advanced sharpening question

[curtis rosche]

well, i had asked before about using carbide and diamond inserts. my brother nabbed me a couple of each from the college metal shop. they look like they will work. the diamond bit is at a sharper angle than my homemade tool, and it is very sharp so it looks like it should work. the carbide ones he got arent quite so sharp. the question is, can the carbide be sharpened with a regular sharpening wheel, or should it be done by hand. and i assumme you cant sharpen a diamond bit can you, or will it just never dull?

[Dick Strauss]

Curtis,
Most carbide can be sharpened with a green Silicon Carbide wheels though the wheels might wear quickly depending on the hardness of the carbide. The carbide bits are much harder than steel so regular wheels will just not work! Diamond wheels work better and last longer when sharpening carbide bits/inserts.

Diamond plated bits/inserts can not be really be sharpened. It is not good for wood. The spaces between the diamond chips will clog with sawdust and it will quickly become useless for shaping wood.

[robert hainstock]

I use a diamond hone to sharpen carbide, and I don't believe you can sharpen diamond as I still believe it is the hardest material. :)
Bob

[curtis rosche]

ok. the carbide is C5, im not sure how that ranks on the hardnes scale. the diamond bits i got look like they will tork though, there is nothing on them to clog, they are shaped just like the cutter on a duplicator. i will try them anyways since my brother went and got them for me. if they work, great, if they dont at least i can tell him i tried.

[Dick Strauss]

Curtis,
C5 carbide is kind of hard and will wear a green silicon carbide wheel quickly (C2/C3 is the "soft" and C5/C6/C7 is the "hard" end of things). I'd suggest a diamond hone to sharpen the carbide. I took better than 1/8" off a green wheel rounding a square 3/8" C6 tool.

I think I was wrong about the diamond inserts. They don't have natural diamonds imbedded in nickel as is common for woodworking burrs, diamond hones, etc. They have a thin synthetic diamond coating instead of natural chips. You won't be able to sharpen these without harming the coating but they will probably work for woodturning without clogging.

[Christopher Fletcher]

Curtis,
Most carbide can be sharpened with a green Silicon Carbide wheels though the wheels might wear quickly depending on the hardness of the carbide. The carbide bits are much harder than steel so regular wheels will just not work! Diamond wheels work better and last longer when sharpening carbide bits/inserts.

Diamond plated bits/inserts can not be really be sharpened. It is not good for wood. The spaces between the diamond chips will clog with sawdust and it will quickly become useless for shaping wood.

Last time I priced a diamond wheel the going rate was about $80 for about a 60 grit equivalent. Very $$$ IMO.

[curtis rosche]

i dont plan on getting a diamond wheel. it would be chaeper to but new off the bay. i could buy like 50 for the price of a diamond wheel