Which Tool and Cutter Grinder?

[7milesup]

Ok, so I am relatively new to machining but have an interest in sharpening my own end mills (and drills for that matter) but I seem to be spending a lot of time trying to figure out which grinder does what.

So my question is, which grinder (used preferably) will do end mills, including the sharpening of the side of the flutes? I was originally thinking of a used Deckel, but apparently without some extra jigs, it will only do the ends of the mills. Same thing with an Alexander 2CG. What about a Norton? I have thought about building a Quorn or a Bonnell (sp?) but not sure if I have the time. The Bonnell is simpler to build from my understanding. I have also purchased Harold Halls book on milling and the cutter grinding jig, but it seems limited and cumbersome, but maybe it is just limited because of my limited knowledge I would certainly be up to building his grinding jig if it does what I need it to do. There are also the Universal T&C grinders made in China (or Taiwan preferably) that are appealing because of their small footprint and cost (yes, I know you get what you pay for, to a point). Here is a link to one of them. There is a guy on YouTube that refined one by doing some refining on some of the parts using Moglice to provide better surfaces.

So, what say you?

 

[pstemari]

Sharpening the flutes of endmills requires a feeler to hold the right rotation angle and a bearing that permits rotating and sliding at the same time.

I haven't made the accessories yet for Hall's tool rest, but the process is the same as far as I can tell with his attachment as it is on a Deckel, etc. The pro equipment has air bearings, etc, to make the process smoother, but conceptually it's the same.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Korves]

A tool and cutter grinder without the tooling you will need for each specific job is pretty much worthless. Size of the machine can matter. Small T&C grinders have trouble with large tooling, though there are ways to get more done with some thought and adaptation. Still, you can't fit a gallon in a quart bottle. The grinders are amazingly universal, the setups are up to you and what tooling you have, make, buy, or adapt to get jobs done. Almost anything can be done on a T&C grinder, but plenty of tooling and fixtures and work heads and a brain that can think outside the box, are all highly useful. Get a universal type T&C grinder unless you know for sure the single thing you mostly want to do. Machines like the Deckel and Quorn, while good for the jobs they do, are quite limited in versatility compared to universal T&C grinders.

 

[Dabbler]

Just about any T&C grinder will sharpen end mills, however as Bob said it needs tooling to do so. It doesn't matter if you buy a Deckel,or any other grinder. Some come packaged with an end-mill-flute follower, but you can easily make your own.

 

[7milesup]

Do you guys have a recommendation on brand or even type of Universal Tool & Cutter grinder? As with most people, I am limited on space, which is what has prevented me from purchasing a surface grinder at this point.

Thank you for your replies so far.

 

[4ssss]

The cost of a cutter grinder doesn't make sense when you can get end mills sharpened for $2-$4 each depending on the size. That being said, I owned a Cuttermaster until I sold it for a big profit. It's a bench top pretty straight forward machine, but make sure with what ever you buy that it has an air spindle.

 

[7milesup]

The cost of a cutter grinder doesn't make sense when you can get end mills sharpened for $2-$4 each depending on the size. That being said, I owned a Cuttermaster until I sold it for a big profit. It's a bench top pretty straight forward machine, but make sure with what ever you buy that it has an air spindle.

True, but... 1.) I maybe want to make a little money on the side even though it probably is not going to be a real money maker. 2.) Just like my drill doctor, it took a long time to recover my money considering the cost of drill bits but when I am in the middle of something that I need done and the drill bit is dull, it paid for itself in one use. 3.) Apparently I am a tool junkie.
Thank you for the Cuttermaster option. I will keep an eye out or see what else is out there that is similar.

Edit: Just looked at the price of a Cuttermaster. Ok, not THAT much of a tool junkie, at least not at new prices.. LOL

 

[Bob Korves]

Tool and cutter grinders are fairly expensive machines when bought new, especially if you buy all the attachments, and you need attachments to do just about everything. Don't buy them all right away, or some of them will just collect rust and dust. Have a real need before buying. Used T&C grinders are often cheap, and often in decent usable shape. Again, you will need the accessories, though many accessories can be moved to different brand machines, though they may need mounting adapters or other modifications. Used tooling can often be found in decent shape, but there is also junk out there that was not well taken care of. T&C grinders can do some surface grinding, though not typically of the same quality as a good surface grinder, and the reverse is also true, a surface grinder can do some T&C work, but is not ideal for the purpose.

Once you have all the tooling _and the skills to go with it_, sharpening an end mill is not too difficult, but it is not automatic, every grind has to be set up correctly. Most tools do not have standard angles. With a T&C grinder, you can optimize grinds of end mills, lathe tools, and many other tools for specific needs, which can work much better than standard off the shelf tools. There is definitely a significant learning curve to turning out good work on a T&C grinder within a reasonable amount of time and effort.

They are more a long term companion than a Saturday night date.

All that being said, I do not own a T&C grinder, though it is tempting.

 

[ddickey]

I'm looking also. The unit in Renzetti's video looks tempting.

 

[benmychree]

I would reiterate what an earlier writer said "MAKE SURE THAT IT HAS AN AIR BEARING WORKHEAD" whatever machine that you buy. If you have no room for a surface grinder, you have no room for a universal cutter grinder either. If you did have room for a surface grinder, you could sharpen end mills on it, with a suitable air bearing attachment.