Woodruff cutter making - Printable Version

Woodruff cutter making - Printable Version

+- MetalworkingFun Forum (http://www.metalworkingfun.com)
+-- Forum: Machining (http://www.metalworkingfun.com/forum-5.html)
+--- Forum: How-To's (http://www.metalworkingfun.com/forum-8.html)
+--- Thread: Woodruff cutter making (/thread-2838.html)

Pages: 1 2

Woodruff cutter making - RobWilson - 09-11-2015

Hi Chaps

Pete's post got me thinking of when I needed an odd size woodruff cutter to cut the key seat in my CUB lathe cross slide lead screw I was making , I actually though I had this base covered
as I have a good selection of said cutters ,but there is always one you dont have . So being Sunday as well I set about making one from the end of a drill bit .

The drill bit .

The MT shanks are soft enough to turn and are HSS , so a quick zip with a zip disc and off came the hard fluted part .

I gave the centre a quick clean up to remove the rust and crud .

Then slapped it in the Boxford lathe for a spin .

Ruffed the shank down .

Finished to size , ready to cut some relief.

Parting off .

Spun round in the chuck , cutter od turned to finish size and some relief on the outer face being put on . I used magic marker to see were I was at as I did not want the
cutter to end up to narrow .

Job still in the chuck , chuck removed from lathe and fit to dividing head .

Teeth cut .

Cutting edge relief .

Sorted .

Now to harden it ( not the correct way to treat HSS ) I just heated it up cherry ,held it for a minute and stuck it into a bucket of water .

I did not have a TCG at the time so a few strokes with a wet stone and off I went .

Job done

Rob

RE: Woodruff cutter making - EdK - 09-11-2015

Nice use of an old, rusty drill bit. Thumbsup

RE: Woodruff cutter making - Roadracer_Al - 09-11-2015

Well done! Looks like the 30* cutter in the horizontal makes that job pretty straight-forward. I've made similar cutters but the 90* end mill or slitting saw always makes the cutter fragile or have few teeth.

Hmmm... I could send a thick slitting saw out to be re-ground with a 30* bevel!

RE: Woodruff cutter making - RobWilson - 09-11-2015

(09-11-2015, 11:27 AM)Roadracer_Al Wrote: Well done! Looks like the 30* cutter in the horizontal makes that job pretty straight-forward.

Well spotted, it is a 30 deg cutter , I have used dovetail cutters in the vertical mill as well , I always fine it fun messing on making ones own cutters . I have quite a collection of home shop cutters .

Rob

RE: Woodruff cutter making - Highpower - 09-11-2015

(09-11-2015, 10:37 AM)EdK Wrote: Nice use of an old, rusty drill bit.

Ed

Note to self: Don't throw away any rusted, broken, chipped or dull cutting tools anymore. Slaphead

Rob, it must be nice to have a lathe that can handle that much stick-out on a turning tool and not chatter like mad. You are a miracle worker when it comes to getting great finishes on parts. Worthy

RE: Woodruff cutter making - krv3000 - 09-11-2015

a job well dun rob Thumbsup

RE: Woodruff cutter making - PixMan - 09-12-2015

Interesting, I always thought drill shanks were too soft for use as cutting tools (and the flutes too hard to do anything without a grinding wheel.) I learned yet another new thing! Thanks Rob!

I would have gone through the expense of buying a cutter on eBay, then wait. There's a million of them there, but an awful time figuring sizes if the seller doesn't give the actual measurements because the American numbering system is a weird three digit thing that changed in the mid 20th century. If the seller says it's a "604" you may not know if its the old or new number. I should just get a 30º milling cutter and make them!

RE: Woodruff cutter making - RobWilson - 09-13-2015

Hi Ken ,

I did have a quick look on Ebay , but the key size is one of those odd ball sized ones ,I have most of the common sizes but not that one ,so at the time I think the only one was a used one on Ebay ,in dubious condition and as you say would the size have been listed correctly Slaphead

. First time for me using a 3MT HSS drill shank to make a cutting tool from ,bit of an experiment, I normally use drill rod /silver steel , It turned lovely , next time I would use my heat treat oven and a TCG when I get the latter repaired lol so it looks a bit more pro .

But it dose show what can be done with old worn out tooling , a drill bit like that could be picked up here at a car boot sale for coppers / cents . Just food for thought .

Rob

RE: Woodruff cutter making - DaveH - 09-13-2015

When I was an apprentice a couple of years ago Big Grin

we went around the Dormer Drill factory in Sheffield (UK). The main drill body was HSS and the shank was med/high carbon steel the two blanks were butt welded together. Although the shank is softer than HSS it is hardened slightly at the factory, and because it is a med/high carbon steel it is possible to harden it.
Which is what Rob did.

DaveH

RE: Woodruff cutter making - RobWilson - 09-13-2015

Never new that Dave , always thought the hole drill bit was HSS , learned something new today Big Grin

Rob