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How to Sharpen Solid Carbide Spirals

Solid carbide spirals are most commonly found on router bits and, as is so often the way, you may be more inclined to replace these bits rather than properly maintain them. Yet, you wouldn't just buy a new saw at the first sign of blunting, so why do the equivalent when you see your router bits starting to dull? It's perfectly viable, with some diamond abrasive and metal cleaner, to sharpen this solid carbide product.

Things You'll Need

Metal cleaner
Fine (600 grit) diamond abrasives
Extra-fine (1200 grit) diamond abrasives

Instructions

- 1
  Spray a liberal amount (as indicated on the label of the product you choose to purchase) of metal cleaner on to the solid carbide and rub it firmly with a clean cloth. Any hardened dirt or debris around a cutting edge interferes with chip clearance and reduces relief behind the cutting edge, so just cleaning this surface will help sharpen it.
- 2
  Use a fine-grit diamond abrasive to manually sharpen the solid carbide. This comes in the form of a handheld whetting stone that you use to rub and maneuver the metal. Follow the shape of the spirals and powerfully grind any rough edges away until you have a smoother, gradually sharpened surface.
- 3
  Move on to the extra-fine 1200 grit diamond abrasive and smoothly but firmly rub the areas that have been previously smoothed in Step 2. Use smooth circular motions to gradually sand the point into a sharp tip.

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