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Grinding Tool Bits

When you purchase a new lathe
tool bit, it might have an angle
on the end, but it is not properly
sharpened for turning. Grinding
lathe tool bits is a bit of an art.
It takes some practice to get
good at it.
You need to create a cutting
edge that is sharp, extends out
so that the cutting edge and not
the side of the tool contacts the
work, but that still has enough
support to maintain sufficient
strength to cut metal.
Before diving in, there are some
terms you need to understand.
The illustration below shows
these terms.
First, notice that there are two
cutting edges on the tool bit.
There is a cutting edge on the end of the tool bit called the front cutting edge. There is also a
cutting edge on the side of the tool. Between these cutting edges is a rounded section of
cutting edge called the nose.
Side Cutting The side cutting edge does most of the cutting. As the tool bit moves along
Edge the work piece the side cutting edge removes most of the material.
Front Cutting The front cutting edge cuts when the tool is advanced into the work.
Edge
Nose The nose is a critical part of the cutting edge, because it produces the
surface finish of the work piece.
Side Rake The side rake produces the side cutting edge that cuts into the work piece.
Side Relief Side relief provides clearance for the side cutting edge. Without side
relief, the side of the tool bit would hit the work piece and not allow the
cutting edge to penetrate the work piece.
Back Rake The back rake produces the front cutting edge that cuts into the work
piece.
Front Relief Front relieve provides clearance for the front cutting edge. Without front
relief, the front of the tool bit would hit the work piece and not allow the
cutting edge to penetrate the work piece.

© 2002–2012 LittleMachineShop.com Page 1 of 2

How to Grind Tool Bits
Use a bench grinder to sharpen your tool bits. Even an inexpensive bench grinder can do a
good job grinding lathe tool bits. In some cases, you might want to purchase a higher quality
fine grit wheel.
Keep a small cup of water near your grinder. Grinding generates heat, which can cause two
problems. The tool bit will become too hot to hold. Overheating can also affect the heat
treatment of the tool bit, leaving the cutting edge soft.
Use a protractor to measure the angles. They are not super-critical, but you should try to stay
within one degree of the recommendations.

Grind the Front Relief

The first step in creating a tool bit is to grind the front relief. For most work, a relief angle of
10° works well.
While you are grinding the front relief, you are also creating the front cutting edge angle.
Make this angle about 10° also, so that the corner formed by the front cutting edge and the
side cutting edge is less than 90°.

Grind the Left Side Relief

Form the left side relief next. Again, create about a 10° angle. You don’t need to form a side
cutting angle. The side cutting edge can be parallel to the side of the tool blank.

Grind the Top Rake

The top of the tool bit is ground at an angle that combines the back rake and the side rake.
The side rake is most important, because the side cutting edge does most of the work. For
cutting steel and aluminum, the side rake should be about 12° and the back rake should be
about 8°. For cutting brass, the rake angles should be much less, or even 0°.

Round the Nose

A small nose radius allows you to turn into tight corners. A large nose radius produces better
surface finishes. Create a nose radius that is appropriate for the tool bit you are creating.

Relief and Rake Angles for Cutting Common Metals

Material Side Relief Front Relief Side Rake Back Rake
Aluminum 12° 8° 15° 35°
Brass 10° 8° 5° to -4° 0°
Bronze 10° 8° 5° to -4° 0°
Cast iron 10° 8° 12° 5°
Copper 12° 10° 20° 16°
Machine Steel 10° to 12° 8° 12° to 18° 8° to 15°
Tool Steel 10° 8° 12° 8°
Stainless Steel 10° 8° 15° to 20° 8°

Page 2 of 2
HSS Lathe Tool Grinding
This is a copy of information found on Steve′s Workshop. Steve has produced a useful article on grinding your
own HSS lathe tools. At the end of his article is a free to download PDF designed as a workshop wall-chart. Steve
kindly says "Please print, laminate, share and distribute as needed" so taking him at his word I am distributing
the information.

