Sharpening End Mills On The Lathe

1 Attachment(s)

Attachment 44807

In this video I show how I sharpened my dull end mills on my lathe. I setup the end mill in the correct position and use a makeshift tool post grinder to grind the flutes.

https://youtu.be/oEjKwKSkJTE

Very nice. I know people say you are not supposed to do grinding on a lathe, but if you are careful and clean up when finished, it opens so many possibilities.

I have been wanting to get a CBN to use for sharpening on the lathe. As I understand the do not release grit that can damage the lathe. Has anyone done that? I don't know enough about CBN wheels yet to know that to purchase. They are pricey.

Thanks The Hobby Machinist NZ! We've added your End Mill Sharpening Method to our Sharpening category,
as well as to your builder page: The Hobby Machinist NZ's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-end-mill-sharpening-method-2"> <img src="/uploads/258130/homemade-end-mill-sharpening-method-2.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-end-mill-sharpening-method-2">End Mill Sharpening Method</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/The+Hobby+Machinist+NZ">The Hobby Machinist NZ</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/sharpening'>sharpening</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>

2 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemmjo

Very nice. I know people say you are not supposed to do grinding on a lathe, but if you are careful and clean up when finished, it opens so many possibilities.

I have been wanting to get a CBN to use for sharpening on the lathe. As I understand the do not release grit that can damage the lathe. Has anyone done that? I don't know enough about CBN wheels yet to know that to purchase. They are pricey.

I use CBN and diamond wheels. Neither wear very much at all. I have probably sharpened hundreds of milling cutters, drill bits, engine valves and tappets etc, and the only visually obvious wear is a slight rounding of the edges.
Most people have the wrong idea about grinding debris. Most of it is the steel that you have ground away, only a tiny proportion is grinding wheel grit. If it were mostly wheel grit then the wheel would be wearing way too fast. Of course the opposite applies when dressing a standard type wheel, then it is all wheel grit.

When grinding on a lathe or milling machine I cover where applicable and directly under the wheel I put some flat magnets and cover them with a wet towel. That catches everything. Another implementation of the magnet idea is shown here https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...127#post109600 if you scroll down the initial post.

Attachment 46123 Attachment 46124 Click for full size.
Magnets attached to the aluminium wheel cover with tape. When the tape is removed the deris just drops out.

Thanks tonyfoale! We've added your Grinding Wheel Debris Cover to our Grinding category,
as well as to your builder page: tonyfoale's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-grinding-wheel-debris-cover"> <img src="/uploads/260378/homemade-grinding-wheel-debris-cover.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-grinding-wheel-debris-cover">Grinding Wheel Debris Cover</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/tonyfoale">tonyfoale</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/grinder'>grinder</a>, <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/magnet'>magnet</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>