Indexable Lathe Turning Tool 21Pcs Kit 1/2'' 12mm Shank 7 Pcs Metal Lathe Tool Holder Set with 14 Pcs Turning Inserts for Turning Grooving Threading Boring Carbide Inserts Carbide Turning Tool

I purchased this 21-piece indexable lathe turning tool kit to upgrade from my old brazed carbide bits, and it has completely revolutionized my machining work. If you are tired of stopping your projects to re-grind tool tips on a bench grinder, switching to this 1/2-inch (12mm) shank indexable set is the absolute best choice you can make for your workshop. The build quality of the 7-piece tool holder set is outstanding. Each holder is machined from heavy-duty steel with a flawless black oxide finish for excellent rust resistance, and they sit perfectly flush inside a standard quick-change tool post with zero flexing or vibration under load. What makes this kit a phenomenal value is the inclusion of the 14-piece replacement carbide inserts. The inserts are incredibly hard, ground to a razor-sharp edge, and slide onto the holders with perfect alignment. When a cutting edge finally wears down, you just use the included wrenches to rotate the insert to a fresh corner in seconds and keep right on turning. The variety in this kit covers every single operation you could possibly need, including turning, facing, boring, parting, and precision threading. I have used these to cut clean profiles into solid stainless steel rods, brass fittings, and aluminum spacers, and they slice through the material like butter, leaving behind a gorgeous, mirror-like surface finish. Having all the holders, inserts, and torx keys neatly organized makes it incredibly easy to manage your tooling. If you want professional machine-shop results, high versatility, and a massive boost in efficiency, this comprehensive kit is worth every single penny.

I have an old, clapped-out lathe that gets used at random times, mostly when a project goes off the rails and I need to make, modify or repair something in a HURRY. Because of this, I never know what I'll be making or what material I'll be using. Last time I fired up the lathe, I was modifying a brass hose barb to replace a broken fitting on a plastic car radiator. This was on a Sunday afternoon and I needed that hose barb 5 minutes ago. I bought this kit because I'm not the best at grinding HSS tools for the lathe. I wanted something I could throw on the lathe and get to work, rather than take 3 or 4 attempts to get tool geometry right, hone the edge, etc. This set is inexpensive, uses commonly available inserts, and has several different tool formats. I figured I could buy an entry-level set of tools and then upgrade if/when I needed to. So far, I haven't needed to. I've used these tools on a couple of different projects and so far they've been fine. I've turned brass and mild steel, but also used them to reduce the outer diameter of a tool steel spark plug socket for use in a motorcycle engine. The tool left a pretty good surface finish even though my lathe is worn out and tends to fight me a bit, and it cut the relatively hard steel without a single complaint. If you need an entry level set of carbide lathe tools for next to nothing, you could do a lot worse than this set. The inserts have survived some interrupted cuts and other mild abuse that I for sure thought would have done some damage. So far, I haven't had to switch out a single insert. I'm impressed. This is a perfect kit for a home machinist on a shoestring budget (like me), or for someone who doesn't want to spend top dollar while dipping their toes into the machining world. I'll still keep HSS tools around for specific uses (form tools, cutting plastic or softer metals, etc.) but these will probably do the lion's share of the work in the future.

Satisfactory. Good for the cost.

Awesome product

Does the job on my 9x20 mini lathe. Be sure and order extra inserts when you order the kit though Good fit for the 9x20 lathe. Helps improve accuracy because you can replace a broken insert without removing the holder from the tool post. Seems to be durable so far.

The part that's good is the holders are accurately machined for a good fit and the inserts are very sharp. I can get a good surface finish even with .001" finishing cuts. But there are some flaws with this set that really diminish its usefulness. There are no left hand bits, so no way to turn the rim of a disc, or face toward the centerline. The external threading tool is biased so you can thread to a shoulder, but it is so much easier and safer to thread in reverse away from the chuck with the tool upside down, and for that you need a bit biased the other way. The boring bar has only .75" of relief so you can not bore any deeper without either grinding relief along the bar or angling it in the toolpost to provide the relief, which substantially increases the minimum bore size. The internal threading tool had the same issue, but of course you can't angle it because the insert is square to the axis of the bar. This insert is very small: the maximum thread pitch is about 14 TPI (1.75mm) and the minimum diameter the bar will fit inside is about 5/8" (16mm) so there is absolutely no standard nut you can thread with this tool. The external threading tool is a bit bigger and could go to 8 TPI (3mm), which is still not great. All in all, I'm disappointed in the set and expect I'll only use a couple of the tools to any extent, so what seemed like a low price is certainly not, at least for my use cases.

Works as described

I decided to post a review of these before I used them, because of so many reviews claiming they didn't get the quantities of bits advertised. I did. I bought the 12mm (1/2") holder set, and got 7 holders (6 types, 1 duplicate, which makes some sense in this application), 14 bits, 8 Torx keys. The cut-off bit holder is different from the others, with a flex-pinch capture of the tool, rather than a screw capture, and apparently the company that makes this set thought that the small plastic-handle Torx key wouldn't provide enough torque to clamp the cut-off bit in the holder. So they also provided a much bigger, standard 90-degree configuration Torx key. I think this is a good idea, because leaving a carbide bit loose enough to chatter is a sure way to break it quickly. Quality of all pieces, and the individual holder containers, and the box they come in (which is cardboard, rather than plastic) looks quite good. No, I haven't used the tools yet, so I can't testify as to their operational qualities. But I doubt that my experience will satisfy many people in any case, as I work almost exclusively with brass, which shouldn't challenge ANY half-way reasonable bits or holders. A real test would probably require using the lathe on a decently hard stainless, or high strength steel with an interrupted cut situation. Even working mostly on brass or aluminum (and absolutely if you are working steel or stainless), my fervent advice to all is, if your lathe's tool holder has the capacity to accept 12mm (1/2") bit holders (like the present set), spend the few extra $ to buy that size, rather than the 10mm (3/8") bit holders. Every possible means for you to reduce tool flexure/chatter reduces the chance of breaking carbide bits, and increases the chance of producing a smooth finish on the work-piece. Wear your safety goggles!

ممتاز

Very good set for a Hobbiest with Metal working experience