you all prolly dont care at all but does any of you know a method to get back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost the login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me!
@Talon August i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and im trying it out atm. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I started as a machinist apprentice in 19... long before you were born, and learned to grind his steel toolbits just as you described. We also used low carbon square stock to practice on. I was so proud of my first hs toolbit and it was identical to the one you ground. Honestly, you explained the process far better than my apprentice instructor did, so kudos to you. I have been retired for a good while and thoroughly love your videos. I also like that you give credit to those that have provided inspiration along the way, specifically Robinz and Joe Pie. They are both great innovators and I love to see their videos. Thank you for making an old man smile.
As Hodgecooter says, this is the way to do hss grinding. I used to train fitting and machining apprentices and this is exactly how I showed them. I'm still doing it at 70!
We learned basic grinding in Sophomore high school general shop class. That was in 1967. I learned the basic concept of studying angles and have been sharpening just about everything with a blade since then. I sharpen carbide and even sharpen carbide inserts. (Most of the good machininsts on youtube re-grind carbide inserts now) Study the angles....STUDY THE ANGLES... picture them in your mind cutting. Then just experiment. If it doesn't cut ...change the angle a little. You will get there. Grinding bits for me is the funnest part of machining.....(I am not a machinist///not even an apprentice. BUT...i get er done)
Back in highschool when I had lots of time and almost no money I had a dream of owning a lathe. A blacksmithing friend of mine took pity on me and sold me an old (1903) lodge and Shipley lathe. I spent about a year fixing it up and I bought a bunch of bits at the local flea market. I got it back up and running just in time to go to college and never have time to actually use it before I had to sell it due to my parents moving.
I feel for you. I remember the days when I had time but no money too. I'd have killed for the things that I can afford now. But, I make my money by selling my time and I rarely have enough free time to use the equipment that I've accumulated. If I die before I retire I'll be a really unhappy ghost.
Hi Quinn, thank you very much for this video, today I grinded my first HSS tool bit like you showed us and it worked out great 🙂 I made a great cut on our Weiler both aluminium and carbon steel. Greetings from Amsterdam, Theo
Blondihacks, where were you when I was in high school in Metals Technology 1 & 2. back in 1969 & 1970? Our teacher Ken Davis, gave us the steel blank, a grinder, and drawings of what the tools were supposed to look like. I still have those tools today as a reminder of my struggles.
The chap who sold me my first lathe gave me a quick crash-course on using it and on grinding HSS bits. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to take notes which I transcribed as soon as I got home. All of his advice has served me well but I soon turned to carbide because I simply couldn't get my head around all of the angles. Now that I've seen your video, I think that I should try again. Thanks very much for the inspiration.
Thank you very much for taking the mystery out of Grinding tool bits, it also explained how to use them. so thanks from a 67-year-old late starter from the UK.
This video is pure gold. I now see the error of my ways. I had taken a good, perfectly working commercial 1/4" tool bit and tried to learn how to grind on it, thus creating a horrible, failing bit for my Sherline lathe. You made the process so simple and logical, I am confident I can go and regrind that poor bit back to working order. I also found a small bag of uncut blanks I had bought over 10 years ago when I thought I actually could make my own tools. Being a Mandalorian fan, I found myself quietly whispering "this is the way" during the video.
Thank you ... I just cut my first chips yesterday . I am a Virgin chip grinder 100% , and yes, I did make a huge mess out of the socket extention that I had welded . I use some sand paper to clean it up but even that didn't help that much . So now I know , it is because my tool was dull . I will reshape and sharpen and try again . I think this could be addictive . You are an artist on how you present the information . Great job . I feel more capable to start a extreme learning journey in creativity . Thank you Dale
I was grinding a 5/16" piece of HSS in school one time. The grinding wheel was a cup style and was bolted to the arbor. I accidentally slid the tool off the wheel into the center and one of the bolt heads caught it and flung it at my face. Sliced my thumb open and hit me in the chin hard enough that the square corner cut me. Felt like I got punch in the jaw. Had to finish they day with a bandaid on my chin. lol Still have the scar. SUPER glad it didn't hit an inch higher and take out teeth!
Having tried grinding tools before with limited success I today made another attempt using the method you describe. The result is the best HSS tool I've ever ground 😃. Thank you.
The popup comments are hilarious! Revisiting this episode because I needed a refresher in HSS grinding. Recently I was making a part with an OD of about 2.4" and an ID of about 1.8" from an unknown bar of steel. Every carbide insert I had chattered badly on both the OD and with the boring bar. Fortunately I had some old HSS tools that I made years ago and they worked wonders on the mystery steel, cutting smoothly and eliminating the chatter. Sometimes I rough shape HSS bits with a carbide end mill before grinding them (industrial duty milling machine). It can save a lot of grinding time.
Was wondering when you'd make a video companion to your fantastic blog post on the subject from many moons ago (how I learned of your existence, btw) Tragically, it seems as though the grinding of toolbits is relegated to formal education and homegamers anymore. I say tragically, but as I pay my bills by selling tools for industrial metalworking, it's not all bad. That said, I still try to suggest a shop-made toolbit to my customers once in a while, when it's the best solution, usually to no avail. For example: one of my customers is the manufacturing manager of a small/medium job shop. Young guy, really smart, but not hip to the old school ways. One time, he had a one-piece job in aluminum that required a largish, goofy-profiled face groove. As per usual, I told him that a custom insert would cost actual money, take 6 weeks to produce and he'd be on the hook for a whole box of them. Not a good plan. Then he decided he'd just get some insert blanks and take them to a shop that can grind carbide for him. Because of the size of the groove, he was still looking at $30-something per blank, 10 piece minimum. Still not a good plan. Thinking of Quinn, Tom Lipton, Tony and many other sage youtubers, I said, dude, buy a HSS toolbit (cobalt if you're a fancy lad) and grind that sucker into a form tool. Cut your part, one and done, it'll cost you all of a couple doubloons and an hour at the worst if you want to get persnickety and run back and forth to the comparator. *long silence* I could hear the gears turning *silence persists* Ultimately, he shelled out over 3 hundo for 10 chonky pieces of carbide. I tried. I really did. Horse to water and all that.
@@spankeyfish There may have been some very specific dimensions to the feature being machined. It may also have to do with the equipment being used in the shop were the job was being done. It could also have been related to not seeing the tree for the forrest effect. He may have had the machine in the shop that would be perfect for grinding a special cutting tool. A surface grinder. He simply may not of been able to see beyond what the machines name involves. Making flat surfaces. Once I hab some grinding fixtures made up I always ground or tuned up my tool bits ground to specific angles in this fashion. But surface grinders are not common in home shops.
After watching your video, I went out to the shop and ground some tools. The steel cutting bit worked great, but the High top rake for aluminium-WOW. I didn't know Al. needs a top rake as you showed. My small lathe cut more Al. than ever before, and the finish was terrific. Thanks for this video, it really helped me. Kind regards Shayne......Australia.
Thanks Quinn, another great video. I'm just starting my machining journey and your straight forward style of teaching, direct and concise language is excellent for the beginner. Thanks so much!
Since there's really no limit to how fine your grind wheels and hones can go, this can give the sharpest possible edge; this is important for taking small AKA fine cuts and/or good finishes. This used to be key for model engineers with small (even treadle!!!) lathes. People doing ornamental turning take tool grinding and sharpening to super-high levels, since the finished of the item is straight from the tool, it can't be sanded or polished. Tools are often diamond lapped using goniometers.
Glad you encourage the beginners to use a tool rest for grinding. Going free hand up on the wheel will occasionally snag the tool and rip it out of your hands. This always elevates my BP for some reason.
I’ve watched a few RU-vid clips on sharpening cutting tools. You have just brought it all together in one easy fun clip. Thank you from the land off Oz 🙏🙏
Outstanding video! As a beginner, I always like to have a 1,2,3... process to help build my habit patterns and overall understanding of what's going on. This is the video I have been looking for. Thanks Quinn, you are terrific!!!!!
Quin, you are a Queen! I just ground my first tool bit and it works perfectly !! I took your advise and purchased a pre-ground set from Shars but wanted to try my hand. My/your bit works better than the pre-ground one. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
I purchased the 5/16" set pre-ground from Grizzly and also got some 5/16" and finally updated the rest on my 50 Craftsman grinder and actually made my first tool bit for brass. Way better that the pre-ground. What an enabler to be able to make your own tools. This is the best.
I can't be the only novice that benefitted from this video in the past 2 years. I'm teaching myself how to use my lathe and your tutorials are both informative and entertaining. I appreciate your ability to break down these videos to a degree that novices can both understand and actually perform these acts of magic. I wish that I had found your channel before I launched the chuck key during my first attempt at turning some stock. I now have the spring loaded type key.
I can certainly attest that your fingers give out well before the steel does when grinding. i was grinding a set of chasing punches out of 1/4" steel rods, and managed to get in the zone enough that i slightly cooked the tip of my thumb and lost sensation in a chasing punch sized strip of thumb that took 6-12 months to recover "fully". i've really appreciated your channel and all the great info you present, i'm in the process of refurbishing and equipping a watchmakers lathe(a badly abused G Boley F1), so all your "small machine shop" tips are extra applicable when learning to work with a lathe that natively uses 8mm collets that max out at 5mm diameter stock. i eagerly await the arrival of a teeny tiny 3 and 4 jaw chuck so i can work with more diverse stock and start turning some additional tools and parts i need to complete my refurb. until then, i'm watching all your lathe tip videos and builds and learning as much as i can.
Another good video! I've been asked by people new to machining -"carbide or HSS?" My answer is all of the above, plus carbon steel. HSS to learn the fundamentals, carbide to open up possibilities and O-1 tool steel for when you need a form tool. But, carbide inserts can be used on hobby machines, if you use positive rake inserts. Checkout CCMT and CCGT inserts. CCMT for steel and stainless, CCGT for Aluminum and free machining steels.
I agree 100 percent. It’s crazy trying to make a carbide tool cut correctly on a hobby machine. If you need something special with HSS you just grind it. You don’t have to wait for carbide to ship from across the planet.
The vacuum is a great idea, I made a magnetism base for the end of my vacuum hose. I stick it to my vise on my mill and it takes a lot of the chips and-filings away, plus it moves air near the cutter. I use it the same way on my lathe and grinder.
Thank you - I can now try to figure out what all the pre-cut bits that my lathe's previous owner had diligently cut and try some myself - never got taught anything about this at school - everything was always ready to go!
Quinn, I think the best reason to use HSS is that one can get it so much sharper than carbide can ever get. That said, I use carbide at every opportunity. I even use it on my flimsy mini lathe as well as the much sturdier 12x36 lathe.
A semester of machine shop practices was required for my heavy diesel classes in college. First thing we were taught to do was grind tool bits for lathes, shapers and such and to hand sharpen drill bits.
Sttruck gold here finding your channel. Just bought an early 90's Harbor Freight Smithy. The combo machine. I know nothing about any of this. I am a hobbyist knifemaker and want to learn to make my own pommels and guards. This was a great video for me as I didn't get any cutting tools with the machine as far as the lathe goes. Wasn't even sure what to look for. I believe your channel is going to be a big help. Thanks!
I use carbide tips pretty much all the time , but there are times I need something for a job where a tip just won't do , so use HSS. I learnt how to grind from my dad who was an expert mill operator in our local dockyard.
Very handy video! Thanks so much! I've grinded/sharpened wood turning tools for many years and recently went to CBN wheels. Purchased a HSS bit set for my metal lathe and it just arrived last night. This video came at a VERY good time. I'll work on getting my new bits sharpened up. Love your videos! Keep up the great work.
