Re-Point a single pointed diamond dresser.

Anyone know of a way to "lap" a worn diamond point on a standard single diamond single point diamond dresser?

I like a good sharp point when I use a vinco B1 dresser on my PM OD grinder.

If a jeweler can "facet" a diamond, why cant I sharpen one?

You probably could, if you had the same equipment as the jeweler. But new diamond dressers are cheap, and to most people it wouldn't be worth the considerable time it would take. Jewelers spend many many hours faceting a diamond, it doesnt happen in a minute or two like sharpening a toolbit on a bench grinder.

"If a jeweler can "facet" a diamond, why cant I sharpen one?" You can and do "facet" your diamond, just like a jeweler does. He doesn't make points 'cause he doesn't need them, nor do I. When needed, I just loosen the shank and rotate it. The previous facet becomes an edge, to the wheel.

Saves needless diminishment of the expensive diamond and the wheel doesn't really want to be stuck, so no point needed, it wants to be shaved. Moving points produce spiral grooves on spinning surfaces, not a surface I prefer on my grinding wheels.

You do orient your diamond to the inclination that produces what become vertical edges when rotated, right? I ask because only a straight up, (wrong) orientation of a diamond dressing point, would "flatten" the "point", requiring wasting diamond surface to rectify.

Bob

just do it jeweller style, true with a diamond wheel. GO slow and wear it into submission, its how all diamonds are faceted (well normally with a diamond loaded lap, but hey ho) Can only grind diamond with diamond that's the problem with sharpening the hardest thing known!

When my diamond dresser gets dull and there are no facets left I heat up the nib and rotate the diamond in its pocket and let the braze reset. Brings a new section of the diamond into play, Peter

oldbrock said:

When my diamond dresser gets dull and there are no facets left I heat up the nib and rotate the diamond in its pocket and let the braze reset. Brings a new section of the diamond into play, Peter

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What Oldbrock said......there are people who make money doing exactly that to diamond dressers.

adama said:

Can only grind diamond with diamond that's the problem with sharpening the hardest thing known!

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Second hardest.

Diamond no longer nature's hardest material - tech - 16 February 2009 - New Scientist

(or third, or fourth, or whatever. I wasn't really counting and lost track a while ago....)

Like Old said, reset the diamond. They are multi-pointed. If you can't move it in the liquidfied braze metal, knock it out when its hot. You can clean the holder or make a new one. Put fine metal powder in the hole, insert the diamond in the proper orientation and cover it completely with metal powder. I use mild steel for metal spray build-up. Then heat and fill the cavity with silver solder. When finished you can either turn or hand dress the excess material off the end.

If you have the time and ambition, you can make a small copper lap and charge it with a diamond slurry. With some ingenuity, a spinning fixture can be adapted so the point can be kept on center.

Or spin-grind with diamond wheel, as suggested. (be wary of the heat build up)

Or many industrial diamond dealers will relap used diamonds as well.
I send my corner radius diamonds to these guys:

A. Landau Company: Single Point Dressers

I think the price was $25 each and that was over 5 yrs. ago.

Since a diamond is just carbon, the same as coal except a little different atomic arrangement, it occured to me that you should be able to cut one with heat. A quick Googlery showed that someone has already thought of that.

Revolution in Diamond Cutting: Laser Sawing of Diamond Crystals

Bill

"Saves needless diminishment of the expensive diamond and the wheel doesn't really want to be stuck, so no point needed, it wants to be shaved. Moving points produce spiral grooves on spinning surfaces, not a surface I prefer on my grinding wheels."

I dress more than just straight and flat...

I like a very sharp chisel point or a phono point for radius/tangent dressing. A very well located diamond point is required to dress an accurate form on a wheel.

I also use a sharp diamond point to rapid traverse dress (coarse dress) od grinding wheels when I want to take aggressive plunge cuts without loading up a wheel I find that a very coarse dress holds coolant well and keeps the wheel from loading up.

Frankly, I cant think of one situation where I dress a wheel where I dont use a very sharp pointed diamond (on vitrified wheels) Well...strike that. I do occasionally use norbide or dressing sticks, but not often.

I tried grinding a diamond dresser with a resin bonded diamond wheel, but it just cut into the wheel. I was doing it freehand, which was obviously a poor idea. I wonder if I used a whirlygig, and a very slow infeed, if the diamond wheel would work?

Does anyone know what jewelers use on laps to lap diamonds?

Is it just a slow spinning copper disk with diamond powder forced into it? do they use oil? water?

it may be just my dumb a$$ but don't they use iron wheels to cut/lap diamonds?

lincoln said:

it may be just my dumb a$$ but don't they use iron wheels to cut/lap diamonds?

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Yep but there sprinkled with diamond dust!

I believe you can EDM machine it as well.

The only time I got to see a diamond being cut, it was with a ceramic wheel impregnated with diamond powder. Also, I believe our single point diamond dresser had a radius on it, but I have no idea what kind of shape it was in (probably an antique).

It would be great if you could do a video showing how to do this. I have been scanning the internet trying to find just what you described but cant find a thing. I need to manufacture some stone dressers in a special holder and am trying to figure out how to set the diamonds.