Sherline Parting Off Cutter Question.

On the Rear-Mount Parting/Cut Off tool, part no. 3018, it seems the slot to accommodate the blade is .2mm smaller than the blade itself. Sherline has been in business a long time, and seems inclined to always improve. Is this blade made larger intentionally? Is the user expected to take a few swipes off the "bottom" of the blade to allow it to fit in the mounting block? If not, am I a simpleton with no business with a lathe and mill?

Well, I'm off to get the popcorn... Wait for it.............cue Doug....

LKeithR said:

Well, I'm off to get the popcorn... Wait for it.............cue Doug....

Click to expand...

before Doug is released.. Sherline tends to make nice parts that play well with each other, and they have good customer support. Maybe email them, call them, telegram them; their answer will be much more family friendly than you might receive here.

This will probably be locked soon, check the rules at the top of the page.

You could reword your post or try at: The Home Machinist! - Index page

Do worry, it's not a lathe but rather a recycled screen door.

LKeithR said:

Well, I'm off to get the popcorn... Wait for it.............cue Doug....

Click to expand...

No need I see for me....Your doing just fine.

I like real butter on mine please.

About a two minute job with a bench grinder.

Set the tool rest so the contact with the wheel matches the angle of the parting tool you are reducing.
Set a block of, well, anything you can clamp down, on the deck of the tool rest and clamp it.

Remove the parting tool blank. draw a line across the deck along the stop block. It's there to see the actual movement.

Tap the stop block with a light object, to move it towards the grinder.

Now you can use that to grind the parting blade thinner, while maintaining the edge angle.

Test for fit, rinse/repeat as required. By sliding the parting blade along the face of the grinder wheel, you can have really controllable removal and still come out with a straight enough edge for it to work well in a holder.

Had to do this to salvage a bunch of parting blades that I got in a lot. Stuff happens. Suppliers screw up. And sometimes the path of least resistance is to use a few minutes of your time making things work.

Thank you for the useful info, trevj. Thank you too, Terry Keeley. Trevj, I agree completely with your last sentence. For the job and amount of work, the jig in the grinder sounds like a great approach. My post was in the event of a "yeah, see it all the time.. . " answer. I called Sherline and they tell me the blades are getting harder to source. They grind them there and sometimes don't measure twice and cut once. I have a new one on the way in the mail tomorrow. I'll make the original work, and it won't suck to have two.

Thanks, guys.