HSS

[SKIPRAT]

HI All

I thought i would show you what can be done with HSS tooling the picture shows a depth of cut about 3MM or so being taken in some tough material 1" A/F hexagon EN24T steel using a LH knife tool across the front of the toolpost on my BV20 lathe at the speed of 450 RPM with hand feeding  the other picture shows the reasonable finish obtained as you can see the tool has not much rake about 7 degrees all round as it is a common fact that the higher the tensile strength the material is the less rake is needed on the cutting edge the pictures also show the short chip nature of higher tensile materials i use HSS tooling a lot and it seems to keep its edge providing one keeps it's cutting speed below 30m/Min







Cheers Paul

[cedge]

My preference is for HSS. Cheap, easy to maintain, shapes easily and it cuts predictably. I only use carbide when the workpiece is too tough for anything else. Works great for me, but your mileage may vary.   

Steve