The poster is available for download At Steve's Workshop. There is also a practical guide to sharpening including
images and a link to Steve's tool grinding rest.
RIGHT HAND TURNING TOOL

This type of tool works well when taking heavy cuts to reduce the diameter of a part. As shown it is designed to cut
from right to left but can be reversed using the same angles to cut from left to right (left hand turning tool). The
video Grinding Turning and Facing Tools for the Lathe shows how to apply the information provided in this diagram.
Click on the image below to download a PDF file.

RIGHT HAND FACING TOOL

This type of tool is used to machine the end of a part or the side of a shoulder. As shown it is designed to face on
the right, but it can be reversed using the same angles to face on the left (left hand facing tool). The video Grinding
Turning and Facing Tools for the Lathe shows how to apply the information provided in this diagram. Click on the
image below to download a PDF file.
FLY CUTTING TOOL

This type of tool works well in light fly cutters that hold the tool at an angle of 10º-15º to the work. It is basically the
same as a left hand turning tool without the side or end cutting edge angles. The nose radius should be kept around
1/64″ for steel and 1/32″ or so for non ferrous metals. If it’s too small, it will burn out quickly on steel, too large and it
will chatter. Fly cutters dissipate heat better than end mills, so I generally run them 30%-50% faster than an end mill
of equal size. Click on the image below to download a PDF file of the diagram.
 Metal Lathe Tools : High
Speed Steel (HSS)

• Angles shown are good for hobbyists;

grinds for production shops should
consult a specialist.
•

• When both a relief and a clearance angle

are outlined (e.g., Side Relief and Front Carbide vs. HSS
Relief), this is done to facilitate easier Compres Max
Shear
resharpening. Material sive Usable
Strength
Strength Temp.
• It is analogous to Secondary Bevels on
Carbide Higher Lower 1,800 °F
woodworking chisels.
950 - 1,100
• Resharpening should be done when the HSS Lower Higher
°F
wear land reaches 1.5 mm (1/16 inch) high.
•
* Temperature at which the tool material begins
to soften appreciably. For HSS, it depends on the
• Angles shown are the effective angles, not level of cobalt in the HSS.
the ground angles. Effective angles are
increased or decreased, based on the
angle by which the tool is presented
against the work. Additionally, the
vertical alignment of the tool (vs. the
center line of the work) can also change
the effective Front Relief Angle.
 •

• All angles are given the nomenclature

designated by the American Standards
Association (ASA).

Tool Shape - End View

Side Clearance Angle should be 4° to

6° greater than Side Relief Angle.

In selecting the Side Relief Angle, the

sharpener should :

• carefully chose the correct

angle, as a deviation of even 2°
(plus or minus) will lower tool
life appreciably.
• chose the lower angle from the
table below for heavy cutting
• chose the higher angle from the
table below for finish cutting.
• increase the angle by +2° when
making high impact cuts (e.g.,
work with significant gaps or
hard inclusions).

Side Rake Side Relief Side Clearance

Material Comments
Angle Angle Angle
Aluminium 20° - 30° 12° - 14°

Aluminum
15° - 20° 10° - 12°
Bronze

Manganese
10° - 16° 9° - 11° Side Relief
Bronze
+ 4° - 6°
Bronze Castings 15° - 20° 10° - 12°

Cast Iron - Soft

12° - 18° 8° - 10°
(170 Brinell)
Cast Iron -
Medium (250 10° - 15° 7° - 9°
Brinell)

Cast Iron - Hard

5° - 10° 5° - 7°
(400 Brinell)

Cast Iron - Chilled -3° - +5° 3° - 5°

Copper 20° - 30° 10° - 12°

Monel 10° - 15° 8° - 10°

Magnesium 25° - 35° 12° - 14°

Maleable Iron 10° - 15° 7° - 9°

Plastics 20° - 30° 14° - 16°

Steel - SAE 1020 15° - 25° 9° - 11°

Steel - SAE 1040 12° - 20° 8° - 10°

Steel - SAE 1095

10° - 15° 7° - 9°
or 52100

Steel - SAE 2340 10° - 15° 7° - 9°

Steel - SAE 6150 8° - 14° 7° - 9°

Steel - Heat
Treated to 350 5° - 10° 6° - 8°
Brinell

Tool Shape - Side View

 Front Clearance Angle should be 4° to
6° greater than the Front Relief Angle.

