getting endmills sharpened...

[AllenH59]

i looked into the cost of a grinder, but that would buy a lot of endmills. Do any of you pay to get them sharpened? If so where? thanks. I found a place that takes industrial quantities, however I have half a coffee can of them. Just hate to throw them out...

[John Evans]

Pitch 'em! Not cost effective under 1/2 in carbide or 3/4 in HSS .

[Lew Hartswick]

Not true. It all depends on where you are. Here in Abq. we have a good sharpening service that we have used for years for end mills as small as 3/8" and up to 3/4" at prices that make it economical.
...lew...

[John Hasler]

Don't throw them out. Make them into something useful.

[Jawn]

I suspect if they're HSS, it would be relatively easy to use the shank portion as a round lathe tool after a bit of grinding.

[whateg0]

There are several places locally that sharpen endmills. I have had several sharpened and it is usually around $7 per, a little more for carbide, more flutes, or special grinds. I hate throwing tools out that can be revived. Just seems wasteful.

On HSS endmills that don't have damage along the flute, I've also sharpened a few with a dremel and a fixture on an old lathe. They worked fine and didn't cost much at all, just a little time. Some will say it's a waste of time, but vs. spending a couple hundred on endmills, I'm good with it.

[SteveM]

If they are cheap imports, collect them up, weigh them and sell them by the pound on ebay.

If you compare the price for sharpening to the cost of a new, quality, made in USA (or other countries that make quality products) end mill, you may find that it can be cost-effective.

A half-inch, Niagara 4-flute HSS end mill from MSC is $40-$60. If sharpening is $7, that's a whole lot less expensive than a new one. If nothing else, you can keep some of those around for roughing.

Once you have them sharpened, though, you will have undersized tools, so you may need to take that into account in certain operations (e.g. using a 2-flute cutter to mill a slot in one pass).

Steve

[whateg0]

I actually like having the undersized EMs for some operations, like slotting. I can run a cleanup pass on each side and end up with a nice looking slot with nearly the right radius at the end.

[ChipMaker4130]

. . .Once you have them sharpened, though, you will have undersized tools. . .

I typically only need the end sharpened the first time around, thereby keeping the original dimension. Seems the corners & end edges go first 90% of the time.