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lathe tool inserts

Brian G

Member
Where are you guys getting your tooling inserts? There must be something between the retail machine supply stores that are crazy expensive, and the crummy Busy Bee Chinese stuff.

Maybe some online source that is favored?
 
Don't have any experience in this regard yet! I've gotten all of my inserts second hand to date.
 
I usualy go to ATC for my inserts I even got a 1/4 square broach from them they are about 10 minutes from me.
 
Westool in Edmonton. Mom and pop shop. Friendly, great service and good prices. What they don't stock they can get quickly from a local wholesaler.
 
You can order them from KBC, canada tool crib, etc. If you need them now, then there are a few machine tool suppliers in Calgary you can go to.. Thomas skinner, MacDougall's Tool Sales & Service Ltd (I've bought here and its not cheap, but they have lots of stock), just google "calgary alberta machine tool supplier" and you'll find a few.
 
In Calgary I buy a lot of stuff at McDougal Tool on 19th. Bob is an industrial supplier, priced accordingly, but for inserts, I have had my fill of cheap inserts.

I bought a packet of Lamina triangular inserts. They were $3 or so more each than KBC but they are awesome.
 
I buy some hard to get kenemetal end mills and inserts at Tomas skinner. They are nice to deal with and they always have what I am looking for. They are not the cheapest but they are convenient so I keep going back. The cheap stuff from busy bee tools is good for a hobbiest. There glanze inserts and tool holders are a bargain. I push the speeds and feeds really hard and I will say the coating the carbide and the insert design are all really good. Always you get what you pay for. But if you are a hobby machinist you probably don't care too much about material removal rate so leave the really expensive stuff alone. The only really expensive stuff I buy is extra long carbide end mills, grooving inserts and taps. All of these things need to be high quality to produce any result at all . Drill bits are a great example of you get what you pay for. Guarantee the cheap ones won't be good.
 
Exactly... I have purchased some good stuff from a place called Quest Industrial as well. Great for metric fasteners and drills and taps.

I purchase some drills and such from KBC. For "special purpose" drills - i.e. one off jobs and such, I have found that EBay has some sellers from overseas. I have ordered some metric taper shank or just plain shank drills on the 14 / 15mm range for under $20. Good brand name the same might run you twice the price. So that is OK.

The Glanze stuff is OK. I have an internal threading tool that works surprisingly well. I used to believe that even if the holder were cheap, and the inserts were good, you can get good results. I bought a Shars holder at one point, and the screw became stuck and I couldn't replace the tip. I finally drilled the screw head off to get it out, but it seems they use a different - likely metric - thread. I bought Dorian holders after that and have had no difficulty in sourcing parts or changing tips.
 
I discovered DMH in Calgary recently http://dmhmachinetools.com/
They offer some nice product lines that are worth a look, competitive prices etc.. It seems like tooling distributers tend to carry certain brand selections, so worth evaluating other options up front. Owner name is Jake & he was very happy to deal with me as a hobbyist type. No affiliation, just a happy customer.
 
I really like Bob McDougall, of McDougall Tools in NE Calgary. I always ask when he's going to retire,,and he's always helpful. I needed some small hole guages recently and he didn't have any in,, the job was rush, so he loaned me his set. Great guy, and he gets my business
 
Hi Rick:

I agree RE: Bob. He has stuff I didn't think I could easily get in Calgary... Did a job for a friend and we needed a 1/4 X 36 or 40 tap... I forget the exact pitch. I didn't think anyone would have it but Chris found it at McDougals. Been back regularly since!
 
If you need cheap stuff from China don't go to Busy Bee as they have the cheap stuff way for too much $$$. Sometimes 3x ro 4x.

Just go order directly from China. Aliexpress or ebay

Note that some stuff from China is of great quality ==> usually requires that you don't pay super low price for it through. And you actually need to do research before you buy. Note that heavy stuff will kill on shipping but light expensive stuff with proper care can be had for quite cheap.

For example for my welder water cooler build I am getting stuff from China - almost all of it.

Just don't expect miracles - if you paid for cheap Chinese stuff that is what you get. If you paid premium that is what you get as well. 100% true on every drill bit I ever used.
 
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