The Home Machinist!

Still, my poor guidance is probably better than no guidance.

The chip relief info is then going to how to generate that without a straight wheel to start that cut and what happens after as radius increases on the wheel edge. This does not mean to distract but a thought about your grinder.

Many as you know have on the right side a thread which fits a Jacobs chuck. This secured chuck can hold what you need for individual reliefs by means of expendable grinding or cutoff wheels. This would not be promoted but is done.

Material? Thickness of wall? Diameter of bore? Tolerance? Fighting chatter? Through bore, or to a shoulder?



That's because they generally lack proper geometry for free machining. If readers come away with nothing more than the understanding that a proper chip breaker changes the way a tool performs, almost always for the better, each will have learned a valuable lesson. Relief angles on tools play a far less important role than some may have you believe. What really matters is how the tool sees the work-----rake. It also often dictates tool life----so there are times when one must compromise.



I'm inclined to say yes, but without knowing more, I hesitate. Thin wall work can be exceedingly tricky---whether you're turning or boring. I'd want to know a lot more about your setup, including the nature of the bar, diameter (of the bar) , if you're running on center, speeds and feeds, and, of course, what material, what tolerance, and what kind of surface finish you're trying to achieve. Sort of a repeat of the above things I mentioned. It's all important if you're trying to solve the mystery. Some things can be unreasonable and make the task border on the impossible without addressing the job from a different perspective.



That's the beauty of chip breakers. They work on almost everything----although hard materials shorten their lives considerably. Tough materials can yield surprising results, however. It's important that you understand the difference between hard and tough. They're not the same thing.

The nature of chip breakers for steel as opposed to aluminum would be a slight reduction of rake angle----and if the machine is light duty, width and depth may have to be adjusted accordingly. A shallow cut with fine feed would require a narrow breaker, and shallow, in order for the chip to curl. By contrast, a deep cut with heavy feed would require a wider and deeper breaker. Rake angle may have to be altered to prevent edge failure----which can be accomplished by using a larger radius for the breaker. As the radius increases, the angle diminishes, and it isn't nearly as deep. These features are best determined by trial and error, so the tool suits the exact conditions in which it's being employed.



If you try something that resembles a tool in my post and are still having trouble, post a picture of your tool and lets see if we can figure out what the problem is. I agree----you're probably going about it wrong, but that's how we learn. You should build a strong, lasting impression of what doesn't work from this experience. It's all part of arriving as a machinist.

Harold

You have me thinking about the soft jaws now. I guess the idea there is to mount them then bore them to a close profile of the tubing/pipe that you want to grab...correct?
Thanks!
Russ