Brilliant. I've shared this with other Drummond lathe users. My Drummond was made for the Royal Navy in 1913 and many of the issues of speed and rigidity that apply to mini lathes are relevant. I do use insert tools to break the surface on ci but HSS is the go to for everything else. BTW if you want to understand cutting forces try turning on a foot treadle powered lathe, your leg will tell you whats sharp and what isn't.
Just been through this for the second time. It's taken a few goes but I''ve finally got my piece of HSS to cut the hex bar I had just like it looks on your video. I bought a 120 grit Al oxide wheel, the HSS blanks and some hex rod. I've ground about 3/8" off the HSS before I got it right (I was making the final radius with the wheel, not the stone. And there's about a 1/2 pound of brass in the shop vac!! But most important of all, after a year of watching you do stuff, I took the plunge and bought a little EMCO compact 8. So thank you for the lessons, they gave me the confidence to have a go, and now I'm doing it.
Having a table of relief and rake like that's a good thing. People machine for different reasons like the inventor that really wishes they did'nt have to machine those damn parts themselves. Big machine negative rake angles unless you just got a brute of a mini lathe. Oh and the K land for the brazed carbide. And dont dunk the T sireies HSS like T-15 its like air hardening steel. (might shatter) So ya the next time some one tell's you grinding a lathe bit is easy. the grinding is easy, Knowing the exact shape to produce a predictable repeatable result, well get out there it's expierience Great job getting people started !
Many thanks indeed Quinn. You are absolutely the best at teaching fundamental and advanced skills. I taught for 30 years, quite a different topic (molecular and cell biology at university) but the principles of pedagogy are the same whatever the topic and level, and you have the ability to keep the student interested and motivated ! I have worked with wood most of my life, but now adding metal work so that I can combine wood and metal for some projects. Just wish brass was a bit cheaper !
This is a great video! I learnt this stuff in metalwork lessons at school, but that was 50 years ago. You explain it really well! I had forgotten many of the angles but not the principles. Looks like I'm not the only old guy to appreciate what you do! All the best, Rob in Switzerland.
I have a tip for materials that don't break a chip (aluminum, 1010, melted down Volkswagens, etc) when grinding the top face of the tool, I use the same method shown in the video, but instead of matching the top facet with my other facets, I only grind ~.04" (1 millimeter--ish) behind the cutting point, and roughly the same amount downwards. Doing this generates an ezpz chip breaker because the noodle material slams into the shoulder left as the top of the tool. if your chips spiral and run sideways in the chip breaker instead of breaking, you can lift the back end of the blank on the grinder table to make a more oblique chip breaker great vid BTW, I wish I had seen this when I was starting out!
So glad I landed on this video! Adding to my saved file. I have my first metal lathe coming tomorrow and I was about to look for a video on grinding tools actually. Very informative and helpful! I’ll have to rewatch a time or two as I get the process down, but I’m going to order some tool steel blanks and practice now. Thanks for all the great info!
😆 this video bright back memories of when I learned machining back in high school at machine shop. Very first thing yoir taught is how to grind your own tools. Never once used any carbide tools back then it was 💯 hss. If you needed a certain tool you had to grind one lol so we spent just as much time on the grinders as on the lathe! Ahh memories, grind.. dunk in water.. grind.. dunk over and over
This high speed tool bits are great for making internal small threading tools, I still have 2 that I made long ago, for custom odd pitch threading nuts. As long as your lathe has the right gears one can cut almost any thread if need be. See ya Blondi....
I do manual “R&D” lathe for a living. 99.9 % of the time I use carbide for turning, facing, threading and parting off. The proper selection of configuration and grade of insert for the operation and material is very important. Done correctly the productivity and efficiency over high speed can be hundreds of times better. For some hogging on 6061 I’ve got HS with a huge chip breaker and one shape like a Z to get around the inside of a groove. Other than that high speed tool grinding is just a nice way to understand how metal flows on a cutting tool. Mostly turning 4140 HT, aluminum/bronze or 7075 these days. I’ve been doing it 36 years.
