Help me blow a bunch of $$$

[7milesup]

Gator is Chinese!

Are you sure it isn't Taiwan?

 

[erikmannie]

Are you sure it isn't Taiwan?

*Gators are definitely made in China*, but under the watch (i.e. quality control) of a Western company (Fuerda which is either Polish or American), much in the same way as Phase 2 products offered by Aloris.

From https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/threads/a-story-about-bison-fuerda-gator-chucks.263467/

“Here's the interesting part of all this & why the title mentions Fuerda-Gator. Andrew Latawiec (previously in charge at Bison) is now VP at Global Tooling Solutions, maker of Gator (the new name for Fuerda) chucks. I'd spoken with Andrew some years ago, easy to remember his heavy Polish accent & he's really happy to be away from Bison because of "a number of changes that were taking place". Related my lack of customer service story & he assured me that will not happen with Gator & GTS as long as he's in charge.

The Gator chucks are 100% dimensionally identical to Bison (wonder where Andrew got those prints ???) so a Gator chuck will fit a Bison backplate, etc. Global Tooling Solutions has these made in China & has in the factory QC by GTS employees. Probably the only shop in China full of Eastern Europeans with a heavy Polish accent. Chucks are checked again when they reach the USA & all carry a 2 year warranty.”

My opinion: it would be easy to make the argument that Gator chucks are fine products, but they are all made in China. I chose TMX and Bison chucks because they are made in Poland.

 

[erikmannie]

@K30

6J chucks are great for tubing & good for pipe.

Maybe I crank down on the workpiece too hard, but I have deformed Sch 40 pipe on a 3J scroll chuck. I have never had that problem with a 6J.

 

[GeneT45]

I don’t know if other people do this, but on my lathes I only use HSS for cuts between .0001” (i.e. “one tenth”) and about .008”. Between roughing, medium- and fine-finishing, I find carbide inserts to be amazing! And yes, I am using balanced cutting. The HSS is great for when I failed with the balanced cutting.

Regarding HSS tool bits, I am always pressed for time, my bench grinder is a hunk of junk, & even if I did have the time & equipment to grind my own HSS, I am sure that I could not meet or exceed the quality that one gets on a carbide insert.

I use HSS for almost all aluminum and brass turning. I also sometimes use it for very light cuts in steel, although I abuse some aluminum inserts for very fine cuts as well. Where HSS comes into it's own though is when I need something custom. It doesn't have to be a full blown bizarre cutter - it could be just making a tiny form tool from an 0.035" parting blade or grinding in some extra clearance or making that one-time-use o-ring cut or e-clip slot - hardly worth buying an insert for. Speaking of parting, I use HSS parting tools 90% of the time, because I like a thin blade and most carbide inserts start at over 1/16". I'd feel lost without the ability to create HSS tools.

None of which is to say that you're doing anything wrong, just that we do things differently. I say it a lot, but everyone works differently and how we work is determined by the tools we own just as the tools we own are determined by how we work.

GsT