On Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:29:00 -0500, 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.
I tried it with simple bits and it seems to work well, but maybe I am
missing some finer points of grinding.

I'd think it depends on your definition of "freehand". I've ground
cutters, but there was always that platform where I could rest the
tool; from that point, it was "freehand", as long as that platform
was on the correct angle.

There's a diamond wheel in the shop, and the machinists routinely
grind carbide bits "freehand", but it's still got that platform-
sorry, I don't know the proper technical terminology.

For that matter, how would you do it _not_ "freehand"?

Thanks,
Rich