A current project involves turning a component or two from Delrin rod. My initial attempts using my usual tools gave very unsatisfactory results so I thought 'It's no good, I'll just have to grind a tool from HSS to suit the application'.
So I got together my entire stock of HSS and went through it to see if there was a piece that was a good starting point.
In my early days, I bought a few job-lots of HSS and some job-lots that included HSS. More recently, I've got a bit more savvy and chose the size that fits my Dickson QCTP tool-holders and stocked up on that.
While reviewing my 'stock', I started to wonder who ground some of the bizarre lumps and what jobs could possibly explain their shapes. I've taken a photo (see below) of a few of the more extreme examples but I have many more pieces, most seem to be too small to be reground into anything useful.
So, my message in this post is: be careful when you buy job-lots of HSS, unless that is, you are moved by charity or support for the 'Arts'!
(I have a few findings to share about tool-grinding but I'll save those for another thread.)