: Dennis Thornton To: multimachine@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009...
I have a "making and shaping of tools" blacksmithing book...deals with that exact subject(I'll see if I can find it for you). In general, keep your hands close...
Not an expert by any means but how about having a good size charcole fire all around and over your spring steel In a safe place away from burnable material and...
Hello Gus A leaf sping seem to me like you would have a grinding to do to get  a turning tool out of it.  A leaf spring is abot 5/16- 3/8 in thick and about...
Hi Keith, I use a lapidary wheel (a jeweler's wheel) made of a very fine grade of carborundum (silicon carbide) to grind my carbide bits but it takes a lot of...
My comments are buried in the reply text. Look there for them :-) ... That's a darn fine idea for grinding carbide bits! On the plus side, almost every single...
Thanks Eric, I didn't fill in the blanks about a water drip on the lapidary wheels 'cause I didn't figure on him getting an actual lapidary wheel. Mine has a...
Hello Gus  Thank's for the good information,I will keep it mind when I have to grind the blanks.  Maybe I just need to build a table on the grinder , it has...
I can vouch for that. I wanted to make some big newell posts out of pine for my staircase and, never having done any woodturning before, had no woodturning...
Clive, I have been thinking of making a tool post for my 10F to do some free-hand turning. How did you connect the post to the lathe? Did you use a traditional...
Hi Lance, Are you familiar with the phrase 'quick and dirty?' I'm a natural squirrel who never throws anything away and I just go to my scrap pile and find...
... Who indeed! Very well done. It took me a few years of working in Brazil to teach me that the end product is the object, not the means. There is always a...
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