Tools For Lathe And Mill From Shars And Enco

You will find that often the discount codes will work for several days AFTER the posted expiration date. I have made more than a couple of purchases that way... surprisingly.

Interesting, but my luck doesn't run that way

My turning and face holders accept 1/4" - 5/8" cutters. Not sure what my perfect cutters are yet, and I'll probably ruin them all anyway. So I'm thinking of just buying several HSS blanks to try my hand at grinding, and a 38 pc Brazed Carbide Tool Bit Set which includes a variety of bits and is reasonably priced. Once I get some experience I should be able to make a better choice. Hopefully that makes sense.

I'm now wondering about the size. The blanks come in multiple sizes, and even the above set comes in 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8, and they're all the same price. So other than larger sizes being stiffer, is there any other difference the size makes?

(fyi... looking at Pages 161-162 on Enco's website)

Skip the brazed carbide set. Add some HSS bits from Enco up to 1/2" and then go to Shars and buy the 7 piece 5/8" indexable turning set. Maybe some extra inserts. #404-1053 or even 404-1042 for starters. I use the tar out of the 1053 model and really like them. Shars inserts have worked well for me too.

chips&more said:

I have been doing this for 50 years. Do I need a pro tram system/tramming aid, NO, DEFINITELY NOT! Do I need 1-2-3 Blocks, NO! Do I need Shars stuff, NO! Do I need an electronic edge finder, NO! (but it sure is eye candy). Do I buy stuff from ENCO, definetley YES! Do I buy stuff from Shars, NEVER! But, my shop must have something in it? Because, I can’t even walk in it from one end to the other? There is too much crap in the way! Please have a great Turkey Day, Dave.

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I cannot stand the ENCO web site, eats it trying to compare products and find stuff in general. They really should do something about the way that thing works. I will not use them just because of the mess, got better things to do with my time.... like reading around this site for one.

Thanks for the part numbers Dave. Not that I'm asking for everyone to do my shopping for me, but this stuff is too expensive to just select items randomly. And people don't seem to understand, or remember, how difficult (confusing?) this is for someone that never did this before.

You're exactly right pepi. I've realized that after spending more hours... no... more days than I care to admit on Enco's website. That's why, once I find an item I want, I make a list. When I'm done, I'll go back to the list, enter the numbers and make a purchase. Enco has a problem letting go of the paper catalog. And if those pages literally look like their catalog, then the catalog isn't very impressive either. And what's with the html and pdf pages. They need to make a real website so they can make changes on individual items, and searches can come up with individual items instead of giving you a list of pages. Someone there needs to step up and revamp that entire website. It's very frustrating.

Okay, I have my coffee now so I'm going to try and finish this list.

65Cobra427SC said:

Enco has a problem letting go of the paper catalog. And if those pages literally look like their catalog, then the catalog isn't very impressive either. And what's with the html and pdf pages. They need to make a real website so they can make changes on individual items, and searches can come up with individual items instead of giving you a list of pages. Someone there needs to step up and revamp that entire website. It's very frustrating.
.

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I think you will find that the reason they website is the way it is, is because a large portion of their customer base likes it that way. I'm a developer, and I can tell you from personal experience that a large chunk of the population sucks at searching for stuff, and would rather just browse a catalog.


have you picked out a good grinder & wheels yet?

If your going to buy insert tooling, I'd highly recommend you go with the grizzly set or something similar, as all the tools use the same style of insert. The benefit of this, is that you only have to buy one type of insert, and that can save you a lot of money in the long run. It also lets you move the inserts between the different tools so you can fully utilize all the cutting edges on the insert.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Glanze-Turning-Tool-Set-1-2/H5681

here is some more info from the manufacture on the set.
http://www.glanze.com/indexable-tool-holders/mc-ccmt-set-of-7-tools.html

Thanks Dan. These past couple days have been wearing me out but I see your point and it does make sense so it's on my list.

BTW, it looks like Enco sells various CCMT 21.51 inserts (page 169). I just don't understand their pricing... can't tell if it's per insert or per package. If it's per package, then the inserts are a lot cheaper at Enco. If you take a look, let me know.

65Cobra427SC said:

Thanks Dan. These past couple days have been wearing me out but I see your point and it does make sense so it's on my list.

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I think that's to be expected, you are shoving a lot of learning into a very shot time period. Not to mention some of the stuff you are learning, can only be learned by asking questions.

65Cobra427SC said:

I just don't understand their pricing... can't tell if it's per insert or per package. If it's per package, then the inserts are a lot cheaper at Enco. If you take a look, let me know.

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It's per insert. Inserts can range from $3 to almost $30 each depending on who makes them and what they are for.

If you don't know about it, this page will help you learn a lot about inserts.
http://www.carbidedepot.com/formulas-insert-d.htm

when you go looking for inserts you want to look for the following.

shape/tolerence

1. ccmt
2. ccgt

sizes

1. 21.50 (iso 060200)
2. 21.51 (iso 060204)
3. 21.52 (iso 060208)

these are the most common, and if you look at the carbide depot page, you will see even more sizes are possible, though less common.

Ebay is the best place by far to get good deals on inserts, but you need to know what your looking for, and when you search you will need to look for both ANSI & ISO nomenclature. You also need to be really sure of what you are ordering, because half the time they people selling them don't know the first thing about what they are selling.

For example I run the Korloy (South Korean) AK(chip breaker) for aluminum, as it's a well respected company and the inserts cut through aluminum like butter. Right now you can get a pack of 10 for as low as $20, but if you go through an established seller with a good reputation its more like $35 to $50 for a pack of 10.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=korloy+ccgt+ak&_sop=15

Thanks again. I just finished placing an order with Shars and I'm almost finished with my order from Grizzly. Figured I would add a few items while I'm there and it was worth it because they have a boring bar set that's less than half the price of the one I was going to get from Shars, and all it's missing is the smallest bar. Of course we all know that will be the one I need. Anything that's left on the list will be from Enco. There are some items I just plain gave up on but that's okay considering how much money I spent just today. If I run into a snag I could still post though.

BTW, in case anyone is interested, the "blackfriday" discount code for 20% off at Shars, still works.