ISO designation for Turning toolholders - iso carbide insert designations

Work with our award-winning creative services studio and advertising agency to bring your brand or product story to life. Learn more.

DeZurik-APCO-Hilton, in Sartell, Minn., improved a host of valve-turning operations with the move to live turning at rates some people think could damage the spindle.  On the first job, facing time on a large valve flange was reduced from 18 minutes to three, yet the spindle load reading rarely exceeded 50%. The C-axis spindle is equipped with an Ingersoll Hi-Quad F high-feed face mill that doubles as a full-depth face mill capable of depths of cut up to 0.200 in.

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

The incoming castings had the usual, wide piece-to-piece dimensional variations and yet needed a lot of stock removed depending on those inconsistencies. “Definitely not the ideal candidates for a first stab at a new kind of process,” said Commerford.

Until mid-2014, DeZurik rough-turned their big valve body workpieces with conventional stick tools on a heavy-duty VTL. Then, the company installed a large, five-axis Mazak mill/turn machine, which opened the door to live turning.

Many of today’s multi-tools boast 10+ functions packed into a tiny profile, which is fine — but if you’re a fan of elegant design and don’t need a whole tool belt’s worth of tools in your pocket, the Halifax is right up your alley.

Switching to Ingersoll TCMT boring inserts with higher rakes, more aggressive chipbreakers and the proprietary TT8125 coating led directly to 30% higher machining rates.  It also completely eliminated any ‘bird nests’ of chips and the labor involved to clear them.  Chips flow out as uniform C’s, easily cleared with a shot of compressed air.

Weighing just an ounce, it’s an easy add to your keychain or unobtrusive if you slip it in your pocket — just don’t forget to check for it if you don’t have it secured on a key ring. The shard is sturdy, simple and a great gift for the handy folks in your life.

The Hi-QuadF face mill features an extra-thick insert with the usual high-feed radius, extremely rigid seating, free cutting geometry and a 12-degree lead angle for lower lateral forces at entry and exit.  It is so free-cutting that, in similar applications elsewhere, it has doubled throughput without the spindle-load needle even budging.

Up in New England, a screw machine reconditioning shop boosted capacity by 30% on its fleet of Swiss Automatics using Gold-Duty CNMX 43.52 inserts.  Their applications involve OD and ID work on wrought 8620 steel.

“Titanium just complicates ID work with conventional tooling because of its unhelpful chipping characteristics,” said Ingersoll’s Darrell Boatwright. “The aggressive chipbreakers on the new Gold-Duty tool make short work of long chips in OD turning, and soon for ID work as well.”

“The Mazak had the power to cut faster; the bottleneck was the tool,” Ingersoll field rep Darrell Boatwright observed during a plant walk-through.  He brought in a Gold-Duty cutter he had in the trunk and they tried it out on the spot. By the end of the day, parameters were optimized at 100SFM/0.014IPR/0250 DOC.

Micor standardized on those settings for the balance of the job, and delivered the job three days early as a result.  “Despite the higher removal rates, the inserts lasted 33% longer,” King added.  He estimated that, with an annual volume of 400-500 pieces, Micor would save $13,000 a year on that one titanium job.  Consequently Micor is standardizing on Gold-Duty tooling for all rough turning and facing, for a projected $60,000 annual savings.

The Gold-Duty tool easily handled the 33% higher machining rates with no pounding or scraping, the usual forerunners of an insert about to rupture.  “We slowed the surface speed but fed faster and cut deeper,” explained Micor programmer Joey King.

The same types of tooling also increased OD removal rates, enabling the whole fleet of screw machines to reach the shop managers’ goal of 30% higher capacity with no capital expenditures.  “Even in miniature precision screw machine work, today’s higher-rake, chipbreaking inserts with advanced coatings can make a material difference,’ said Ingersoll’s Matt Hagenow, who worked on this project.

