# De-Burring and Breaking Sharp Edges



## rake60 (Aug 24, 2007)

When we cut metals we are separating the molecules of the grain of the 
material.  What that leaves is an edge sharper than the best honed 
razor.  It takes only a second to take a file or de-burring knife across
that sharp edge.  It takes about 5 days for that perfectly clean cut on 
you hand to heal from not removing the sharp edge.  

I have an over protective wife, and I *HATE* needles!
I'll break every sharp edge to avoid a tetanus shot!!!


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## Tin Falcon (Aug 25, 2007)

de-burring is almost second nature not only do I de-bur for safety reasons but for craftsmanship. In air force tech school handing an instructor a project that was not deburred was a BIG NO NO up there with leaving the chuck key  in the lathe and handing an instructor a hot weld sample.
Tin


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## Tin Falcon (Oct 3, 2007)

ok: so what are the  best/ safest deburing tools? In tech school we used a file. I use a whirygig most of the time a triangular scraper for small stuff. and a countersink type tool for holes. 
Tin


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## tattoomike68 (Oct 3, 2007)

At the work shop where I saw my metal there is one of these buy the saw.






http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2485[/img]

By the Piranha iron worker there is one of these. Its a burr king and was like $1,500 10 years ago.
http://burrking.thomasnet.com/item/...el-belt-grinders-model-760/item-1024?&seo=110






Other than that I use a file and a countersink.


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## shred (Oct 3, 2007)

I got one of the knife-type deburring tools on sale one day (they're cheap anyway) and am impressed with how well it works on soft metals.


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## Bogstandard (Oct 4, 2007)

I use an earlier version of this
http://www.dickblick.com/zz574/77/

It uses solid tungsten blades so by scraping along the edge it will deburr just about anything, and with all the angles on it you can get into the nooks and crannies. I also use it for scraping off light machining marks and blending before polishing. I'm on my second blade in about 5 years. You can even use it for cutting plastic laminates.
I find that scaping to deburr gives a better finished result than filing.
You can use a Stanley utility knife, but the blades go dull too quickly when doing something like stainless.

John


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## rake60 (Oct 4, 2007)

My de-burring knife is very much like the one shred shows.




The tool it's self is cheap.  The replacement blades cost about $1 each for
the tough TiN coated type.  They work GREAT on most metals, but there
is one important caution to note.  If that tool is pulled too hard toward a 
hand it can slip out of the part being deburred.  That blade will lay a hand 
open quicker than you can say "Oh S#$T!"

Rick


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