why not carbide?
- Thread starter snipershot
- Start date
For sure, that can be said about almost every thing that you do in the shop from wood dust to finishing and all kinds of dermatological issues from contact with exotic wood. I am severally allergic to Cocobolo I get a rash if I just touch the raw wood. I have a friend, a doctor, whose hobby was wood turning. One day he ends up in intensive care coughing up blood. After a lot of testing it was determined it was wood dust from years of wood turning. I never knew what it had actually done to his lungs but it was not good. Care and safety needs to be taken with everything.
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Even though silicon carbide wheels will sharpen carbide some what, they are the main reason that many people say that they use tool steel because you can make it sharper than carbide. Green wheels cause too much heat, are slow, constantly need refacing and just don't do a good job. A diamond wheel or two pays for themselves quickly by making carbide tooling as sharp as any tool steel much more quickly, runs at a faster rate and lasts many times longer than tool steel between sharpening. If you pick up one of my carbide cutters by the edge your going to bleed. By the way, I only use carbide tooling.
Dick
I agree, I need to get the correct stones for my grinder. For that matter I'd like to get a higher quality grinder specifically for this anyhow. The one I have is plenty large enough for most things, although a little bit over kill for this with no variable speed, and I've been keeping My eye out for a deal on one that is better suited with the right wheels already on It, and one with a better quality post to work off of. People here would laugh if they saw the way I sharpen mine now, but It does get me by. I use a general purpose stone to shape, and rough sharpen on, but I have to hone It by hand afterward so that The edge will hold a little longer. On some grinds with flat edges this is fine if someone has any experience with hand sharpening knives, but when You get into the curved or other shaped grinds it can be more difficult to do as good of a job at It. Still even a rough grind can be enough for a quick fix, but as a long term thing, the tool bits have to be sharpened more often therefor grind away much faster. Not only do you spend more time keeping them sharpened, but your decreasing the life expectancy of the tool blanks themselves. Anyhow like I mentioned It does get Me by, and much cheaper then buying a new tool every time one needs sharpened, but it will be nicer when I have the right equipment to make the job easier.
Greg
I haven't had any issues with them other than they do need dressing since they wear like a regular grinding wheel, been using them for years. I also ground down Carbide thread mills so the diameter of the shafts fit deeper in a hole.
It is just a cheaper option. YMMV
To me, those green wheels are only good for welders who want to hand sharpen an electrode.
But whether you choose hss, carbide, stellite, pcd, and the list still grows, you really should be thinking safety and air quality. A mask is always a good start.
It is always a good thing to have a roughing and a finishing wheel. Some will use laps to sharpen tools as well to each their own.
As long as the cues or repairs get made, the customer does not care about the technology to get the job done, just that it gets done .
Neil
But whether you choose hss, carbide, stellite, pcd, and the list still grows, you really should be thinking safety and air quality. A mask is always a good start.
It is always a good thing to have a roughing and a finishing wheel. Some will use laps to sharpen tools as well to each their own.
As long as the cues or repairs get made, the customer does not care about the technology to get the job done, just that it gets done .
Neil
I've always used a green wheel to get them as sharp as I can,then top it off using a diamond grit sharpening stone by hand.
I use HSS for only 2 operations related to repair work.
I have a self-ground parting tool for cutting raw stock to rough length.
I also use it as a finishing tool on ivory ferrule installs.
Every other thing I do is done with a carbide-tipped AR tool. Currently,it's a 5/16 shank Micro 100.
I've also found that dead-sharp at least on the very point isn't always the best option as far as surface finish on ferrule installs. My current cutter still has the factory radius/tiny chamfer,and cuts as well or better than anything I've ever ground,right out of the package. Under 10x magnification,it appears to have about a .010 wide flat on it. I like this one so well I refuse to cut metal with it.
The older guys that have been in the metal trade teach that dead-sharp tooling on metal doesn't last very long,and how to correct it so once you walk away from the grinder,you're not back over there re-doing it because it still gives a bad finish.
The same applies to phenolics and plastics. For example,Delrin=big radius and HSS gives best finish quality in a lot of cases.
I'm hazarding a guess that Ivorine 4 would cut best using fresh AR cutters,and fresh inserts on indexable holders. Tommy D.
I use HSS for only 2 operations related to repair work.
I have a self-ground parting tool for cutting raw stock to rough length.
I also use it as a finishing tool on ivory ferrule installs.
Every other thing I do is done with a carbide-tipped AR tool. Currently,it's a 5/16 shank Micro 100.
I've also found that dead-sharp at least on the very point isn't always the best option as far as surface finish on ferrule installs. My current cutter still has the factory radius/tiny chamfer,and cuts as well or better than anything I've ever ground,right out of the package. Under 10x magnification,it appears to have about a .010 wide flat on it. I like this one so well I refuse to cut metal with it.
The older guys that have been in the metal trade teach that dead-sharp tooling on metal doesn't last very long,and how to correct it so once you walk away from the grinder,you're not back over there re-doing it because it still gives a bad finish.
The same applies to phenolics and plastics. For example,Delrin=big radius and HSS gives best finish quality in a lot of cases.
I'm hazarding a guess that Ivorine 4 would cut best using fresh AR cutters,and fresh inserts on indexable holders. Tommy D.
very well put and absolutely correct,,,,,,,,