Hi, Thanks for this excellent video. Suggesting in the first few seconds that a complete beginner buy a set of pre-ground tools is excellent advice. You explanation of the grinding itself is very well done. Thanks again.
The very first thing they taught us in my high school machine shop was how to grind tool bits, which was also the tool bit you used for the whole semester.
Nice video, thanks. Fyi, carbide tooling is way cheaper in the UK thanks to our Chinese friends, and I use it on my (much improved) Chinese mini lathe with no problems, even 304 Stainless. Although I do use HSS for softer materials and wacky profiles, and recently discovered I can use carbide end mills to shape hss tool blanks with greater precision than grinding.
One trick I did a lot was to use the pre-existing angle for the side with the actual cutting edge. Grind your clearance there and any top rake need. Side clearance done automatically. An even better option is a diamond or tangential tool holder.
Simply THE best content video, or written, I've ever seen to get started on grinding tool bits. Only after seeing this does all that other crap everyone tells you about it make sense.
How to learn grinding... Quinn says "Don't" :) Another excellent video. I started with insert tooling. It is cheap enough actually, and really helped fix an important variable. Many inserts have 2 or 4 usable corners, so the cost goes down. And don't underestimate the value gained in time and enthusiasm from using insert tooling.
Another trick for the aluminum bit is to take your stone and get the cutting edge where the top facet meets the left facet as sharp as possible. This will help reduce the cutting pressure and can improve the performance of a smaller lathe.
Very good instructions. That's about the simplest version of toolbit grinding instructions I have heard. Good to get one started learning how to grind. Thanks, and Meow meow meow meow...to Sprocket. Must have been important.
When I started I bought a pre grind HSS Set like the one in the video and you couldn't use it ....so I grinded it more and then it was impossible to use 😂😂 so I had to learn how to proper grind them and from than on I loved them for some jobs they are the best for others inserts are better.👍Quinn knows what she does as expected I love her videos .
Very good video! First of all, I apologize, since my level of English is lousy. I follow your videos with great interest, very well explained, and very educational. A greeting!
Excellent vid! As always, a well thought out, easy to understand approach that gives not only a "make this shape" explanation but a thorough understanding of WHY. I feel like im learning over here, you sneaky badger...
Ok, couple things: 1. Love the #notsponsored over the logo on the grinder. 2. As a noob who has trouble with surface finishes, you've convinced me to buy a pre-ground set ot HSS tools. 3. Official Sponsor ftw!
Thanks for posting. I dwell more in the wood turning world (where everyone goes when they want more than just shiny things lol). We sharpen HSS a lot. Usually Chapter 2 in the books. Many of us move past the crap grey wheels, through the blue and white ending up at CBN. I’ve found it is so much better than the stone wheels. Having an 80 grit for shaping and a 200 Bri for sharpening makes it all very easy, fast, and better for the HSS tools. CBN is better than diamond in this case. Scribing a couple 10 degree reference marks on the adjustable grinder table might be helpful too. Your content is educational and enjoyable. Thanks again.
Well described and simplified. I've got many hundreds of bits in HSS and Carbide given to me, ...starting to figure out what is for what. Some are SURE wacky though - may never figure them out, or have a use for them. Thankyou
It is also important to mention that you should not use the side of the wheel to grind. They are not designed for side grinding. About the water. You can actually burn the tip of the tool before you burn your fingers. Water is for cooling the tool also.
Quinn u can grind a fine radius on the tool by turning the grinder off and kiss the tool while wheel slow down and keep bumping on and off.then hone tool nose away from u .
Awesome video. I started (and still use) low cost bits - either brazed or bolted carbide bit tools (china, of course). I never got to grinding my own HSS tools - I will get to it one day, shortly. Thanks for sharing!
When doing free hand grinding do the roughing first ,than fine grinding second. Brace your 1or 2 finger on tool rest and other hand does the work.water cools tool and fingers.the tool needs it more. Look for the diamond shape on the face .kissing the tool on wheel is considered fine tuning .letting the wheel slow down by turning off switch and just kissing the tool can get nice results.
