Carbide Cutters.

[WilDun]

Originally Posted by masterblaster If you are looking to work in your small shop and have low volume work, then HSS will be less expensive and readily resharpened for you. Coated carbides are for high volume, high speed,high feed applications. If you were to use a coated insert on that lathe finish you were looking for, you could get a glass finish by really cranking up the speed and boosting up the feed. In a nutshell, carbide for really high speeds and feeds. Way out lasts and out performs any HSS

Yes, I agree with all you say, but in a small workshop ( where I would basically be "pottering",) the carbide tips would be a bit hard to resist when it comes to removing metal in a hurry (roughing) - this is one area where carbides excel and HSS will fail, and I always found in the past that the uncoated variety of carbide seemed to stand up much better, but this was probably due to the fact that manual lathes etc. seldom work under ideal cutting speeds and feeds, ( ie. it's more of an art than a science), whereas in a well run CNC shop, everything is set according to the chart, (give or take a little). - Looks like I'll settle for both!
I still say that the HSS is the safer bet to get you out of trouble on the last cut if you can't afford to make a mistake, we're just talking centre lathes, and one off stuff of course! you won't get that beautiful shiny finish but it'll be smooth and accurate!
I have purchased a Xylotex 4 axis board for an engraver, but am exploring the possibilities of getting one for a mill, which is the reason I've joined this forum.
Years ago, I worked in a valve manufacturing shop, when they started using NC (punch card machines) and shortly afterwards, CNC.
I was asked to operate these, but I resisted because I saw it as becoming a slave to a machine! and so I never actually learnt CNC, however I made all their jigs and fixtures, so I wasn't totally ignorant of the process and was very interested, but I knew that if I learnt to operate them, then that's where I would end up, losing my good free thinking development job!
Now I want to learn!!