Just needing to replace some 201’s endmills and was wondering if it is worth sharpening them to get some more use out of them.
What is the general consensus?
We did that a lot at Boeing. But we also used some expensive cutters. If I recall the cost was enough that it made it less cost effective for endmills we typically use on our machines that cost wayyyyyy less. 
Also, it typically reduced the diameter of the endmill. Maybe not enough to effect your projects, but enough that it might for some. So you’d have to measure the new diameter and enter that in your tool specs in Carbide Create, Vectric, or whatever program you’re using to compensate.
If you have a local company that does it for cheap… it’s a viable option.
4 Likes
For the number of tools a hobbyist uses, it’s not likely to be cost-effective.
There are endmill-sharpening services, but their minimum quantity is way higher than any individual is likely to have, and moreover, as @SLCJedi noted, sharpening usually reduces the diameter — not a big deal on machines which have support for cutter compensation, but awkward to work w/ on machines running Grbl which doesn’t.
When I tried crunching the numbers on folks pooling endmills to achieve quantity, shipping killed it.
There’s at least one company which will buy used/broke carbide tooling as scrap, but again, their min. poundage is way more than an individual is likely to accumulate — you might find someone local, but the quantities a hobbyist is likely to have probably won’t pay for gas.
Perhaps other folks have other suggestions (I’d love to be wrong about all this) — sharpening endmills is a standard part of training for machinists, but I suspect it requires specialized tooling and jigs which it would be hard to have pay off for an individual.
3 Likes
I am lucky enough to have access to a machinist with the right tools. I have dropped my Vee bits, ruining the points. (clumsy handed fool) Yesterday I paid him a visit, he was able to set me up with bits that now cut the way they were meant to.
BUT the stones are EXPENSIVE, the ceramic wheel is twice as expensive. The cost of starting up is crazy. As a hobbyist I don’t think we can ever recoup that money.
Good Luck
Make chips not dust
2 Likes
Ahhh, but a V-bit is not affected by changing diameter when sharpened.
1 Like
Re-sharped tools for this application would be very cost prohibitive. The price you are paying for a new 201 is less than what it would cost to re-sharpen a used end mill. (if it could be re-sharpened at all) Once you become proficient on your machine, you will find yourself buy more expensive tooling that lasts longer and makes much better cuts and better surface finishes. There a a few things you can do to make your tools last longer.
Tool care is one of the biggest things people neglect. Carbide is as fragile as glass when not in motion. You should never let two tools come in contact with each other, if they do, one or both will be chipped. If you drop end mill on concrete, I can almost guarantee it is chipped. If you bump it with your collet wrench during install, you guessed it, chipped. Handle these carbide tools with care and you will get a lot more life with good surface finishes.
Speeds, feeds and depths of cut. These are way too in depth of subjects to get into here but please do some research on these subjects. They are critical to the health of your machine and tooling. I have watched a ton of YT videos and read enough discussion boards to know that a majority of wood workers are ignoring this critical detail.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.