Ed Huntress wrote:

"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote in message
t...

I think we need to think about this a little.

Diamond cutting tools are steel based and cut steel HSS and carbide
drills and mills. Perhaps there is transference, but not all that
much ?


The cutting part of diamond tools is diamond (natural industrial diamond or
vapor-deposited diamond coatings, or, in a couple of rare cases,
vapor-deposited diamond stripped from a substrate and diced into thin
braze-in tips), or diamond bonded in a press-and-sinter operation with one
of several binders (PCD tips). There is no steel involved in the actual
cutting tip.

As someone said, diamond combines chemically with steel or iron much quicker
at high temperatures. It's a very expensive way to carburize a piece of
steel. g

It works Ok for cool lapping, badly for turning or milling, and it's a big
loser in grinding. Still, it has its uses for cutting ferrous metals. You
just have to be aware that you're in for an expensive proposition because of
the chemical action.

snip
--
Ed Huntress



Remember the diamond is mounted on a steel or is it Nickel - hum - ring.
The ring is a heat conductor to the main shaft that is cooled. The diamond is
the most efficient conductor of heat - Sapphire is next. So the diamond that gets
hot is rapidly cooled as it is turned at very high speed. In general, cooling
is best at all times, but there hasn't been a scram issue on replacements for the unit
from what I can tell it is still for sale. I have one, and have ground both HSS and
simple steel (if there is one) and even ground a carbide tip drill. My spare
wheel bought at the time of sale is still in the machinist chest where it was saved.
I don't use it often, I use it as a pre-grinder or drill saver. Releaf behind
the grinding edge is not relieved. I save the drill - might split grind it and then
hand grind the fine touches as needed.

The drill Dr. isn't perfect but gives me a well pointed (centered and maybe split) so
my grinder time is for touch up not heavy grinding a chip.

Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder