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What is it about the carbide tools need special attention?
Carbide cutters are available in different hardness grades. They fall into 2 basic groups, those well suited for cast iron, and those for steel. Most are cemented tungsten carbide, often with varying amounts of cobalt or other alloys. Pay attention to rake angle. I've come across some with neutral, or negative rake.

Carbide loves to go fast! So on older lathes that have phosphorus bronze headstock bearings that cant handle high speed, it's not so great. But I have an 1916 conehead, and use carbide inserts on it, mainly for convenience of not having to regrind HSS. But when I want a better finish quality, a well honed HSS works best for me. If I have a lot of material to remove, I rough with carbide, and if the finish isnt to my liking, make a finish pass with HSS. Piece of cake with a quick change tool holder.

They take a lot of abuse, but will fail if abused. They're brittle, so an innocent bump of the tool when positioning the cutter can chip the cutting edge. Same as letting a bunch bang against each other in a drawer.

Steve.

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