Given that you can buy top quality M2 end mills for $1.50 up [see
http://www.wttool.com and many other sites ] it no longer pays to
get these sharpened.

You may want to invest in a mini-idexable end mill that takes
TPG22 inserts. See WholeSale tool SKU 1093-0820, 25 and 30 for
1/2, 9/16 and 5/8 diameters w/ 1/2 weldon shank. These are about
$12.00 each or $26.00 for all three. You get three tips per
insert and the TPG22 inserts go for about $2.50 each on sale and
the TPU22 inserts which work as well for me go about $0.90 to
$1.50 each on sale.

Wholesale Tool is about the cheapest place I have found for
endmills, better than HarborFreight and they have sizes / types
no one else lists. Also lots of Aerospace regrinds for $0.50 up.

GmcD


On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 14:40:49 -0800, Tim Wescott
wrote:
How does one go about sharpening an end mill? Any web pages on how to
do it? At the last place I worked I noticed a mobile sharpening service
van lurking around the model shop door once a week -- is this something
that even the pros routinely farm out?

And finally -- how do I, the home machinist with a need to sharpen one
or two end mills a year, go about getting them sharpened? Do I just
need to make friends with a machinist, are there places I can drop them
off? Buy resharpened ones? Where? Buy new ones from McMaster and
throw the old ones out?

Thanks.