Thought I would share this info for anyone looking for cheap solution for grinding carbide tools.
I just got myself a set of 6" diamond laps from ebay, it was £11.99 for a set of 3 (240, 600, 3000), other sets are available with different grits. You can buy them from china for a few pounds less but I was happy to pay a little extra and got them within 3 days.
The plates are 6" in diameter, about 1mm thick and have a 1/2" arbour hole in the middle all of mine were very flat or rather flat enough and fitting them to an arbour will pull them flat anyway. I made a simple arbour for them that fits in my lathe collet chuck so they run perfectly true and I can adjust the speed or run them in reverse depending on the tool geometry. The arbour hole in the plates was a nice snug fit on a 1/2" bench grinder shaft if you want to go down that route, I plan to use them at a very slow speed maybe with a little water bath to keep the tools cool and stop carbide dust going everywhere.
The diamond coating feels well adhered and very consistent, grinding marks on my test piece were very consistent and smooth. For the money I am incredibly happy.
Happy to link if allowed but if you search ebay for diamond lapping disc or plate you should find them, between £9-12 for a set of 3 plates.
Finally I have a faster and more accurate way to sharpen my carbide tools, doing it by hand on a diamond hone was getting rather dull!
I just got myself a set of 6" diamond laps from ebay, it was £11.99 for a set of 3 (240, 600, 3000), other sets are available with different grits. You can buy them from china for a few pounds less but I was happy to pay a little extra and got them within 3 days.
The plates are 6" in diameter, about 1mm thick and have a 1/2" arbour hole in the middle all of mine were very flat or rather flat enough and fitting them to an arbour will pull them flat anyway. I made a simple arbour for them that fits in my lathe collet chuck so they run perfectly true and I can adjust the speed or run them in reverse depending on the tool geometry. The arbour hole in the plates was a nice snug fit on a 1/2" bench grinder shaft if you want to go down that route, I plan to use them at a very slow speed maybe with a little water bath to keep the tools cool and stop carbide dust going everywhere.
The diamond coating feels well adhered and very consistent, grinding marks on my test piece were very consistent and smooth. For the money I am incredibly happy.
Happy to link if allowed but if you search ebay for diamond lapping disc or plate you should find them, between £9-12 for a set of 3 plates.
Finally I have a faster and more accurate way to sharpen my carbide tools, doing it by hand on a diamond hone was getting rather dull!