Parallel Point Length

[JKRice]

I would like to get some advice on parallel heel lengths. Does one heel length work better than another? Thanks in advance. Jerry

 

[JJ Roberts]

Jerry, Just make sure the parallel heel is even on both sides. J.J.

 

[AllenClapp]

Longer [wider] heels can help you cut a straighter line. However, longer heels can drag on the outside of sharper curves, so shorter heels work better for tight spirals or leaf edge cuts. Similarly, low heel angles are more likely to have the rear of the point to drag across the outside of curves and higher heel angles are less likely to damage the outside of curves.

 

[rweigel]

To avoid heel drag when flare cutting, I was aiming for shorter and shorter heels, until I realised that a very short heel makes the graver hard to control and requires lower angles of attack. Else it will dig in. I had not enough freedom for my handpiece and fingers.

I grind now arround 0.2 mm heels on carbide gravers, and polish /round the transition to the belly with 0.5um diamond paste on a felt wheel. This reduces the progress marks. I work mostly with Silver / Argentium and German Silver (Copper/Nickel alloy).

I hope this information helps

Ralf

 

[Leland Davis]

JK, only you can figure out what works for you. I sharpen on a 600 grit wheel after I grind the face I shut off the wheel and push the heel about 3/4 of an inch on each side. It works for me but may not for you. I think you can get to hung up on exact geometry when consistency is more important. This thread should give you a starting point to find what works for you.

Good luck

 

[JKRice]

Thanks to all. Very informative. Now I have a better picture of different heel lengths in different cutting situations. Jerry

 

[Tim Wells]

It is something you'll have to figure out by trial and error. You'd have a devil of a time trying to measure how wide the heel is on a graver. Make your graver angles with your face being the last. Then, with no power, make the heel with just the weight of the fixture on the hone and scoot the wheel or stone just a few inches and look at the result. Don't do too much, you want to creep up on it. Make one about as wide as a common staple thickness. Then make the other side match and try it out on some script lettering or some curves and go from there to make adjustments as needed.

 

[sam]

for me, the ideal heel length is about .25mm. I tell students that the heel shouldn't exceed one of the black line markings on a common ruler. Mine are usually shy of the thickness of one of the lines. Using the ruler as a guide gives you a visual.

 

[JKRice]

for me, the ideal heel length is about .25mm. I tell students that the heel shouldn't exceed one of the black line markings on a common ruler. Mine are usually shy of the thickness of one of the lines. Using the ruler as a guide gives you a visual.

Sam, Thanks. A good way to remember. .25 mm would be .010.

 

[gcmeleak]

It is something you'll have to figure out by trial and error. You'd have a devil of a time trying to measure how wide the heel is on a graver. Make your graver angles with your face being the last. Then, with no power, make the heel with just the weight of the fixture on the hone and scoot the wheel or stone just a few inches and look at the result. Don't do too much, you want to creep up on it. Make one about as wide as a common staple thickness. Then make the other side match and try it out on some script lettering or some curves and go from there to make adjustments as needed.

For what it's worth, this is the very same method that i use.