Yes and yes

Edited By mike T on 06/04/2016 18:18:37

Only when I need to as HSS is good enough for most jobs I do and far cheaper than buying inserts.

I have some CCGT and CCMT because i tried grinding a HSS lathe bit once and it was poor. Not a very good finish in aluminium at all. I had slightly better success with a thread cutting tool. Probably harder to get that wrong with 2 30 degree grinds

The el-cheapo 7mm and 10mm boring bars from China are much better than anything i can make. Says a lot for me doesnt it. But to me they appear to be quite good and well made. None of the screws have given way yet either.

When first starting out as a Model Engineer there's a lot to take in: materials, tools, measuring, dials, cutting speeds, coolants, work holding, reading drawings, suppliers, setting up a workshop, what to buy first: there's an almost endless list of new things to explore.

An advantage of indexable carbide for the beginner is that it eliminates the need to develop a rather difficult new skill, that is how to correctly sharpen HSS with a grinding wheel. It's well worth joining the HSS club but these days newcomers can choose to do it as and when it suits them.

You won't go far wrong with indexable carbide. In my experience it's rather well matched to a small lathe run fast.

Cheers,

Dave

Yes, for indexable tooling, without a doubt. I still use HSS although very rarely. HSS is still used in industry on lathes especially for heavily interrupted cuts on HRSA's. So its not dead in the water, even in industry.

I was going to say how much I've enjoyed using an insert tool for a job that had clearance issues, but having just switched back to my tangential tool the finish I'm getting is great. Must buy some more inserts I think.