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| How Do I Machine Hardened Steel on the Lathe? |
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| awemawson:
Mark, Good to see you here ! Welcome aboard :thumbup: |
| hanermo:
You have the wrong type of insert. The insert is poor. A CCMT insert will turn hardened steel on little lathes, effortlessly. I have turned much harder materials, like ballscrews, with no problems. Interrupted cuts are no problem. You should be cutting about 0.1 to 0.07 mm per pass, when using a light lathe and positive-edge hardened steel on interrupted cuts. Once the skin is off, it goes easier. |
| snub:
--- Quote from: hanermo on September 15, 2014, 06:59:11 AM --- A CCMT insert will turn hardened steel on little lathes, effortlessly. --- End quote --- So I did some research and found that the CCMT insert is "rhombic" shaped instead of a triangle like I am using. Rhombic is almost square but more like diamond shaped. I'm wondering why this would be more effective as you are cutting with the tip of the insert, not the side. I am strictly a self taught amateur machinist so I am always looking to improve my knowledge base and I welcome all comments and advise. As I mentioned before, there is a very good chance I don't have the insert at the proper angle to the workpiece. 99% of my work is with aluminum, which is a lot more forgiving if you don't have it right. |
| Doc:
I have cut tool steel up to 62Rc but only with a micro 100 carbide tool and no cuts under .02 with a good steady feed can't remember the sf or feed I know it is a pretty heavy feed otherwise tool will not last. The micro 100 carbide is some pretty good stuff. |
| snub:
We may have to move this post the "Oooops" section. I got some new inserts from KBC and built a mandrel to hold the gear. I made a washer with a chamfer on the backside so the cutting tool wouldn't be hitting the keyways. Tried again with the new insert but still cutting bad. Then it suddenly dawned on me. I was cutting from the center to the edge away from me and should have had the lathe running in reverse! What a moron I am. Anyways, once I got it running in the right direction I had no trouble at all cutting the gear. Here is a picture taken after the cutting. Can't really see the joint between the washer and the gear. There was no chatter at all. And here is the mandrel I built to hold the gear. |
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