Ingersoll’s Brian Winterlin made a counterintuitive recommendation: a Hi-QuadF high-feed style cutter and taking off the stock in a single pass.  That’s definitely beyond the ‘comfort zone’ for conventional high-feed cutters, which are known for fast feeds and shallow cuts.  But the tool — though primarily a high-feed insert — had worked in similar high-depth applications “This is really an all-purpose cutter,” Winterlin added.

Unless you’re the most frequent of flyers, chances are you’ll be using your multi-tool of choice pretty frequently without having to pass through TSA. If you want a tool that can be as versatile as you, Big I Design has you covered. Its TPT Slide multi-tool is razor blade compatible — when you’re not flying, insert a blade and amp up the utility of your TPT, and when you are flying, slip that razor blade out and keep things simple.

Ten tools in one is a bargain; 10 tools in one for $15 bucks is a steal. The EDT Multitool isn’t just cheap; it’s also tiny, at just over two inches long. 5.11 Tactical makes the most of this small package, fitting a standard 6mm hex wrench and flathead screwdriver, metric and imperial ruler, bottle opener, pry tool and wire stripper and more into its little tool.

Founded in 2007, Gear Patrol is the definitive buying guide for enthusiasts. Our independent experts test the best in cars, tech, home, outdoors, style and watches. We combine hands-on testing, decades of experience and original photography to craft reports, reviews and guides. Why? Because we believe everyone deserves the best product.

The main obstacle in the New England rebuilder’s effort to raise capacity of its screw machine fleet was the boring sequence, which represented more than half the total machine time.  The shop still used conventional, negative-rake boring tools, a carryover from the time when most of the work they took in involved free-machining mild steels.  When more work came in that called for long-chipping 8620 steel, they simply accepted as an unavoidable detail the 100% operator attention for chip clearance.

The Shard is made from stainless steel with a titanium nitride coating for corrosion resistance, and includes seven tools in its 2.75-inch frame.

Its functionality is simple: it can tighten loose screws, pry things apart or open a cold beer at the end of a long day. CNC machined from a single block of 6AL4V Titanium, the Halifax is small, strong, lightweight and multi-purpose. It has the least of amount of included tools on this list, but for some of us, that’s more than enough.

The main concern was to remove 0.200-0.400 in. of stock fast without overloading the auxiliary spindle, especially laterally.  In flange work, low lateral forces are essential to keeping the flanges perfectly flat, preventing leaks when the valves go into service.

We’ve all had it happen: You’re shuffling along in the airport security line, bereft of your shoes and your dignity, when panic washes over you: Shit, I left my multi-tool in my bag!

Micor Industries, Decatur, Ala., reduced rough-turning cycle time on titanium from 45 to 30 minutes with another Gold-Duty insert, shipping a rush order three days sooner. They’ve since standardized on that tool for all rough OD work, and are collaborating with Ingersoll to develop an ID-machining version — projecting the savings at around $500,000 per year.

It should come as no surprise that live turning speeds up a roughing operation on any machine with a C axis.  The process gets two spindles working simultaneously, with tools having multiple cutting edges rather than just one.

TSA-friendly multi-tools tend to follow the design of 511’s EDT Multitool or the Gerber Shard (see below), but sometimes you can get away with something more akin to a fully built-out multi tool — like the Multi-Plier 600 Bladeless.

Along with its blade-compatible design, the TPT also features a removable pocket clip, bottle opener, multiple flathead screwdrivers, a mini pry bar, measurement cues and more. It’s sleek, sophisticated and strong — everything you could ask for in a multi-tool. At $80, it’s on the pricier end of the bladeless multi-tool spectrum, but if you’re willing to invest in this unique design, it should prove its worth in short order.

You know you’re going to get pulled aside by TSA, and you’ll try to defend the two-inch blade on your Leatherman or Gerber that isn’t really that big of a deal, but you’ll still be faced with a choice (if you’re lucky): go back, check your bag and tool and re-do the whole security shuffle, or say goodbye to your multi-tool, pocket knife or other EDC implement with a blade.

