I picked up a few resharpened HSS end mills. I don't use them much, but they were cheap enough that I grabbed them for some odd jobs. Since I mostly CNC I mostly don't use them except mostly for screwing around and learning stuff, but I've got a job in HDPE that would be perfect for some I have that are unused. (Unuseed since regrinding.) The problem is because they are resharpened the flute diameter is smaller than the shank diameter, and I need just a little more reach than the flute length. If I tried to use them for the bottom clean up where they are needed they would rub higher up. Sure I can order some mills and have them Tuesday, but I could sure use these today. Get the job done and shipped so I can work on something else. I've got the machine completely cleaned out and washed down with fresh coolant to try and reduce metal contamination on the HDPE job. I don't want to put anything else in the machine until the HDPE job is done. (The way the customer is talking I might have to dedicate a machine to HDPE in the future, but talk is cheap.)
Anyway, my thought was to stick the end mill in a collet in a spin indexer and grind a relief above the flutes. Just enough to give me the reach I need. Here is the problem. I'm kinda brand new to surface grinding. So far the only thing I have successfully done with it was flatten some vise jaws. I've tried a few other projects, but results were mediocre.
Sure I free hand HSS lathe bits on the bench grinder all the time, but I was wondering if there were any gotchas I am missing for a grind like this. No I do not have a tool and cutter grinder. Its on the wish list, but not yet.
Probably I'll have tried it by the time anybody replies (regrinds are cheap), but I'd sure like to hear any productive thoughts you guys might have on the subject.