The Back Rake Angle, as shown in the

picture to the right, is positive.

Front
Front Relief Back Rake
Use Clearance Comments
Angle Angle
Angle
Aluminium
12° - 14°
Aluminum
Bronze 10° - 12°

Manganese
Bronze 9° - 11°

Bronze Castings
10° - 12°
Cast Iron - Soft
(170 Brinell) 8° - 10° Front Relief
5° - 8°
+ 4° - 6°
Cast Iron -
Medium (250
7° - 9°
Brinell)

Cast Iron - Hard

(400 Brinell) 5° - 7°

Cast Iron - Chilled

3° - 5°
Copper
10° - 12°
Monel
8° - 10°
Magnesium
12° - 14°
Maleable Iron
7° - 9°
Plastics
14° - 16°
Steel - SAE 1020
9° - 11°
Steel - SAE 1040
8° - 10°
Steel - SAE 1095
or 52100 7° - 9°

Steel - SAE 2340

7° - 9°
Steel - SAE 6150
7° - 79
Steel - Heat
Treated to 350
6° - 8°
Brinell

Tool Shape - Top View

• Nose
Radius
• For HSS,
the radius
of the Nose
Radius
should be
the greater
of the
following
two values
:
• 4 x the feed
rate
• depth of
cut / 4

Increases in the
Side Cutting
Edge Angle will
:

• decrease
chip
 thickness
and
increase
chip width
(retaining
the same
area of the
chip)
• decrease
power
usage
Side Cutting Edge (SCE) Angle Front Cutting
Use Comments
Range Recom. Edge Angle
It is
recommended
that the Point and
Roughing Out 10° - 60° 30° 5° - 10°
the Front Cutting
Edge Angles
match.
If a square edge is
Finishing - if a not needed, a
square corner is n/a 0° 5° - 10° point angle (or a
required nose radius) can
be used.
Notes & Comments

Information regarding Grindstones

If grinding this on a high speed grinder, be sure to manage the temperature so that the temper is not
lost due to overheating. If there is a carbide insert, DO NOT cool by dipping in water. This will
cause the carbide to crack due to shocks. Otherwise, cool by dipping as needed in water.

For resharpening, a contour gauge like shown below is recommended. One should be made for each
tool, and it should be numbered to match the tool's number.
More Information
Books & Papers

• The definitive source is Leo J. St. Clair's book from 1952 titled, Design and Use of Cutting
Tools. He was working in the industry as it was changing from HSS to carbide, so both are
covered well. His experimental data helps validate or disprove many theories. Unfortunately,
this book is hard to find.

Videos & Presentations

• Tormek Tool Rest SVD-110 (YouTube video)

•

• Tormek AngleMaster WM-200 (YouTube video)

Web Sites

• Conversion of Brinell vs. Rockwell hardness measurements.

Tormek is a copyrighted logo of Tormek AB. Its presentation on this site is used to help the user
quickly understand when specific Tormek tools, jigs, or setting are being used. For specific
information regarding Tormek AB, or its products, please refer to the www.Tormek.com.

About this site

Remember : The goal of sharpening is to produce sharp tools, and these tools can injure you if
mishandled. Safety measures should be followed to protect yourself and those in your shop. Be sure
to read and follow all instructions from the manufacturer, and and utilize proper safety equipment.
Never consume alcohol or anything that could impair your judgement before sharpening tools, or
using sharp tools. Comments can be sent via eMail to me at SharpeningHandbook@Gmail.com.