Sharpening an end mill?

[qquake]

I have some old piloted (counterbore) end mills that I still use once in a while. My b-in-law gave them to me years and years ago, and made some custom pilots out of drill blanks. Is there an easy way to sharpen them? They're so dull they burn the wood.

 

[egnald]

Most end mills can be sharpened, however, nearly all of the small to mid sized machine shops I have dealt with over the years use a third-party sharpening service as they have the right tools for the job and have enough experience and repetition to get the job done. I think it cost our shop somewhere between $5 and $10 to have small end mills sharpened depending on whether they were High Speed Steel or Carbide. Considering the price of new end mills it was definitely worth doing.

Dave

 

[zig314159]

I have had good luck with videos I found on the internet. You will find several informative narrations when you do a search for "sharpening an pen end mill" or "sharpening a barrel trimmer". Choose a technique you are comfortable with. I have using the same mill for over 25 years. You will notice an immediate improvement. I have used both the grinding wheel method and the diamond card with lubricant method. Be careful of sharpening only the correct surface of the mill (I only sharpen the large vertical flat face of each cutter, not the small angled face) Disassemble the mill before sharpening. Good luck.

 

[Paul in OKC]

If you have a few I can do them for you. I used to sharpen pen mills for folks, but it is usually only economical to do a few rather than just one due to shipping both ways. I have use of a tool and cutter grinder in the shop were I work.