[SkipW]

Does anyone know where I can buy a couple of 1/4" dia. diamond coated files for touching up 1/8" radius carbide round-over router bits? I need the straight, non tapered ones if possible.

Thanks

[Tsooko]

Micro mark has diamond coated files. google them. Or google a machine supply place like "Thomas Skinner"

:cheers: Ted

[SkipW]

Thanks for the reply, Ted. I just checked Micro Mark, they have the diamond coated needle file and riffler file sets but no mention of diameters for the round or tapered ones. Thomas Skinner just shows a part number for a diamond file set, no description.

I was hoping I could find just a single 1/4" diameter round one. I've bought 3/16" dia. round diamond coated files before, but I haven't been able to find 1/4".

Thanks,
Skip

[Tsooko]

Have you tried E-Bay?

:cheers: Ted

[SkipW]

Yes I have. Thanks for the suggestion though. Lots of the needle file sets but no round 1/4". I can't believe how difficult it is to locate one.

I checked McMaster-Carr. They have just about everything imaginable. They list a .240" round one, so I'm getting closer. Another .010" and I'll have it! lol

Thanks

[Tsooko]

Skip

Have you thought about a bur, you know, one you can put in a rotory tool like a dremal? If you can find one then get a pin vice to hold it and you can use it like a file. I've done that for model airplanes. A bur the right size might be easier to find.

Good luck.

:cheers: Ted

[wildwestpat]

Simple answer is to invest in diamond grit - available in syringes mixed with a grease in the various grades. It is available from lapidary suppliers and most good tool suppliers both as a loose grit and in a carrier grease.

Take a length of soft copper (could also be soft anything but copper is the traditional material) of the desired diameter coat with the diamond compound. If using dust use olive oil as the vehicle. Roll the copper coated on a scrap piece of dead hard gauge plate (HSS ground stock) to embed the diamond particles in the rod. Then use as a lap to hone the edge of the tooling to the diameter of the copper. Obviously there is a very slight error due to the embeding of the diamond grit in the metal but that will be small particularly with the very fine grades.

Please note you will need to work through the grades using a fresh metal carrier for each grade.

This method works well for wheel grinding at the hone stage. Just use a shaped copper disk and impregnate the wheel by rolling the dust into the circumference with a bit of dead hard drill rod held in a ball race. The drill rod being coated in the dust + grease or olive oil and rolled against the copper. The use of coolant may be needed if a lot of work is needed on the work.

Hope this helps. The diamond dust is very useful for all sorts of lapping giving better results than carborundum or silicon but you must work through the grades as diamond does not break down to yeild finner grades with continued use in the way carborundum does. A full set of diamond polishing grades can be had for arround $20.

Hope this helps.

PS Ceramic slip stones are available in various grades and these are valuable for touching up the cutting face and are certainly available in the common diameters. The ceramic material used is just a little softer than diamond and will cut even the hardest metal.

Regards

Pat

[SkipW]

http://www.knivesplus.com/eze-lap-sharpener-ez-m.html

I should have searched for hone instead of file. This one is a very fine grit but it should do the job just fine.

Thanks guys for your help and advice.

Skip

[wildwestpat]

And it gets even better as those ceramic stones are not only available with a wide range of profiles but are also available in different grit sizes. Just use water or light oil and stroke away they cut very fast being very nearly as hard as diamond. Just dont drop them on a hard floor!

Good Luck

Regards
Pat

[Tsooko]

Good. May all your cuts be clean!:banana::banana:

:cheers: Ted

[SkipW]

And it gets even better as those ceramic stones are not only available with a wide range of profiles but are also available in different grit sizes. Just use water or light oil and stroke away they cut very fast being very nearly as hard as diamond. Just dont drop them on a hard floor!

Good Luck

Regards
Pat

Thanks Ted and Pat!

Pat, I don't think that is a ceramic hone. From the link above it states:

"EZE-LAP has a patented heat treatment process that bonds the highest quality industrial grade diamond particles in a stainless alloy, to a metal substrate. This process creates a surface that measures around 72 on the Rockwell hardness scale; and results in a Diamond sharpener that will work on high tech blade steels, as well as tool steel, and most ceramic, carbide, and hardened materials."

So that sounds like a diamond coated metal substrate, but the picture does look similar to ceramic. I'll let you know for sure when it arrives.

I was a tool grinder/setter for 20 years at a machine shop that I used to work at. I would grind and sharpen HSS, carbide, and ceramic tools for the turning lathes and the horizontal boring lathes that we had. Just didn't want you to think you were dealing with a rookie here.

Thanks,
Skip

[wildwestpat]

Hi Skip

No slight was intended. It is just that if we all pool our knowledge the colective pool gets bigger and bigger is better in this case.

My reason is that there has been a lot of development in diamond and saphire as tooling for making and keeping an edge on cutting tools. The generic name of ceramic is on reflection my sloppy speach the stones are actually ceramic with embeded artificial saphire. and it is the saphire that is the cutting agent with ceramic acting as the bonding agent. These stones are relatively cheap compared with their diamond equivalents and are much used by wood workers who whilst using relatively soft tools need a very fine finish for turning some of the more difficult woods.

Just glad you have found a solution. As I indicated I use the diamond dust approach combined with soft copper.

Regards

Pat

[SkipW]

No slight taken at all, Pat. I never thought that for a second. And I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us. You obviously aren't a rookie either... lol

Thanks,
Skip

[wildwestpat]

Hi Skip

I may be a senior citizen but I am still learning as thewre is more than one way to do most things!

Here is the link to the artificial saphire stones I mentioned. They are quite agressive in their cutting action compared with the traditional slip stones and in my experience are as good if not better than the diamond plated variety as the surface is accurate.

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=89

If you have not tried them do try as they solve many a problem. I used to hide mine to stop them being high-jacked.

Kind regards

Pat

[SkipW]

Thank you for that link Pat, I am going to try one of those. I think that will work perfectly. And they do appear to have an accurate roundness, which is what I was looking for also.

That is a great find and very much appreciated!

Cheers,
Skip