# Tool Grinding in an Apartment



## RPerez (Mar 23, 2021)

I have been working from home the past year due to the pandemic and to help my boy with his virtual schooling. I have set up a tiny shop with a Sherline lathe/milling attachment to keep myself from going crazy! I am currently working on a Stuart d10.

Overall it has been a pretty quiet set-up, especially after making an aluminum t-slot base with an mdf top, which has really helped reduce noise and vibration.  

I am at a bit of an impass though.  I need to grind HSS tools, but a bench grinder would probably be too large and noisy. One next to the TV might be the straw that breaks the camel's back as far as my wife is concerned(so far she has been pretty tolerant, so I don't want to tempt fate!)  

Does anyone have tool ideas for grinding small HSS tools while keeping the noise and footprint down? I don't mind some DIY, maybe an industrial 3/4hp servo sewing motor with a 6" CBN wheel?  

Thanks!


​


----------



## ddillman (Mar 23, 2021)

I would use a small belt sander in your situation. I would also hook a vacuum to it for dust control


----------



## C-Bag (Mar 23, 2021)

I can't believe how useful this little hand held belt stander is. I've not used it for touching up HSS bits because I have two full on bit grinders, but I made a funky little mount to attach it to one of my many rollaways to do some detail work and champfering and it worked wonderfully. I'm going to make a better mount for it. I also made a bench mount for my die grinder that I've used to do what my tool grinders can't do and it's invaluable. Mounting hand held tools has to be experienced to believe. It also would be fairly easy to take them outside to use eliminating inside noise and dust.  





__





						Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977
					

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!




					www.harborfreight.com


----------



## Ulma Doctor (Mar 23, 2021)

Harbor freight make a small 3" grinder that may be up your alley- it should be used outdoors, or with well planned ventilation
i have not sharpened HSS with mine, but the flexshaft drive is great to use
the small size and the relatively quiet operation may be what you need


----------



## stupoty (Mar 23, 2021)

Don't use grinders inside a house , bad idea.

(without very good extraction perhaps) 

Maybe a battery powered bench grinder you can go outside with for tool sharpening ?

Stu


----------



## nnam (Mar 23, 2021)

Bring it into your bedroom, then bring along the vaccum.  Once you're done, make sure to say honey,  I just vacuum the bedroom real well


----------



## matthewsx (Mar 23, 2021)

Agree, grinding in the house is a non-starter for many reasons.

Build yourself a little portable bench and go after it in the parking garage or wherever you can find an outlet.

John


----------



## macardoso (Mar 23, 2021)

just a thought from someone who has a home shop and refuses to grind indoors. Use indexable inserts.

AR warner sells HSS inserts or you can use CCGT, TCGT, VCGT, etc. carbide inserts with razor edge ground profiles for near-HSS sharpness.

I never have needed to do any grinding.


----------



## nnam (Mar 23, 2021)

If apartment is the long term reality,  you can build a collapsible box that you can hook a heap vacuum into it.  A good grinder shouldn't produce too much noise (I learned that myself).  The vaccum probably will be the noise source issue.
But your wife would need to understand.   Other than that,  just do it outside like others said.


----------



## mikey (Mar 23, 2021)

I agree with doing your grinding outside. My vote would be to use a belt sander with ceramic belts. It will grind a tool faster than anything else I am aware of so the time the machine is running will be minimized. My belt sander is fairly quiet. It is certainly quieter than any of my shop vacs, that's for sure.


----------



## Brento (Mar 23, 2021)

macardoso said:


> AR warner sells HSS inserts


You can buy hss insert? (Mind blown)


----------



## macardoso (Mar 24, 2021)

Brento said:


> You can buy hss insert? (Mind blown)


The A.R, Warner Company makes them specialty. I have never used them but have seen them touted here before as a transitional area between hand ground HSS and indexable tooling.





__





						Kit Inserts and Accessories
					





					www.arwarnerco.com
				








__





						Amazon.com : Indexable Inserts
					





					www.amazon.com
				




For me, I find that the xxGT style insert (in any shape e.g. CCGT, DCGT, SCGT, TCGT, etc.) are great and have near HSS performance in regards to edge sharpness and ability to skim a few tenths off the diameter at a time. I get them cheaply from eBay and they work wonders. They are made for non ferrous, but also do great in all kinds of steels and stainless at a reduced tool life. I look for sellers offering them in a blue Korloy box with a yellow label, costing between $8-$14 for a box of 10. Here are some examples, although I do not have any experience or affiliation with any of the links so shop around.









						10pcs CCGT09T308-AK H01 CNC turning insert CCGT32.52-AK cnc tools for aluminum  | eBay
					

Model: CCGT09T308-AK H01 / CCGT32.52-AK. Our Warehouse. Our Factory.



					www.ebay.com
				












						for Aluminum VCGT110304-AK H01 VCGT221-AK Carbide inserts Cutter blade VCMT11 6942096231873 | eBay
					

Higher durability. The cutting is more relaxed.



					www.ebay.com
				












						10p new TCGT090202-AK H01 Aluminum Processing inserts TCGT1.81.50.5-AK CNC TOOLS  | eBay
					

Model: TCGT090202-AK H01 / TCGT1.81.50.5-AK. Quantity: 10 pieces. Our Warehouse. Our Factory. High-end products, the quality of victory over Japan, Korea products. High quality.



					www.ebay.com
				












						10Pcs DCGT070204 AK H01/DCGT21.51-AK H01 Aluminum blade Inserts Carbide inserts  | eBay
					

This is 10pcs. Used for ordinary material processing (general steel, cast iron, copper, aluminum, easily machined material). We are an entity factory ，You can customize the production of any model you need.



					www.ebay.com
				




I strongly recommend choosing the smallest nose radius insert you can find. For example in the last link, DCGT0702*04*, the 04 represents the medium nose radius. I'd look for DCGT070202. On the other end DCGT070208 has the large nose radius.


----------



## RPerez (Mar 24, 2021)

Thank you for all the responses and ideas everyone!  

I do have a an AR Warner boring bar, and have considered trying out their HSS inserts for regular turning.

I have been using a small belt grinder with 1/2" a 3M Cubitron belt that I have been using, but it is hard to grind the relief angles accurately, especially the back rake.  Are there any particular brands/styles of small belt sanders to look into?

The inexpensive ground cabide inserts looks worth trying out! 

Anyone know of a "cute" single lip cutter and grinder?  Maybe that would fit in with our Modernist interior!

-R


----------



## mikey (Mar 24, 2021)

RPerez said:


> Are there any particular brands/styles of small belt sanders to look into?



This one would work.


----------



## chip maker (Mar 24, 2021)

Or if you are on a budget you could try this https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-x-30-in-belt-sander-61728.html I have one and for the size it may be just up your alley. I did purchase belts but the ones from HF weren't to good so bought some from another supplier. This little belt sander is great for the money.


----------



## C-Bag (Mar 24, 2021)

RPerez said:


> Anyone know of a "cute" single lip cutter and grinder? Maybe that would fit in with our Modernist interior!


If you're thinking one of these: I have one like it and while it can seem cute the thing weighs 115lbs! And it needs frequent dressing of the stone so is about as messy and nasty as it can be. But it is quiet


----------

