metal lathe

When I lived in Darwin (10 yrs ago) I had access to a lathe which proved invaluable when I rebuilt my Norton Commando. I have been on the lookout for one of my own and last week, when up Mt Glorious for my Saturday coffee fix, I was offered one which I bought on Sunday.

I stripped it and set it up and it appears to be sound. Unfortunately it did not come with cutting tools. Now a question for all you turners out there:

1. I have visited a few machinery shops and got conflicting advice about the type of tools I should buy.
- HSS blanks: cheap and handy if you know (and at 60+ have the eye sight) how to shape/sharpen them)
- Set of 6 brazed carbide tipped holders - cheap but U/S if chipped
- Tungsten carbide inserts - expensive, handy, long lasting & easy to change. Down side - sets require different inserts for each tool, inserts sold in 10 and expensive.

2. Anyone know where I can get off-cuts (mild steel & aluminium). Tried local metal recyclers but not interested & few local m/shops. For reasons of safety they were not prepared to let me go through their scrap bins - not even for a carton of beer. I am in the Brisbane area any suggestions.

Depending on the type of work you will be doing on the lathe it will most likely be more cost effective to by HSS blanks and grind your own tools even with 60yo eye sight.
There is heaps of info out in interweb world on basic grinding of tools.
Click here
Click here
For a few I found quickly.

Getting carbide bits and holders can make for a better end result and is easier than grinding your own but also more expensive. You may find you need to grind your own anyways for certain jobs.


For offcuts or cheap stock, see if there is a 2nds dealer somewhere.

You can sharpen your carbide tools as long as you have a green stone on your grinder. You can pick up a lot of different cutting tools reasonably cheap of ebay. You can also buy aluminium pieces as well. How much do you need?