What Are These Lathe Bits?

These came with my machine when I bought it. I have no idea what they are or what they are used for. Does anyone know?
Most of these have manchester on them. Some have some numbers. Thin one 2436-0461. Fatter one with the funny rounded tit sticking out, 2436-31122A and C5 after that. I assume that means C5 carbide. Didnt get the numbers off the cupped shaped tip ones. All have a V shaped bottom to them. Google came up empty handed.
Sorry for the shoddy pictures.






Next I have some what I think might be tool bits, but the metal does not look like any HSS bit I have seen. Are these just a different grade of tool steel, or something different? The two at the bottom that say Rex M2 are the only ones that have anything stamped on them.



And last are some small mystery things. All they say on them is columbia. I have about 15 of these things. I also have a few that are identical, but have numbers on the ends where the step is. The numbers stick out, just like a set of number punches. But with as small as they are, I cant even see holding them to use as a number punch.

The first picture appears to be of boring bars, the second, ditto. The third picture looks like standard lathe turning tools, Perhaps not ground, as modern ones are, and the last could be stamps to be mounted in a stamping fixture. Just a guess on my part.

Not much help here other than the ones marked Rex m2. Those are a hss with tungsten added for better wear. The others in the same photo are probably hss also. Many years ago some hss steel didn't have the ground finish. Sharpen them and give em a go. Can't have too many tool bits.

Darrell

The bits with the "V" bottom are kind of old. Manchester is still in business and is under the "Widia" umbrella of Kennametal Companies. These tools were used primarily for cutoff in all sorts of machines NC, CNC, and heavily in the multi-spindle screw machines. Today a vast majority of cut-off operations are accomplished with pressure lock inserts on long, adjustable double end blades.

Best Regards, Gary

Ditto what Gary said - the tools in the 1st pic are cemented carbide cut off/ grooving blades and, my guess for the ones on the right, internal snap ring or o-ring cutters. I had a couple of the Manchester cemented carbide cut off tools from a bulk ebay buy and traded them for something else as they were waaay wider than my lathe could use effectively.

Next pic - HSS tool bits, looks like some of them have already been ground into useful shapes

3rd pic - no idea, but do the numbers correspond to their size? They look a bit like gage blocks from the pic.

They aren't gage blocks. Gage blocks are very highly ground mirror smooth all over. But I do not know what those Columbia things are. Tony Wells might know. He runs a professional machine shop.

I still have a few Rex AA tool bits they're old I believe they were made by crucible tool steel. as someone else said Manchester still exists under widea they are cemented carbides of some type from the look of them.

I kinda figured the ones in the first pics were some type of parting/cutoff tool. Its just the V shaped bottoms that threw me off. I'm guessing they are made for a specific type of tool holder. I have 1 QCTP holder that has a small groove in the bottom to hold round tools, and these will fit ok in it. I actually used one to cut a hole in a aluminum disc.
The other odd shaped one with the rounded tit still stumps me. I kinda figured they are probably specific to one type of cut. Maybe custom made for specific cut on something that someone made a lot of? The idea of a o-ring groove seems like a good guess.

The other ones I thought might be tool steel, but I am new to all this, and all the HSS blanks I have seen were all shiny and looked nothing like these. The shaped ones have the same metal finish all over, even the shaped ends. That made me hesitate to think they were ground hss. But maybe they were ground/formed, then some type of finish was applied to them?

The columbia ones still stump me.

Columbia Marking Tools is still a viable business. These were stamps for a production type of marker. They would be used for marking parts to identify machine line, shift, date of manufacture, etc: Google them.

Acording to wiikpidia the M2 is a form of high speed steel,

M2
M2 is molybdenum based high-speed steel in tungsten–molybdenum series. The carbides in it are small and evenly distributed. It has high wear resistance. After heat treatment, its hardness is the same as T1, but its bending strength can reach 4700 MPa, and its toughness and thermo-plasticity are higher than T1 by 50%. It is usually used to manufacture a variety of tools, such as drill bits, taps and reamers. Its decarburization sensitivity is a little bit high.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_steel

I like the boring bars that shape (ground from square hss) i find them quite rigid.

Stuart