Does anyone re-sharpen coated end mills?

I can understand that industrial users may not bother re-sharpening coated carbide or HSS (especially smaller sizes) but how about hobby machinists?

Is re-sharpening a viable option given that end mills from China seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper?

Is the substrate material sufficiently robust to perform once the coating has been "sharpened" off?

I sharpen larger size (12mm +}TiN coated HSS after they dull too much. They work quite well but not for very long.

I have not tried to re-sharpen coated carbide as I have only smaller ones (10mm and smaller).

Obviously, end mill manufacturers target industrial use and are constantly using better and better coatings but is this to the detriment of the substrate? Can they use lower quality substrate because the coatings are so good and users throw them away when dull?

Hope this post generates a useful discussion.

Thanks, Kevin


Read the full thread at metalworkforums.com...