On 2009-08-08, Ignoramus13611 wrote:
Has anyone tried freehand grinding of lathe bits (those with inserts
and without). The use would be a diamond wheel that cuts on the side.

Well ... you don't really want to use a diamond wheel on HSS,
just on carbide.

And for bits with indexable (replaceable instead of brazed)
inserts, *I* would not re-grind them, as that would lose one of the
important features of the inserts -- the ability to rotate to a new
corner or to install a fresh insert once all the corners are used up,
and not have the dial settings shift. If you only do one-offs, and
*never* need to replace an insert in the middle of that project, I guess
that it does not matter -- but for me, it does matter.

I tried it with simple bits and it seems to work well, but maybe I am
missing some finer points of grinding.

Just that you changed the zero point for those inserts. If you
aren't depending on the indexable feature, fine -- but you might as well
be using brazed inserts then.

Enjoy,
DoN.

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