#How to grind carbide how to

If handled correctly at the right speed, carbide rotary ball burrs can quickly help you carry out intricate engraving tasks. These burrs are small, with around 0.5mm in diameter. Ball BurrsĪ person with metal, wood, or stone carving skills can use ball burrs on high-speed tools, micro-motors, or drills. Before that, let’s figure out the tasks where you can use these burrs. Another method is to use a wet sponge against the opposite side of the wheel during use or dressing.The basic procedure to use all these burrs is the same, which we will discuss later. I suggest a shroud around the wheel and a drip system to feed water or coolant from a coffee can, via a copper tube and small valve. 1750 RPM is not at all too fast but will sling the coolant. Higher speeds will make the wheel appear harder to the work (a good thing). Slower speeds will keep the wheel wet easier. With a true wheel, the only speed consideration will be keeping the coolant on the wheel. It will grind the work quicker, wear slower, and last longer as more diamond surface contacts the work with each revolution. And a smooth (true) wheel will give the best results on the carbide. When a wheel is true and flat, speed is less of an issue as the surface of the wheel no longer beats the work during use. Using these techniques over time will become second nature. Then use the high spots as much as possible. Dress the high spots only, using the technique above. With the machine off, use a straight edge that spans the diameter of the wheel face to see if it is dished. This exposes new diamond on the high spots and over time the wheel will true itself. The idea is to let the dresser hit the wheel on the high spots only. That is push or clamp the stick to the table and feed with table infeed or slight bump of the hand, letting the wheel grind away the stick without letting the stick ride on the wheel. Feed in till it touches the wheel and let the wheel remove the stick. Dress the wheel wet with the dressing stick pushed down on the table.Use a dressing stick grit size that is close to the wheel grit size as possible.Carbide dust is a serious health hazard and coolant helps keep the dust out of the air. Good news is with carbide it's less difficult as it is softer than the diamond wheel. And it took some time before I was able to reliably work the wheels and keep them true and flat. I have had years of experience making diamond tools using several different types of diamond wheels.

#How to grind carbide how to

The main thing that most people don't know about diamond wheels is how to true them and how to keep them true. I'm sharpening the angles by eyeball, like I do with my HSS.īasically needed just an adapter from the 5/8' shaft to the 20mm mounting hole in the wheel, and cutting a chunk out to the table. This is a 1750 rpm motor, if I do get around to using the low speed (with a finer wheel probably) it's 85 rpm. I'm sure it does not work as well as one purpose designed for this, but I'm quite pleased with the edge I can now get on my carbide tools. Then, realizing that I did not really need a second disk sander got the idea to turn that part into a carbide grinder. I may still do that, but last week I found a combination belt grinder/disk sander on the local buy-sell site for 30 bucks, and got it thinking that even a small belt grinder would be useful. Someone in a recent thread (Doozer maybe?) suggested that you'd get a better finish at low speed since the tool bit would 'bounce' on any irregularities on a high speed wheel. I got a diamond cup wheel and was going to build a table etc so that I could use it with a low speed motor I have.

I have acquired what is probably a lifetime supply of brazed-on carbide tools, but have had no way to sharpen them.