Woodruff cutter making
#1
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 . 

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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 . 

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

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Then slapped it in the Boxford lathe for a spin . 

Ruffed the shank down .

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Finished to size , ready to cut some relief.

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Parting off .

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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 . 

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

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Teeth cut .

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Cutting edge relief . 

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Sorted . 

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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 . 

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

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Job done  Big Grin




Rob
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#2
Nice use of an old, rusty drill bit. Thumbsup

Ed
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#3
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!
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#4
(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
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#5
(09-11-2015, 10:37 AM)EdK Wrote: Nice use of an old, rusty drill bit.  Thumbsup

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
Willie
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#6
a job well dun rob Thumbsup
krv3000, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun Forum since Feb 2012.
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#7
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!
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#8
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
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#9
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.
Smiley-eatdrink004 
DaveH
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#10
Never new that Dave , always thought the hole drill bit was  HSS , learned something new today  Big Grin  


Rob
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