sharpening end mills

Snag · 2022-12-09T05:22:32+00:00

I've got a bunch that have chipped tips on the flutes , and I guess it's time I learned to sharpen them instead of tossing them and buying more .I've poked around a little and found a design for a fixture using 5C collets that I can build with tooling I have on hand . I do have a question about using my mill to grind these . It doesn't spin as fast a a real grinder , about 1800 RPM tops IIRC . I'm looking for suggestions what type of wheel I need . Probably a cup wheel since the end mill will mount with the tip up .

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Snag 3 years ago

I was thinking 12 since it's evenly divisible by both 3 and 4 and I have 3 and 4 flute end mills - and a rotary table (7.5 turns per 30° at

90:1) . It's raining here again and I have no other projects ... except the neighbor's SxS UTV , and I ain't working on it in the rain . So a little while ago I started roughing stock for this project . Yesterday it wasn't raining , but I wanted to watch the guys installing my new septic tank . Concrete this time , the last one was steel and only lasted about 18-19 years .

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J

Jim Wilkins 3 years ago

I was thinking 12 since it's evenly divisible by both 3 and 4 and I have 3 and 4 flute end mills - and a rotary table (7.5 turns per 30° at

90:1) . It's raining here again and I have no other projects ... except the neighbor's SxS UTV , and I ain't working on it in the rain . So a little while ago I started roughing stock for this project . Yesterday it wasn't raining , but I wanted to watch the guys installing my new septic tank . Concrete this time , the last one was steel and only lasted about 18-19 years . Snag

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Manual indexing is a tedious and error-prone task. You can double-check by setting dividers to the spacing of the first two holes and using them to confirm the next drilling location if you are interrupted. Any error should be large, a whole or half turn. My last dividing job was cutting a 68 tooth gear and there were issues... The one before that was 13, to spline a shaft for a motorcycle drive sprocket.

That storm may be heavy snow or ice when it arrives here, 'tis the season. I finished prepping for it an hour ago. jsw

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Snag 3 years ago

My table is still set up from cutting a pair of 58t 16dp gears for a rolling mill project a guy from the Logan Lathe list is doing . A dozen holes - well , dimples - is trifling compared to that . One of these days I'm going to pin that set of 37/47 (IIRC) metric transposing change gears I cut a while back . Haven't needed to cut metric threads yet so ...

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J

Jim Wilkins 3 years ago

One of these days I'm going to pin that set of 37/47 (IIRC) metric transposing change gears I cut a while back . Haven't needed to cut metric threads yet so ...

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You would have needed them if you didn't make them.

Shortly after buying the lathe I bought a metric transposing set of 127 and

120 teeth, since 120 instead of 100 gave more of the fine metric threads I expected to need for the laser optics work I was doing then. Turns out the engineer decided to move on and take the idea with him.

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At the time the gears cost around $40 each. I finally decided to make a custom banjo stud to fit the double-keyed bushing that connects the gears, since its bore is smaller than the South Bend stud. The price of the standard 100 tooth gear is now up around $150 on Amazon, considerably more from the industrial dealers I called. Making your own was a good call.

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Snag 3 years ago

I got the RT shortly after I got the mill 'cuz I just knew ... turns out the first gears I made were to repair some 2:1 reduction pairs in the qcgb on my lathe . Those alone have saved me more than the cost of the RT and all the gear cutters I've got . Logan wants like 160 bucks for those little darlin's .

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J

Jim Wilkins 3 years ago

I got the RT shortly after I got the mill 'cuz I just knew ... turns out the first gears I made were to repair some 2:1 reduction pairs in the qcgb on my lathe . Those alone have saved me more than the cost of the RT and all the gear cutters I've got . Logan wants like 160 bucks for those little darlin's . Snag

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Did you make or buy the gear cutters?

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S

Snag 3 years ago

I bought mine . Ivan Law has instructions in his gear cutting book on making a device to make the gear cutters , I didn't want to build the apparatus . They average about 12 bucks each which I found reasonable .

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J

Jim Wilkins 3 years ago

...They average about 12 bucks each which I found reasonable .

-------------- I didn't look hard enough.

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sharpening end mills

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