HSS Tool Holders -Question

bcall2043

bcall2043

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A little background:
Some of us Hobby-Machinist located in the middle Tennessee area have been discussing possibly making a tangential tool holder as a group project. I have read good things about these and particularly the Diamond branded one that has been around for a long time and demands a rather high price. One of its most attractive features to me is the simple tool grinding method. It does require a special fixture to hold the tool bit that establishes the simple one ground facet on the HSS. I have what I believe is a Diamond clone (no markings on the tool) that I purchased at a used tool store but have never used it yet so have no experience with it.

Yesterday I was looking at one of the hobby machinist magazines and noticed an ad for what appeared to be another version for sale at around 1/3 the cost of the Diamond brand tangential. A quick look at the provided link below determined it was not a tangential holder but something claimed to be new and better than other tool holders.

http://www.wimberley-tools.com/index.cfm

I went to bed last night thinking about this new tool and this morning did a quick search on this site which turned up nothing. At this point I thought I might ask you guys if any of you have used this "new" HSS tool holder and possibly the Diamond" holder and can provide any reasons one is better than the other.

Thanks, Benny
 
I have a diamond tool holder an use it for general turning. (mostly 416 stainless) I don't sharpen it very often and find that it works great for roughing. I switch to very sharp 3/8 HSS bits for the finish cuts. The diamond will do nice finishing cuts but seems to dull when I take heavy roughing cuts so it needs to be re-sharpened. The thing that I like is the ability to turn and face with the same bit. (just a little change in position).

The Wimberley tool looks interesting. I think I will get one and give it a try.

Earl
 
It is a tangential tool holder the Wimberley and looking rather flimsy to my eyes.
Use the search field on this site ((Tangential Tool holder))make one Yourself and tell us how it works
 
I don't really see any advantage of the wimberly over a regular HSS bit. 3/16"?

My friend just bought a diamond and seems delighted with it. I'll give him a a couple months and see if he becomes uninfatuated with it. Funny thing is he is good at grinding tools and is just starting to get into inserts. The diamond makes sense since it is a flat and has a tool sharpening guide.

I started making my own but think I'm going to scrap it and start again.
nearlythere.JPG

I suppose I should try it before I scrap it though.

Steve

nearlythere.JPG
 
FarFar said:
It is a tangential tool holder the Wimberley and looking rather flimsy to my eyes.
Use the search field on this site ((Tangential Tool holder))make one Yourself and tell us how it works
Click to expand...

FarFar,
Thanks for the search tip. I used "Wimberley" for the search of the Hobby-Machinist site and had not used the word Tangential. I had been researching the tangential holders already and was looking for info on the new kid on the block. I did use your search terms on this site just now and found more information on the tangential. It is interesting that I don't recall the Hobby-Machinist threads showing up before. Must be getting old.

Thanks, Benny
 
Hello Paul

Are You still using the tool holder and how much time do You use for one resharpening?I use around three minutes for my 4 to 5 mm tool bitts from stopping lathe and running again.My toolbitts start 65 mm long loses 0.2 mm per sharpening and are useless when 25 mm long.100 Swedish (Fagersta WKE45) sharps for 7 dollars. Cheap I would say.
 
FarFar
Niels, yes I still use the tool on a regular basis. I have been very happy with your tool design. I have no complaints at all with the tool holder. In fact, I was looking it over the other day, thinking I could easly machine up a couple of bolt on dove tails, so it could be allso used on my QCTP.I just may do that when I get some free time.
But to your question, how much time to sharpen the cutting tool. I only use the grinding wheel for the final grind. I take most of it down with a belt sander , then the grinding wheel. Id say 5 mins time, and Im ready to go again.

Many times if I need to resharpen, Ill just grab another tool cutter thats allready sharp, and swap that in, and Im ready to continue on with the job. I dont find sharpening time to bad at all. Its been a great tool for me, and glad I have it.
 
Hello Paul

Glad You still like and use the tool.
I must be living in another time zone as it never occured to me that a belt sander can sharpen Hss.
Can You buy belts that will cut Carbide?
The beauty of the tangential system is that the clearance angles are given by the tool (important) and the rake angle (not very important) is done more than good enough by hand and eye.
On my first model the toolbit was tilted 15 degrees and this gives 12 degree clearance angles on the two cutting edges.My latest has 12 degree tilt giving 9.5 degree clearance and I delude myself to believe it is better.But I am not certain.
 
FarFar said:
I must be living in another time zone as it never occured to me that a belt sander can sharpen Hss.
Can You buy belts that will cut Carbide?
Click to expand...

Farfar, I'm not sure how directly relevant it is, but the belt sander is great for fine sharpening and polishing. Though I haven't tried to sharpen cutting tools with it (yet!), I have a one-inch belt sander that I routinely use to sharpen knives, going through a series of grits from 80 down to 9 micron. Then I switch to leather belts, one with a 1 micron compound and the second with a 0.5 micron compound. It works great for knives, and the finish after the last leather belt is like glass. I was reading something about polishing mini-lathe gibs and thought the belt sander (with the leather belts only!) might be the way to go...

Charlie
 
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