Cowells lathe

I repair clocks, i have just picked up a cowells 90 lathe im delighted with it, im using the collet chuck with the e16 collets, the tool post has a gap of just over 9mm, im wondering about tooling, i am going to grind my own, im just wondering about hss stock size is this the way to go ,

regards john

You'll probably need to use 1/4" or even 1/8" to make sure there's enough room to pack the tool edge to centre height. I'd suggest also,you look at making a small tangential tool holder, these are easily adjustable, the tools are simple to grind, and you get a good finish. Several threads on this forum about making them, also on various other websites.

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I don't know much about the Cowells lathe other than to cast admiring glances at photographs of them.

But I do know that all HSS stock is not equal.!

Such a nice lathe deserves the best HSS tool bit stock, so be careful where and what you purchase. Eclipse I know to be a good brand but others will advise more than me.

I would also say that HSS is 'probably' the way to go for such a small lathe as when correctly ground and sharp the loadings are much lower than using insert tooling.

Nick

You mention that the toolpost gap is 9mm.. We see a number of people who think 'bigger is better' so get the biggest that will fit then find the top of the tool is above centre height. The top of the toolpost is almost always above centre height - it is completely unimportant so the designer just goes with a random round figure.

With a small lathe you are not going to put much strain on the tool so choose about 3/16 as it means less effort during the initial grinding to get to shape. Also get a 'slip stone' or diamond needle file for touching up the tool while still in position.

I have a Cowells and good quality 3/16 square HSS is great for finishing but for metal removal I recommend a Glanze SCLCR 0606 D06 Right hand tool holder with CCGT carbide inserts the finish you will get is amazing on all materials.

I repair clocks also, just a few pointers on the Cowells lathe if the belt slips a lot then it is time for a new belt and you can easily upgrade the dials to resettable ones by ordering just the plastic dial and O ring from Cowells and modifying the handles yourself.