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How long does diamond in dresser last?

Nobody out there is dressing their surface grinders these days? Or maybe the diamonds never wear out????? Can I just get at least one token response from someone?
 
Well you only gave it a day..


Until they are dull. Time? Who knows, how often do you grind and how much?

You should be rotating the tip of the diamond every so often, this will help it last.
 
How about a very long time.
Depends on how much you dress, what you dress and hour many hours per year you run.
I have flat wheel surface grinder dressing diamonds 20+ years old.
On a high production machine life may be only 90 days or even less.
On a SG you rotate them as they dull or form a face.
Bob
 
I don't do much grinding. I suspect that the professionals hold off because I believe there is too much diamond-to-diamond variability.

Paolo
 
A tip, once they do get dull (the point is very rounded) they work well to relieve the wheel for side wheel grinding (if that makes sense), or roughing a larger rad into the wheel for form grinding.
 
All your posts are very helpful. I'll be a very light user, non-production, so I guess the diamond will last a really long time :)
 
I use small diamonds because I got 'em cheap. Be sure to run it at about a 15 degree angle, and rotate it in the holder periodically. I'm mostly a hobbyist and they last me a couple years.
 
I got tired of only being the only that rotates the diamond, so I made a round knurled holder. This way it is usually rotated every time. It's been working fine.

With a 14" wheel the diamond seems to need replacement with the wheel. About 2 years for us.

I also set the tip height at 2" so if I know the part size I can go to dressing height easily.

Dave
 
Do any of the diamond veterans know if there is different types or grades of dressing diamonds? I use the typical diamond on a block to flat dress but also those small triangle ones that are used in the opti-dress. The opti dress ones can’t take much with out dulling but the large one can take a real beating with no obvious wear
 
The opti-dress diamonds are usually lapped to a specific radius to match the stylus you're going to trace your form pattern with. Using one of those diamonds as a general purpose dresser would be a sin and a waste.
 
Someone said 2 years I agree with that and more. Size matters because the braze has more surface, or if held another way perhaps casted in more surface to hold. I like a half caret or larger because they stay together longer.
Run a diamond in the dark and you see they light up so I figure they are getting hot. The rounder they are the hotter they get.
They need be turned to a new facet so you need a loop to see the facet. They need be turned odd amounts to a facet so having a hex or ten sided base to turn does not do.
The base /holder bottom gets rounded from use so it will get to be a rocky horse and not hold the diamond solid as a rock. wider base and a grind once a year is good.
Angle is important perhaps 15 to 25 degrees seems OK.
Toch-off need be careful or the diamond can take too much stress at the hit.
Good to watch where you set it, on center or to the go side is good , set on the climb side and it can be sucked in and so stressed.
I have a diamond clicker, that I have never used down in one of my tool boxes. It turns the diamond an odd amount each time you push a lever. so such device can be had. But the loop is the lowest cost method.
Oh almost forgot The shank 3/8 or better and hang out a inch or less so no chatter. Half inch stick out and clamp to an angle plate will make it last longer.
 
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Since single point diamonds are periodically rotated, they're self-sharpening. So you replace them when they get too small, which often takes years.
 








 
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