Gunsmithing tool holders

[themayor]

what's everyones go to tool holders for gunsmithing looking to expand to some more tool holders for carbide n looking to see what everyone uses

 

[sam4886]

You talking about in the field or on the bench?

I've got a menagerie of shit to hold tools on the bench. Tackle boxes, the driver and bit boxes you get from the factory, stuff thrown in drawers, long stuff hang in screw in eyelets, magnetic trays, my Lee die heads are in 4" PVC sections....

 

[themayor]

I’m talking for a lathe tool holders for holding different shape carbide inserts

 

[mcfred]

Aloris, Phase II, Dorian, ChiCom. I use whatever's on sale but I'm just a hobbyist. It's hard to justify $100/holder for the US-made stuff; it's nice, but I don't know about 4-5x the cost for a simple square lump of steel with a dovetail and some set-screws.

 

[themayor]

I guess I’m still calling them the wrong thing I’m talking about the things that hold the actual carbide inserts

 

[DAVETOOLEY]

It's not about the holder, cheap stuff works just as good as the expensive stuff. It's all about the inserts. Look at www.mscdirect.com sales flyers. You can buy a combo package and pay for the inserts and get the holder for free. Ebay can also be a source. Just watch the size of the holder and the size of the insert it takes. Bigger isn't better.

 

[Supersubes]

That’s what I call them. Do you have a certain brand of insert you like? If so, use their holder.


I’ve found that the tech support people at the various tool makers are very helpful.

 

[carlsbad]

You need 3 or 4 different sizes of boring bars, a good threading setup, a profiling tool or 2, and roughing tools.

CNMG makes a good rougher
V-shaped inserts are good for profiling.
Lost of different threading options and all are good.
Solid carbide is superior for boring bars but expensive in the larger sizes.

You'll end up experimenting with inserts. the chinese inserts on ebay are functional but you'll want better inserts for finish work.

 

[themayor]

I have some that I use but look to see what others use to expand my Options

 

[DAVETOOLEY]

I like full profile threading inserts. 12 years ago you could buy inserts on the cheap off of Ebay. I bought 40 VNMG inserts for $1 each. Then I found a holder. That's 320 cutting edges. I'm down to 5 inserts now.

 

[carlsbad]

Yes, I refer to that as the "golden age of ebay". When ebay came into existence, apparently at a inventory management conference somewhere someone presented a paper about the opportunity to get rid of old tooling on ebay and the managers went back with direction to "put it all on ebay now". Supply was much greater than demand and I still have literally hundreds of pounds on carbide inserts filling 3 shelves in my shop.