Material choice

What material should I use

  • 4140HT

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • 12L

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • Something Else

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .

MyLilMule

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2021
Messages
987
I am a hobbyist, new to machining, and I would like to make a fly cutter. Seems to be a typical choice for the budding hobbyist, and I don't have one.

I have some scrap pieces on the shelf. Two of which I could use to make it from a single piece (3/4" integrated arbor). One is 4140HT and the other is 12L. My lathe is a South Bend 13". I mostly use carbide insert tooling, but occasionally some HSS tools (I am not the greatest at grinding them yet, but I manage to get lucky every now and again.

Which piece should I use, the 4140HT or the 12L?
 
I second the 12L14 for a fly cutter.


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
If I were making a tool, I would use the hardest of the two materials.
 
My vote is for 4140. I used it for a collet chuck and it machined well. I think the added durability and wear resistance is worth it for a tool.

My other go to is 1144.
 
No expert, but if you're going for an integrated arbor, how the tool interacts with the spindle (R8?) would be my consideration. I think lead in 12L14 may actually make it slippery? I wouldn't be looking for something extremely hard as the softer one is going to take the wear, and I'd rather wear out a tool than the spindle. I'd probably be thinking 1045, 1144. But if you have 4140 on hand ...
 
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