Sharpening carbide end mills?

[Janger]

Hi gang
I have some carbide 3/4” EMs I’m using on a project. They are used and kinda dull. I want to mill aluminum. Is there someone on the forum near Calgary who can sharpen the sides and end? Or maybe there is a good company doing this commercially? Anybody have a recommendation?
Oh and I forgot to mention I don’t have time for a project to do this myself I just want to pay and have it done. No dear Liza bucket problems! Ha
J

 

[Janger]

There is a place in bow ness carbide saw sharpening and one in okotoks foothills sharpening I think. Anybody use either?

 

[YYCHM]

If $$ isn't an issue why not just replace them? I think that's what the commercial guys do?

Sadly, I know of at least 3 local members sitting on end mill sharpening devices that haven't turned them up yet. I don't know if they do carbide though?

 

[kevin.decelles]

Guilty as charged [mention]YYCHM [/mention] My grinder is sitting dormant. I lack the time to learn the skills needed, but like in game of thrones……. Winter is coming!


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[Brent H]

Me too - other projects are taking too much time….

 

[Johnwa]

Also does anyone know of a place that sharpens regular end mills and drill bits? I have 1 large EM and 5 or 6 large bits that could use professional sharpening.

 

[Janger]

Taylor Toolworks in Calgary does it. One 3/4" Carbide EM costs $69 to sharpen with a 3-4 WEEK turnaround. I found the turnaround disappointing. Still a new EM like these is over $200 - carbide made in USA. They would sharpen your stuff too @Johnwa.

There is another place Caldon that sharpens. I didn't try to call them yet. I was looking at the Shars cutter grinder today - wouldn't take long to pay that off at $69 a pop. Do I want another project? Is that a good unit?

https://www.shars.com/products/mach...l-end-mill-cutter-drill-bit-grinder-sharpener

 

[Janger]

Is owning your own cutter grinder like having a pickup? Everyone wants to borrow it?

 

[YYCHM]

Is owning your own cutter grinder like having a pickup? Everyone wants to borrow it?

Probably..... and not only that they want YOU to drive it

$200 for a 3/4" EM

 

[Janger]

Probably..... and not only that they want YOU to drive it

$200 for a 3/4" EM

That is exactly it Craig!

if there is anyone quietly lurking who can do this - sharpen two 3/4” EMs - would you please PM me and give me a price? I’d be glad to pay.

 

[kevin.decelles]

I looked long and hard at the shars machine….. then ordered from aliexpress

I heard good reviews about the quality etc but couldn’t justify their shipping . As [mention]Dabbler [/mention] will note, you get better results if you phone in. There wasn’t any interest in shipping to Canada and the USA to Montana cost was 200 or thereabouts . Then Factor another 100 or so for dyk…..

After exchange rate it was more than aliexpress who used dhl and I had it delivered to the house in 8 days.

I get the feeling the shars would be better quality but the issues I noted are all addressable if I put In some time with hand scraping etc.

I would also confirm the collet type on the shars. Some ads show 5C some are r8. I’d make sure you know

If u do order, leave it in the shopping cart for a couple of days and they will email u a 5% off coupon…. I did this for all my shars orders

 

[YYCHM]

I was looking at the Shars cutter grinder today - wouldn't take long to pay that off at $69 a pop. Do I want another project? Is that a good unit?

https://www.shars.com/products/mach...l-end-mill-cutter-drill-bit-grinder-sharpener

So what would that be $1800 CAD landed? Maybe I should invest in one and offer a nominal sharpening service to members for beer money NO GURANTEES. NO WARRENTEE. NO REFUND!

 

[Janger]

Did your machine Kevin come with everything you need? Diamond wheels? Other accessories required to do EM's? do you have a link if you could be so kind?

I can just see it - I too will have a cutter grinder sitting there waiting for me to learn how to use it.

 

[kevin.decelles]

Here is a link to the machine I got. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32819200724.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dxUYttD

The only issue I had is that the motor was running in reverse but it required two wires to be switched. It came with the 3 attachments for end-mill, drill-bit and lathe-tool. Capacity is 3/4" max. It is a 110V machine, R8, and came with 5 metric collets, and two wheels.

I don't like the color, but that is easy to augment. My cost shipped was $1465. Well packaged. Sharpening/Shaping HSS tool bits for the lathe/shaper has made this tool worth it already. Ultra precise, set any angle you want and get at it. It's no Deckel, but all my issues are with the castings (odd burrs, fit/finish), and the lack of oil/lube ports, but that is an easy fix.

The reason I picked THIS one was the amount of ambiguity on all the other machines. Some are 220V. Some don't specify the collet taper. Some don't have the 3 tools, some don't come with collets..... The seller is NOT the manufacturer by a long shot. They knew nothing about the machine when I contacted them about the motor, BUT, they did respond quickly and often on WhatsApp. Once they suggested swapping the white/black wires on the 110V I politely said thank-you. They even reached out to me on xmas to wish me the best this year.

Once you get one, we'll send you your members jacket and slippers for the "Grinder in a corner looking lonely" club.

 

[kevin.decelles]

I forwarded u the emails from shars re: shipping and warranty . For reference


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[John Conroy]

Accusize Canada normally carries one that sounds like Kevin's with R8 collets and the 3 different attachments for end mills, drill bits and lathe tools plus it is 110 Volt. There are a couple of demonstration videos on the link. They are out of stock right now but the most recent price is $1588 CDN. I wonder how much the shipping would be.

https://accusizetools.com/products/...r-grinder-with-standard-accessories-110v-60hz

 

[Janger]

I watched their video - I thought the machine was noisy and had poor bearings. Are they all like that? e.g. aliexpress or other makes?

 

[PeterT]

Their video quality was not the best but better than nothing I guess. Best to watch Rob Renzetti & Stefan's videos. Both are the Chinese versions. Stefan did a few tweaks to improve & you can learn a lot about functionality. Rob went through more effort bedding the way bar with Moglice, but he is a perfectionist & knows his stuff. AFAIK there are 2 lines that look the same from across the room but probably have differences inside: 100% China (Accusize, Shars, Ali... others) and Taiwan (labels I cant recall off hand). The Taiwan model is 2X the price & I don't think as progressive on the more common collet types that are appearing on the Chinese machines. Originally they all cloned the Deckel's which are U collets. Those are also available as offshore aftermarkets (the euro ones are insanely priced). But now the Chinese ones machines can come in R8, possibly 5C too. Anyways probably more suitable for N-Am especially if you have some of these collets already.

 

[architect]

I don't know anything about these machines but notice similar Chinese sharpener at a local importer. I found this place when looking on Kijiji where they list a bunch their products on there for visibility. It's not in stock but maybe this may help anyone in Ontario. No experience with them but I may pick up something small to see what they're about.

http://www.asc365.com/newproductdetail.asp?productid=141026&typeid=1961

 

[PeterT]

That's the generic unit that we are talking about in R8 collet flavor. A more common name is tool & cutter grinder (T&CG). You have to really check the prices (among other things). Some the bundle tooling jigs, lamp, accessories & sometimes extra wheels, some don't or certain accessories. Some are FOB Asia, others in N-AM but different shipping cost. They are not exactly lightweight or small so insured shipping should be factored. We have chatted about these in other posts. I think like fine wine, some are aging in oak casks haha.