Woodworking Tool Series—Lathe Tool

Published On: August 24, 2020

In this article, we will mainly talk about some basic knowledge about woodworking lathe tools. Like what are lathe tools, how they work, and how many types of lathe tools we have.

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1. What is a lathe tool?

A lathe tool is a tool having a non-rotary tool bit on its head and this is only one cutting part for turning. But that doesn’t mean you should frequently change your tool bits. When the blade gets blunt, some people may choose to sharpen the blade. Or they may choose to use an indexable lathe tool, which has two or more sides available. Besides, we have high-speed steel lathe tools and lathe tools made up of carbide. Both of them can be used for a quite long time.

Its materials are usually decided by what it is going to process and its RPM. For example, carbide lathe tools have better heat resistance and better durability than high-speed steel lathe tools, so carbide lathe tools are usually used in high-speed and deep cutting work. lathe tools have different shapes, and each of them has its favorite places. But there are mainly three shapes of lathe tools. They are the diamond shape, triangular shape, and square shape.

2. How lathe tools work?

Its name has shown how the lathe tool is used on. But in turning, the part that turns(rotates) is not the tool itself, but the workpiece. We load the workpiece on the machine, which is called Lathe. When workpieces rotate on a lathe, move the tool bit more or less linearly on the workpiece. We describe its moving path as helix.

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3. Different types of woodworking lathe tools

We can classify woodworking lathe tools in different ways, but in this article, we mainly talk about structure. They are the Integral lathe tools, welding lathe tool, clamping lathe tools, indexable lathe tools, and molding lathe tools. They are widely used in turning, especially the indexable lathe tool.

Compared with the welding lathe tool, the indexable one has a longer service life because the indexable lathe tool avoids the high temperature caused by welding and grinding, which gives both the blade and the cutter bar long service life. Secondly, it is operated by a machine, which shortens the time of grinding and changing the knife. Besides, a series of technologies like coating and ceramics are conducive to new types of knives.

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As woodworking is getting more and more popular with people, woodworking tools no longer just belong to those professionals. But no matter you are a workman in a factory or just want to do some DIY work, be careful when you use it, safety is the first.

Hope you have gotten what you want in this article and thanks for reading.

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