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Thread: resharpening a carving bit

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by ronboley View Post
    Ok this seems too good to be true, but its what I've been doing and it seems to work. There is a U tube video of a guy simply chucking the bit (works in CT adaptor too) into his cordless drill and runs it in reverse against a diamond sharpening plate with a little water or oil. The bit is held at the angle of the bit taper so the flutes run flat against the diamond plate. I have been doing this the last year with the CW 1/16 carving bits and it seems to work. So with the current interest in this subject I thought I would do a little more investigation. I took one of my "old" bits out of an old QC adaptor and spray painted it black. After the paint was dry I chucked it up and went thru my (personal) sharpening procedure of running it in reverse (counter clockwise) against my 600 grit diamond sharpening plate for a few seconds with a little water lubrication. I then viewed the bit with my 10x loupe. The three spiral edges of the bit were shinny from the tip up to the shank of the bit. The shinny area is about 30% of the cutting edge width and seems to follow the angle break in the spiral edge. The diamond left small scratches more or less perpendicular to the spiral edge. I ran the bit against some finer sharpening stones, but the they don't seem to do much to the carbide bit as expected. Might try a finer diamond sharpening plate to get a more polished edge, but don't have one presently. The attached photo is of the sharpened bit. The technique seems awfully simple and quick, but it seems to work. Happy sharpening!
    This technique was posted before by Kevin Williams (ktjwilliams).

    The method seems to work for awhile to "touch" up the cutting edges. My problem with it is it does not get to the most important part of the bit - the tip.

  2. #12
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    Default Bit Sharpening

    Quote Originally Posted by bergerud View Post
    This technique was posted before by Kevin Williams (ktjwilliams).

    The method seems to work for awhile to "touch" up the cutting edges. My problem with it is it does not get to the most important part of the bit - the tip.
    Bergerund is correct...the rotating sharpening method dresses the spiral cutting edges, but does not touch the very tips of the three spirals. Again looking thru my 10x loupe, the three spirals terminate in very small beveled points much like the (much larger) points of a twist bit. I'm wondering if these could be dressed with a very fine diamond plate or ???? in a manner similar to sharpening the points of the twist bits....looks like further experimentation is required...see the attached crude sketch...any thoughts are welcomed...
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Bit Tip Sketch.pdf  

  3. #13
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    " The Hurdier I Go, The Behinder I Get"

  4. #14
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    That's our Kevin.

  5. #15
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    Having a little cutter grinding experience in my 40+ years as a machinist I just want to say that by spinning this cutter in reverse and using a diamond stick will put an edge back on the cutter but at the same time it will reduce the angle of the primary cutting edge. As this reduced angle is changed the bit will after a few touch ups will start to rub and not cut. Just my 2¢ worth.
    CarverJerry

    ver. 1.188 Win 7- 64b with 6 GB ram @ 2.8Ghz and dual 1Tb hard drives. Rock Chuck & Ringneck vacuum system hooked up to a Harbor Freight large vacuum. Center line text, conforming vectors.

  6. #16
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    I'd like to add something to this discussion of re-sharpening carbide bits. I've long been able to successfully touch up conventional carbide router bits when they began to burn wood while cutting with a router. All the advice gained over the years from master craftsmen who did this was to use a diamond plate or paddle and strictly to lap the face of the carbide that first meets the wood.

    Never try to sharpen the backdraft of the carbide as that changes the shape of the cutter and will quickly lead to an out of balance bit.

    The CW bit challenge therefore is to work down in those flutes of the carving or cutting bit and as much as possible only up at the top edge. I purchased a set of diamond dust coated needle files including one that tapers almost to a point from about 1/8th inch diameter. I chuck my carving bit in a hand drill just to steady it and then follow each groove (flute) with the file and use the increasing diameter to stay right up against that edge that needs a touch up. Because the file is riding in the flute you can even follow the curve right up and onto the tip.

    I'd like to know what others think on this and will try to provide some photos and file set details.
    Last edited by Capt Bruce; 01-16-2014 at 02:16 PM.
    Fair winds,

    Capt Bruce
    Kinney deSigns http://kinneydesigns.us
    CarveWright START U Team Member.

    30 year USN SEABEE, the original Weapons of Mass Construction.
    Designer Ver 1.187 and 2.007, Ver.3.001 One 2009 B CW w ROCK and a 5th Year Anniversary C CW
    Rotary Jig, 2D and 3D, Tracing Probe, DFX and STL Importers

    .

  7. #17
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    Capt. Bruce. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you touching up the front (cutting) edge from inside of the flute? In other wise, and I know it's not much but you are making the flute larger (wider)? This would keep the angles, both primary and secondary relief angles untouched and would do ok if you can get ALL the way down on the very tip, which is what usually gets dull first.
    CarverJerry

    ver. 1.188 Win 7- 64b with 6 GB ram @ 2.8Ghz and dual 1Tb hard drives. Rock Chuck & Ringneck vacuum system hooked up to a Harbor Freight large vacuum. Center line text, conforming vectors.

  8. #18
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    CarverJerry,

    Yes, that is the exact edge I'm touching up with this method. You would think that probably 85-90% of the wear on one of these carving bits (and probably most cutting bits) is in the first 1/4" of the cutting length if one carves shallow projects. In general this is not a CNC directed re-sharpening but it sure seems to work wonders with my collection of used bits and extends their use better than running a bit in reverse against a stone.
    Fair winds,

    Capt Bruce
    Kinney deSigns http://kinneydesigns.us
    CarveWright START U Team Member.

    30 year USN SEABEE, the original Weapons of Mass Construction.
    Designer Ver 1.187 and 2.007, Ver.3.001 One 2009 B CW w ROCK and a 5th Year Anniversary C CW
    Rotary Jig, 2D and 3D, Tracing Probe, DFX and STL Importers

    .

  9. #19
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    How fine is the grit on that diamond dust file? Mine all seem to coarse for that.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Capt Bruce View Post
    CarverJerry,

    Yes, that is the exact edge I'm touching up with this method. You would think that probably 85-90% of the wear on one of these carving bits (and probably most cutting bits) is in the first 1/4" of the cutting length if one carves shallow projects. In general this is not a CNC directed re-sharpening but it sure seems to work wonders with my collection of used bits and extends their use better than running a bit in reverse against a stone.
    Capt, how hard do you think it would be to display in maybe a photo what you are doing?
    Custom Stadium Coin Racks for displaying Military Challenge Coins, GeoCoins and the like- http://www.etsy.com/shop/stadiumdisplays
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