Diamond Hone ?

[triplefreak]

I take it from what I've read on the subject that a diamond hone is the best way to sharpen carbide tipped turning tools?
Am I correct in that assumption, or is there a better way to do it?

[TDHofstetter]

You can use a silicon-carbide (green color, ALWAYS) wheel on the grinder, too. That's worlds faster than using a diamond hone.

Don't use a diamond wheel, not if you intend to ever touch steel with it. The steel erodes the diamonds away; the diamond actually dissolves into the iron component of the steel. Makes the steel crazy hard, but diamond wheels are expensive & best not to use up that way. That's assuming high-speed grinding... low-speed wet grinding is fine for diamond wheels & steel.

But yeah. A fairly common green stone is perfectly fine for sharpening carbide. About 120-grit.

[Ruffnek]

The only carbide tip I have on a turning tool is the cutter tip on my Sorby Hollowmaster. All of my gouges, scrapers and chisels are HSS.

I do use a diamond home on the Sorby carbide cutter to hone between sharpenings and occassionally will sharpen it on the Jet wet sharpener.

[triplefreak]

What if it just needs a little touch up, instead of a full grinding?
The reason I ask if because I'm thinking of investing in some carbide tipped pen turning tools.

[Ruffnek]

If you hone them regularly, you can go a long time between grindings, on either HSS or carbide.

You could also build one of those MDF disc sanders to go on the lathe and use it to sharpen the carbide. That would be a cheap way and the sandpaper is replaceable.

[TDHofstetter]

...as long as you use silicon carbide sandpaper instead of aluminum oxide. AlOx isn't hard enough to sharpen carbide - carbide's harder. Silicon carbide is a little harder than tungsten carbide, so that works.