Brazed Carbide vs. HSS Tools - What is better when you don't have an insert?

[Mitch Alsup]

The brazed carbide that arrives at your doorstop is not ready for use in the machine.
You need to do some work on it to:
a) polish the cutting edges
b) put a radius on the tip
c) add clearances
d) maybe a chip breaker--optional
After this you can use them properly.

I bought a set of 32 tools ½" sq shanks. There are 30 left..........anyone who arrives at my doorstop can have them for free.

 

[RJSakowski]

I like brazed carbide and will often choose it over inserts. The primary reason is the lower cost. A single brazed carbide tool will last me several years and get discarded when there is only a small nub remaining. Insert tooling is great but once the cutting edge is blown, you toss it. Tue, you have to re-reference a resharpened brazed carbide tool, but I typically re-reference anyway so it isn't that much an inconvenience.

I use HSS tools as well but there are some jobs that just eat them like candy so carbide is the choice. Brazed carbide allows me to get into tighter spaces than insert tools.

I resharpen my brazed carbide tooling, using a $10 diamond disk from HF, and cut the tool angles that I need for the job at hand. I first relieve the steel substrate using my aluminum oxide wheel, making the grinding of the carbide easier. I usually don't bother with adding rake to the tool bit if needed, it is a fairly simple process. The finish a sharpening with honing the edge with a few strokes with a diamond hone.

 

[Ken226]

I have several brazed carbide tools that were old (but unused) when I bought them.
I also have several HSS tools in similar sizes and shapes.

I can sharpen the HSS tooling to cut FAR better than the carbide, and I am a noob too.
When I see HSS for sale at the local consignment shop, I look for new shapes, and old (therefore GOOD) pieces.
I have not given the used brazed carbide a second look.

Your mileage may vary.

Same here.

I used to buy handfuls of used hss tools from Kent's Tools in Tucson. The place looked like Fred Sanford's back yard, but for 10$ you could walk out with both pockets full.

I've been re-sharpinging this tool over and over since 2008, when it was 4 inches long. No protractors, no fixtures or guides, just wild eyeball guesses at the angles and 5 minutes of labor.

It's about 2" long now, like a pencil that you gotta hold by the eraser with two fingers, and still gives a a great surface finish and makes nice little 6 shaped chips. I use it when I want to take cuts too shallow for the chip breaker on my inserts.

It's an ugly little cuss, but works like e a champ.

 

[BladesIIB]

The brazed carbide that arrives at your doorstop is not ready for use in the machine.
You need to do some work on it to:
a) polish the cutting edges
b) put a radius on the tip
c) add clearances
d) maybe a chip breaker--optional
After this you can use them properly.

I bought a set of 32 tools ½" sq shanks. There are 30 left..........anyone who arrives at my doorstop can have them for free.

Mitch, agree totally I think many people try to use them out of the box and think they are junk. A little sharpening and they are good to go. Wish I lived near your doorstep.