Sharpening Router Bits?

[Dick Strauss]

I'm new to the forum and unfortunately have more questions than answers at this point.

Has anyone tried to sharpen carbide router bits with diamond paddles?

I was just wondering if it was worth the trouble or if I should buy new ones instead.

Thanks!

[Richard Wolf]

By all means you should be resharpening your router bits. You can only sharpen the flat side of the bit on a diamond stone. You should also count how many passes you make on one side and match it on the other edge.

Richard

[Steve Clardy]

I have a diamond sharpener I use to touch up bits. Works real well.

[Dick Strauss]

Richard and Steve,
Thanks for your help. What brand of diamond sharpener do you use? What do they run and where do you buy them? I've seen some avail at big box stores but was hesitant about quality.

I got a Cman 30 pc router bit set for $50 to play with my first router (the set retails for $100). After about 20LF, the round-over bit doesn't seem to be working as well as it once did. There is no pitch build-up from running pine/fir. I've been running the router at about 15k with the round-over bit since it seems to produce shavings at that speed. I found that I got more dust than shavings when I ran it faster. I like to run the bit slightly deep in the wood so that I get a slight step reveal as well as the round-over.
I'm get a slight fraying along the edge with the step detail. I can sand the wood fringe off quite.

Any suggestions?

By the way, I bought the Cman router bit set to help me understand which bits I will use and which ones I won't. They aren't meant to be my set for life. I think that I don't/won't use 50% of the bits for anything I have planned. I'm planning to buy better quality bits in the near future for specific tasks.

I've been working on wood framed stained glass fireplace screens, wood frames for stained glass panels, wood bases for lamps, etc. I'm planning to build a cherry bedroom set in the next year. I'll post pics as I complete the projects.

[Steve Clardy]

I get the fray doing those patterns too. I just hand sand off.
Don't remember where I got the diamond stones. Had them for a number of years.
I have two different ones. Each have a different grit on each side.
I'll try to think where I got them.

Steve

[Richard Wolf]

I'm not familar with the craftman router sets, are you sure thay are carbide? I don't mean to question your experience, it just seems very cheap for a 30 pc. set.

A round over bit is designed to run at full speed, what ever that is on your router, but, you could over heat the bits if you don't move it along at a reasonible speed. Over heating and burning the bit will dull it very fast.

You should be getting 100's of feet with a sharpe bit.

Richard

[Dick Strauss]

Richard,
The Cman set has carbide tips. I don't know if it is C2 or C3 carbide. It is model #34464.

I don't see any burn marks on the wood. My router can be run at 8-25k. I thought that I should be seeing chips rather than dust. I found that I was producing mostly dust when I ran it at top speed. With the bit runing at about 15k, it seems I'm pushing the wood and running the router at the right speeds. Please correct me if this is the wrong way to do it.

Thanks,
Dick

[Don Baer]

Dick,

The speed of the router bits should decrease as the size of the bit increases. The guide I have shows the following speeds.
Dia Speed
0-1" 24000 RPM
1-1 1/4 18000 RPM
2-2 1/4 16000 RPM
3-3 1/2 12000 RPM

[Richard Wolf]

Dick, it seems that at this point the router bit is no longer sharp. Speed and feed rate will not produce chips from a dull bit. What type of wood are you using?
Why don't you go get one good round over bit just to get a feel of what should be happening.

Richard

[Corey Hallagan]

Richard I think they are carbide. I think it is the multi arbor set with the seperate bearings and bits can be interchanged etc. Dick often you will get a fuzzy edge in pine like that with the step and bead on round over bits. Better bits don't seem do this as much though. I use cheaper router bits until they produce unacceptable results then I toss them myself. More expesive ones I will get sharpened when I need to.
Corey

[Charlie Plesums]

I gave up my router table when I got a shaper (no room for both). Therefore I can only run my router bits about 10,000 rpm. A router manufacturer worried that I would overheat at the lower speed, because the chips carry away the heat - he was worried that the lower speed (and the lower feed rate that I assumed would help) would not throw the chips well enough. As a result, I focus on getting good chips at all times.

Bottom line, if you are getting dust at the higher speed, the bit is probably dull. The lower speed may allow you to "chew out" chips by brute force, but not with a clean cutting action.

A review of bits in Fine Woodworking a while back found that even good router bits get dull in as little as 70 linear feet. I run mine a lot more than that, especially the better bits, but my standards may be lower than those editors.

[Steve Clardy]

One on the left is 4 sided, made by STONE tools.
THe other three are made by Diamond Machining Tech. Marlborough, MA.
I picked those three up at a woodshow a number of years ago. Two of them fold up for pocket use, though I don't carry them around in my pocket.