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View Full Version : How can i tell if turning tools are HSS or not?


Kevin W Johnson
07-31-2011, 5:45 PM
Theres a powermatic 45 lathe for sale locally that includes 10 turning tools. The person that has it looked, but the tools arent marked. It all came from a school auction sale. If the tools are HSS, then the tools would be worth near the asking price ($200) alone. Is there a way to determine if they are HSS or not?

Thanks,
Kevin
David E Keller
07-31-2011, 5:56 PM
The sparks look different on a grinder... The high carbon stuff has brighter sparks that fragment(think fireworks) while the HSS stuff is less bright(more orange than white) with less fragmenting. Beyond sharpening them, I don't have any idea.
David DeCristoforo
07-31-2011, 6:25 PM
Bite them. If your teeth break, it's probably HSS.
Dennis Ford
07-31-2011, 6:47 PM
If the lathe is usuable or only needs minor repairs, $200 is a great price even without the tools.
Jamie Donaldson
07-31-2011, 9:51 PM
HSS should be labeled on the metal as such, and at the grinder the carbon steel will have a sparkle burst at the end of the whitish tail (like sparkler fireworks?)which the more orangish HSS spark does not have.
Kevin W Johnson
07-31-2011, 10:27 PM
If the lathe is usuable or only needs minor repairs, $200 is a great price even without the tools.

The lathe is missing the tailstock.... and it's 3 phase. If it had the tailstock, or was single phase i'd jump on it regardless of the tools being HSS or not. If the tools were HSS, then i wouldn't mind the missing tailstock so much and i'd just convert it to single phase. The combination of all three (non-HSS tools) is what has me less than excited. Given the fact that i know the tailstock is missing, and its 3 phase, then if the tools were HSS, then they alone would be worth the asking price, or close anyways.
Kevin W Johnson
07-31-2011, 10:29 PM
HSS should be labeled on the metal as such, and at the grinder the carbon steel will have a sparkle burst at the end of the whitish tail (like sparkler fireworks?)which the more orangish HSS spark does not have.

That was my thinking as well. That they would most likely be labeled HSS, if they truly are. Hence my reservations.
Jerry Wright
08-01-2011, 12:04 AM
Spark testing is a valid means of having a good idea whether the tools in question are HCS or HSS. The attached photo is from a talk I gave at the AAW Symposium in Louisville. Carbon vs a high alloy HSS is pretty straightforward sort. In a steel plant, experienced spark testers can make incredibly fine distinctions between individual HSS grades. It is still a faster sorting technique than hand held xray units.