"rangerssuck" wrote in message ...
I need to make (or have made) a custom router bit. The groove I need to make is a truncated V 15/16" wide at the top, 3/8" wide at the bottom and 1/4" deep. The dimensions aren't super critical, but closer is better.

I do NOT have a real tool grinder, and HF seems to have discontinued theirs. I also don't (as will become apparent) have more than a very little bit of experience grinding tool bits. I DO have 1x30 and 4x36 belt sanders, a set of 5C collets and a square collet block.

I'm thinking that I could lay out the shape on a blank, hold it in the collet block, set the fence on the sander to 41 1/2° (to form the V angle), tilt its table to 20° or so (to form the cutting edge and then grind to the line. Then grind the flat end and its cutting edges.

Question 1:
Does the above sound reasonable?

I have found a source for HS blanks http://goo.gl/13G1cD but a) they're not at all cheap and b) they have a half-inch shank and I have a 1/4" router. I'm not opposed to a new router, but only if I really need it.

Question 2:
Is there any reason I couldn't start out with a 15/16" spade bit as my blank? Even the most expensive spade bit is going to be less expensive than that router bit blank. Is there something about a spade bit that would make it totally unsuitable for this?

Question 3:
should I just job this out? If so, is there anyone here who would want to do it? How much should I expect to pay?

Thanks for the input.

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Probably I would sacrifice an old center drill; spade bits typically only have a 1/4 diameter shank and so they'll bend very easily if subjected to much side loading.

Offhand grinding of this sort of tooling is made quite a bit easier if you use a single flute design.