However, many auxiliary spindles are designed for light duty, unable to deploy the full capabilities of the high-performance face mills available today.  “The trick in live turning is to find a cutter able to take deep cuts, yet hold down cutting forces,” said Ingersoll field engineer Brian Winterlin, who worked on the DeZurik live turning project.

You may think of rough turning as a bottleneck operation, maybe even a hazardous one, and rightly so.  But, across the country several alert machine shops have found different ways around both problems, according to Ingersoll Cutting Tools.  Users report material-removal rate improvements anywhere from 30% to 6-to-1 in OD and ID work, reliably longer tool life, and relief from ‘shrapnel’ flying from shattered tools.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You can fly with a useful, badass multi-tool that won’t get you put on a watch list or require you to check a bag. Don’t believe us? Here are six great options for the next time you book a flight.

Micor, which built its reputation machining difficult metals, was only midway through a 150-piece rush job turning titanium, and was running late already.  But, the tools they were using, with conventional two-sided negative rake inserts, broke whenever they tried to run any faster than 130 SFM/0.010 IPR/0.200 DOC. That operation, on a Mazak Quik Turn 450, was taking 45 minutes per piece, while the finishing machine nearby stood idle, waiting for feedstock.

Now, the DeZurik operation runs securely, cutting cycle time for a typical 36-in. flange from 18 minutes to three and leaving a perfectly flat mating surface. As the part rotates slowly on the machine table, the facemill works much like a woodworking router, rotating at 785 SFM and feeding outward from the center bore at 403 IPM. Synthetic oil is delivered through the spindle.

This flight-friendly multi-tool eschews a blade, but it does pack seven useful tools into its 0.8-ounce frame, including scissors, a magnetic Phillips screwdriver and bottle opener. At less than $30, this helpful little tool is an easy “Add to Cart.”

This multitool favored by the U.S. military features 14 tools, including tungsten carbide wire cutters, a ruler, scissors, a flathead and Phillips screwdriver, bottle and can opener and more. The body is built with black oxide coated stainless steel; it looks rugged, but may be prone to scratching with heavy use. Gerber says the bladeless version of their multi-tool is TSA-friendly, but if you have any doubts or catch a grumpy vibe from the TSA agents at the airport, you may want to put this in your checked bag — just in case.

Victorinox’s classic red multi tools and pocket knives have been in EDC kits for generations — before everyday carry was even a thing. They’ve stood the test of time thanks to quality construction and usefulness in a small package, and the Jetsetter is no exception.

With the original Hi-Quad F insert, edges lasted through two complete parts, or four flanges.  Recently the company switched to a tougher insert grade with an improved coating treatment, IN4005.  The change notched edge life up another 50% at the same removal rates. Edges now last through three complete parts.

In a live-turning setup like this, the cutting forces are lighter than you might think, Winterlin explained. “As the tool rotates, its eleven inserts engage sequentially, dividing the cutting forces uniformly over them all. The stock comes off as a lot of small chips rather than the fewer thumb-size chips they were getting by turning with a stick tool.”

“The Mazak is a big ticket item with a high hourly burden, so it’s vital to get the most out of it,” said Chandler Commerford, manufacturing engineer.  But, the Minnesota shop had no experience with the live turning process.

With its advanced design, substrates, and coatings, the Ingersoll Gold-Duty line of rough turning inserts is a generation ahead of the field in large scale turning, according to Ed Woksa, Ingersoll national turning product manager.  The inserts are physically much thicker and stronger than conventional turning inserts.  Their unique seating scheme enables more efficient top-face geometries in two-sided inserts for the first time.  ‘Rest pads’ on the insert faces mate with bumps in the seat pocket to lock them in place (see diagram).  It’s the rest pads that bear the clamping forces, not the cutting edges on the reverse side. This is what enables 5-7 degree positive rakes and aggressive chipbreakers in a two-sided insert. Recessed clamping provides a flush surface for unimpeded chip evacuation.