Chip Breaker for a Diamond Tool Holders®

[rgsparber]

My favorite lathe attachments are my left hand and right hand Diamond Tool Holders®. They use High Speed Steel which is very easy to sharpen. Yet there was one really annoying problem: no chip breakers. When doing heavy cuts, the swarf would either shoot off in long coils or ball up around the cutter. I’ve been searching for a chip breaker for a few years.

Well, today might be my lucky day. I may have stumbled into a design that actually works. This chip breaker wraps around the back side of the cutter rather than requiring a second grind which greatly weakens the point.

If you are interested, please see this short article which also contains URLs to YouTube videos demonstrating the tool holder both without and with the chip breaker.

http://rick.sparber.org/ttcb.pdf

If you own a Diamond Tool Holder, I hope you make one of these chip breakers and let us all know how it works under various conditions.

Rick

[kbalch]

Thanks Rick! I've added your Chip Breaker to our Metalworking category, as well as to your builder page: Rick Sparber's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Chip Breaker by Rick Sparber

tags: machining, lathe, tool holder

[Ron B]

My favorite lathe attachments are my left hand and right hand Diamond Tool Holders®. They use High Speed Steel which is very easy to sharpen. Yet there was one really annoying problem: no chip breakers. When doing heavy cuts, the swarf would either shoot off in long coils or ball up around the cutter. I’ve been searching for a chip breaker for a few years.



Rick

When i first started on lathes as an Apprentice we were assigned to monster WArd Turret lathes, the chip breakers we used were simply peices of 1mm stainless sheet which were fitted in the tool posts . The idea being thast the chips coming off were deflected away from the operator . Dead simple easily adjustable with a convenient tool post spanner or hammer. on those old machines the chips would come off in 1" lengths and fly through the air. They would come off steel grey at the tool but turn blue in the air. Really dangerous and hot as hell .Also,back then tool posts were made with Chip breakers built in. i haven't seen one for 30 years but they were common back then. The chip breaker and roller were designed to be used on turret lathes and the finish they provided was mirror like.