Has anyone ever made a Tangential tool holder for the Harbor Frieght QCTP??

[ddoyle]

I am very new to the sport of machining and first saw a video of this and after researching, I see several people here have made their own.  Until 2 weeks ago I had never touched a lathe .  I don't have a mill or anything to make such a creature, just wondering if someone had ever made one for that particular QCTP that could maybe post a picture.  Chuck from E. TN is not far away and he has offered to help me out with one, as he has made one for himself, but his QCTP is different from mine so I was just hoping to maybe see a few pics to get some type of idea.  Thanks in advance.

[Arbalist]

I only use a four way tool post so can't help specifically with your question. I would say though not to worry too much about tool height adjustment as the cutter is easily adjusted within the tool holder itself. This is one of the reasons I like Tangential tool holders so much. I made a gauge for my Lathe for quick setting of tool height, here's a shot of it in use.

[ddoyle]

very nice idea....I'll have to keep this in mind...thanks for the info

[ieezitin]

Hi Doyle

You said you have done your research and probably came across all the features this tool offers, making this tool should be a fun and educational exercise for you and worth the time invested in it but be aware this design is not the one size fits all cure for tooling.

I have used the tangential tool holder for about two years now and it sits always on one of my lathes ready for quick work that springs up. One of the negatives I find is sometimes it does not give the best finish on some materials, but then I have to switch to HSS.

Its a great tool for people who are just getting started as it will work for more than most of jobs and sharpening is a synch, I just lap it over with my diamond impregnated finger lap three or four strokes and its done.

Saying all that, it will work fine at a 70* spread angle but then it gets clumsy after that, then you have to use the regular R/H L/H tool holders or hand ground tooling.

To sum up it works fine for most jobs but eventually you will have to learn about HSS tooling or Carbide tooling.

Hope this helps….  Anthony

[ddoyle]

Thanks for the input Randy...unfortunately I don't have all the machines yet required to build this tool, fortunately though I met another local machinist on here...Chuck in E. Tn...and he is going to make me one.  I have already jumped into grinding my own tools...but so far..only a right hand tool and a boring bar...which worked but not the best looking tool after I finished grinding.  Thank you for your input.