From: none@none.com99   
      
   On 2/28/2025 5:59 PM, Snag wrote:   
   > On 2/28/2025 6:37 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:   
   >> No, I didn't put the lathe in reverse, except when I meant to anyway.   
   >>   
   >> I bought a new parting tool, and some new parting inserts for it that   
   >> were supposedly optimized for high chromium and stainless steels.  I   
   >> broke a lot of inserts.   
   >>   
   >> I went back to an HSS parting blade, but I used one 3/16 wide (yeah   
   >> really) and ground a chip breaker in it.  Then I polished by hand with   
   >> a diamond hone.  Turned the lathe speed way down, and cut several   
   >> pieces of 1.5in diameter 416 without much issue.  It does need a drop   
   >> (just a drop) 8-10 times during the cut, but it did the trick without   
   >> a lot of excitement.   
   >>   
   >> The chip breaker didn't always break the chips, but it did curly them   
   >> up nicely when it didn't.  I didn't have any wild death metal flying   
   >> around in my face.   
   >>   
   >> I'd really like to be able to due this process faster, but atleast   
   >> some of my customers are opting for the cheaper aluminum inserts.   
   >>   
   >> Its not a heavy lathe, but its not a toy either.  Its got a 14 inch   
   >> sling, 3HP motor, and weighs right at 2000lbs.  The only thing I   
   >> thought of is swapping it out to a 3phase motor so I can change the   
   >> RPM on the fly as the diameter decreases. Yeah, I know a real lathe   
   >> that size would probably weigh twice that.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >   
   >     I'm still using the 73 year old Logan I got almost 25 years ago .   
   > But you're in a different world of machinery requirements . Is there no   
   > way this cutting operation can be done on a bandsaw or a cold saw ?   
      
   I actually was cutting them on a bandsaw up until recently, but then I   
   needed to chuck up each piece in the lathe twice to face and chamfer.   
   The little Harbor Freight 4x6-8 cuts all my stainless and alloy, and the   
   bigger 7x12 cuts all my aluminum.  I know that sounds backwards, but I   
   can get decent SuperCuts HSS bi-metal blades locally at Harbor Freight   
   for it.  I'm using up some carbon steel blades on the bigger saw right   
   now.   
      
   A good quality cold saw could probably make a decent enough cut, but I'd   
   still need to deburr.  The safest way to do that is on the lathe.  A   
   good quality cold saw is also kind of expensive.   
      
      
   --   
   Bob La Londe   
   CNC Molds N Stuff   
      
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