Does anyone here regularly sharpen their own end mills?
If so, I was wondering what kind of equipment you use.
I saw something called an "End Mill Cutter Sharpener" in a catalog and was wondering if something like this was plausible or too cheap to bother with.
To see a picture and description, just go to
Thanks a lot.
Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.
No comment one way or the other on the sharpener, but my word, that has to be the most annoying online catalog I've ever seen! --Glenn Lyford
--You might also want to look at kits to build your own. The two that spring to mind are the Quorn and the Tinker. I built the Quorn; quite a project but you get quite a machine when you're done. IIRC there's also a Quorn owner/builder group, maybe on Yahoo.
I have a tool and cutter grinder. I resharpen and make custom cutters. There's quite a learning curve to be good at tool grinding. I must say with the advent of ebay super cheap endmills, I wouldn't bother unless you just want to do it. (My son and I wonder who's stealing all those endmills from the day job just to ebay)
There is a unit for grinding the end of an endmill in a surface grinder, maybe $50. If you have a surface grinder, start by using this.
Here's a link on endmill regrinding:
Get their paper catalog, it's very good
Remember that there are a lot of people in this group who do not charge for their time.
Also, we resharpen our solid carbide Ø2" x 6" cut length finishing endmills at work. I don't do purchasing, but I'd assume it's cheaper to resharpen.
Regards,
Robin
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