What are “Standard Tools?”

A standard tool does not necessarily imply a definitely fixed and unalterable shape, but a range of tools fashioned to meet the full requirements of the work involved.

A first year apprentice knows that it would be mid-summer madness to attempt to use, on mild steel, a tool designed for brass. He knows, or should know, that to get the best results the metal to be machined and the nature of the operation, are the factors that determine the variations that comprise a set of standard tools.

In average workshop practice, two, three and sometimes four, variations are included in a make-up. This make-up is of a standard profile, but the rake of the top face, the radius of the cutting point, the incline of the cutting edge to the tool shank and the clearance of the cutting sides, are varied to suit the machine, the material to be machined plus the depth of cut and the desired feed. None of these variables need affect the decision to lay down certain standards, as they only influence and relate to a flexibility that is selected to meet the everyday workshop requirements.