Lathe tooling question

ygolohcysp · Dec 1, 2020

Hello. I've got a hobby sized metal lathe at home that I've put a quick change tool post on, and have become addicted. I'm now having to order a tool post and tooling for a lathe we got at work. It's a 24"x120" lathe. From what I gather, I'll need a quick change tool post that lists the swing as 17"-48".

My real question is what size tool shank should I be looking for for this scale of machine?

Any recommendations?

eKretz · Dec 1, 2020

1¼"-1½" for heavy roughing tools on that size machine would be good. Whatever you want that will reach for finishing.

BT Fabrication · Dec 1, 2020

I have 1" shank currently on my 16" and can take .250" DOC easily.

Hbjj · Dec 1, 2020

Dxa would be the proper size but they can get heavy

If you're changing tools alot and not taking mega cuts or need a larger boring bar cxa is alot nicer to use all day

eKretz · Dec 1, 2020

It's a matter of degree. A heavy cut to one guy may be a light cut to another. I routinely used up all the load meter and more on a lathe this size equipped with a 40 HP drive motor when roughing. We had a DA toolpost and I spun it more than once while roughing - until I made a locking plate. For myself and on that machine, (24" American lathe, 40 HP) a heavy roughing cut is generally 1/4" to 1/2" per side at minimum .030"-.035" feed per rev. We cut a lot of 4140 Q&T, 420 stainless weld overlaid on 8620 (45-50Rc) and similar stuff.

If you're doing any kind of frequent work with the machine there will be times when you may need to block in a large bevel or radius or to reach out with the toolholder extended as far as it can go - get the larger shank tooling and you'll have no regrets or wondering in the back of your mind when you get chatter whether a larger shank would have been better. If you don't push the machine or for finishing work a 1" shank or maybe even smaller is fine.

So I guess a relevant question would be: how much horsepower is available?

ygolohcysp · Dec 1, 2020

eKretz said:
It's a matter of degree. A heavy cut to one guy may be a light cut to another. I routinely used up all the load meter and more on a lathe this size equipped with a 40 HP drive motor when roughing. We had a DA toolpost and I spun it more than once while roughing - until I made a locking plate. For myself and on that machine, (24" American lathe, 40 HP) a heavy roughing cut is generally 1/4" to 1/2" per side at minimum .030"-.035" feed per rev. We cut a lot of 4140 Q&T, 420 stainless weld overlaid on 8620 (45-50Rc) and similar stuff.

If you're doing any kind of frequent work with the machine there will be times when you may need to block in a large bevel or radius or to reach out with the toolholder extended as far as it can go - get the larger shank tooling and you'll have no regrets or wondering in the back of your mind when you get chatter whether a larger shank would have been better. If you don't push the machine or for finishing work a 1" shank or maybe even smaller is fine.

So I guess a relevant question would be: how much horsepower is available?

Thank you for the info!

I believe this machine is only 15hp. I know we will end up doing some hardened material, I think in the mid 40's rockwell. We are only using this make parts for machines we make, rather than running a shop where the goal would be to keep the machine running all the time. My lathe at home is a 9x20, so even 1/4" depth of cut is huge to me. Granted, I know I'm going to have to learn this machine, and not treat it like my tiny lathe at home. I'm also aware that larger tools kind of need a minimum depth of cut for any decent finish as well, and that's something else I'm going to look into before ordering.

DocsMachine · Dec 1, 2020

As above, I'd go with a minimum of a CA-sized post, with 1" shank insertable tooling.

A DA would not, in my opinion, be overkill.

Doc.

James H Clark · Dec 1, 2020

For that size machine I would want nothing smaller than a D sized Aloris toolpost with tooling. What particular type of tooling depends on what kind of work you-all do. At least two turning tools, two or more open-sided tool holders as well as some boring bar holders and don't forget to get a good supply of inserts and anvils and screws for all the tools. this is only a good start, but will get you going.

JH

Limy Sami · Dec 2, 2020

James H Clark said:
For that size machine I would want nothing smaller than a D sized Aloris toolpost with tooling. What particular type of tooling depends on what kind of work you-all do. At least two turning tools, two or more open-sided tool holders as well as some boring bar holders and don't forget to get a good supply of inserts and anvils and screws for all the tools. this is only a good start, but will get you going.

JH

+ 1 on what he said, only more holders

............if you're doing varied jobbing type work you almost can't have too many holders, .........having to constantly swap tools in holders kinda defeats the object of quick change tool posts.

eKretz · Dec 2, 2020

Yep, we had at least 10 on every lathe. And I used them all on some jobs.

Limy Sami · Dec 2, 2020

Back in the day (30+yrs) I was offered a genuine Swiss Multifix to fit my 10" Boxford (SB clone) for an exceedingly reasonable price (the guy didn't know what he had) but it only had 3 turning and 1 boring tool holder with it, and I simply could not afford new toolholders, so I passed the deal on to a mate who had plenty of toolholders and another lathe in need of a post.

A bit later on, a Dickson QC with a few holders that came my way in a job lot was sold on for the same reason.

eKretz · Dec 2, 2020

I hope that mate of yours paid you back repeatedly at the pub!

dian · Dec 3, 2020

with b-holders available for $60 (c are $90) i dont see a reason to avoid the "multifix".

ygolohcysp · Dec 3, 2020

I'm starting to get contact info for local suppliers, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask here. At home I like to use a trigon shape because it's easy to have it setup to work for profiling and facing without changing anything. It's a larger tool than others I have, and I switch to something smaller for lighter cuts for finishing.

Without considering special cutters for specific features, is this a good enough plan, or are specific insert shapes better for general applications?

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