Boring bars and inserts

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Hi all turners i am wanting to know has anyone tried a metal lathe boring bar and those triangular metal turning inserts on wood. Just wondering surely the must cut wood fine.
 
I can't speak for the metal lathe boring bar since I've never seen or used one, but a lot of guys use carbide inserts for cutting on a wood lathe. More common, though, are HSS or cobalt cutters like these:

HSSTB_320.gif
In general, the cutting end is rounded into a curved and beveled shape. like this. It's used like a baby round-nose scraper:

Hollowing Cutter Setup 04 - 600.jpg Hollowing Cutter Setup 06 - 600.jpg

Of course you need something to hold the cutter, and a boring bar or purpose-made handle will do that.

One word of advice (based on experience) with carbide cutters. They are not created equal. I've tried a number of different cutters, but none have compared in sharpness and length of usability to the Easy Wood Tools cutters. You can buy identical-looking cutters for much less money, but you truly get what you pay for, IMO.
 
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