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What's the best method of sharpening woodturning chisels?

What's the best method of sharpening woodturning chisels?

Hello Bill,

The best way of sharpening woodturning chisels is with a grinder with white,
pink, etc. aluminum oxide wheels. Better if it is a slow speed grinder (1750
rpm), but a 3400 rpm grinder will work well too. I have an article at my More
Woodturning web site <http://www.fholder.com/Woodturning/article.htm> (I think
that will get you to the article index.) on sharpening your tools that may be of
some help. There are almost as many ways to sharpen as there are woodturners.
Some people grind and then hone before touching the wood. I personally grind and
go straight to the lathe, I then touch up the edge with a diamond hone several
times before regrinding.

Read the article and then if you still have specific questions come back and
we'll try to answer them for you.

Fred Holder
<http://www.fholder.com/>

Fred Holder
<http://www.fholder.com/>

That borders on a theological question in some quarters, but the
majority
of us (I suspect) use either a 6" or an 8" grinder.  I use an 8" 3500
rpm
with a 120 grit stone.  John Jordan swears by a 60 grit.  Most are
somewhere
in between I think.

Find a copy of a good turning video such as "Turning Wood with Richard
Raffan" or "Bowl Turning with Del Stubbs".  Both are $20 and put out
by Taunton Press.  They have a section on sharpening.  You can rent them
from Craft Supplies (http://www.craftusa.com)  Taunton is at
http://www.taunton.com

S'later...

...Kevin
--
Kevin & Theresa Miller
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb

Depends on the chisel/tool. I find that a Delta grinder fitted with a
white friable wheel works well. I have a jig set up that lets me
present the tool at a specific angle (usually set by eye), and I
freehand the grind for gouges. I have a sliding 'tray' for skews. Keeps
the blade at the correct angle, while the jig (same one as for the
gouges) keeps the bevel at the correct angle. (also by eye)
Took a bit of practice to develop these 'by eye' settings, but I can
repeat the setup anywhere, even at a show.

One tip? If you have an old tool that's outlived it's usefulness, grind
it to the angle you like to work with (once you find one, that is), and
keep it around to help you get the angle right for your other tools.
Until you get more experienced in sharpening with this method, the
potential is there for your angle to change over time to something less
useful.
At least, this method works for me. You may find some other method more
to your liking. Go for it.

--
Maxxed
Fine woodturned goblets and steins, and custom woodburned artwork.
Oh, and all those guild cups, too.
http://www.tpoint.com

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Bill,
    I am going to suggest basically what the others have suggested. I use a
surplus 1725rpm motor with a grinding wheel mandrel attached to the motor
arbor. I use a pink 80 grit wheel with the wolverine grinding jig. Total
investment, less than $100. I guess the point is, get there any way you can
but a grinder and good jig is what I would recommend. I recently purchased a
Baldor 1725rpm 6" grinder but have not had the time to set it up yet, but
baldor is pretty much top of the line machine that should last forever.
Jeremy

Nearly everyone seems to be using standard grinders.  Any opinions on
the Tormek instead of the higher speed grinders?  I'm in the market for
a good grinder, but only want to buy one!

Jim

I Bought the Tormek, and love it. There is NO HEAT at all, I put my finger
tips on the very edge of the to tool to ensure a nice constant and even
pressure. After I am through sharpening/honing a tool I can shave with it.
My only complaint is that if you want to change the profile of gouge or a
bigger chisel it takes  a while due to the 90rpm of the 10" wheel, but once
you have the profile you want setup is simple and extremely accurate. I you
plan on sharpening other tools besides turning tools, my advise is to get
the Tormek. it works great on hand planes, knives, straight chisels etc.,
due to the 2" wide wheel. I can't speak highly enough about it. If you are
sharpening turning tools only the a slow speed grinder with the puny 3/4" or
1" wheels may work for you. Also the Tormek wheel is a 220 grit I believe
and with the stone grader you cane make it a little bit finer. They also
sell Japanese water stone for it in grits up to 8000 (I think, don't quote
me). Any other questions about the Tormek feel free to ask me.

     By the time you invest in a good slow speed grinder, good wheels, and a
good jig system (Wolverine) you've spent the same as a basic Tormek. I heard
that in the end of February Woodcraft is going to offer 10% off on the
Tormek packages. If you can afford it the best thing to due is buy the
woodturners package, it will save you some money and give you about every
jig you will need. Check this site out
http://lowpricetools.com/store/tormek.html . All of my tools seem to hold
their edge a lot longer after sharpening on the Tormek.

Note: I have no affiliation with Tormek, I gathered all my opinions from the
group.

Jim's thoughts closely match mine. Yes the intial time to create a specific
grind is longer, but once the grind is once established, it can be renewed very
quickly and accurately on the Tormek. I had mine for over a year before I got
into woodturning, it was only then that I found the Tormek to be invaluable,
rather than just nice. I find their gouge jigs to be the best out there and
allow a very precise and repeateble grind. I know people say that grit size
(and thus sharpness) doesn't matter much in woodturning, but I'm only aware of
one study that was independently done comparing edgelife and cutting
efficiency. This was done in England a couple of years ago and compared Tormek
ground tools with a high quality dry grinder. There were graphs showing the
differences and the conclusion was quite clear that the Tormek increased both
cutting efficiency and edgelife. I can understand why some professionals
involved in production work may feel that the time it takes to jig up a gouge
or skew is too long, but for anyone else, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest that
the Tormek system is not only superior, but will result in far longer tool
life.

Lyn

Just received my wet/dry grinder from harbor freight. It is from central
machine.
Seems to work very well at $70 price tag.
Compared to $386 for the Tormec.

1750 rpm grinder, white wheel, soft (j) grade.  practise.
bigger wheels are better but much more expensive.

FWIW,
Last week I attended a hat turning class taught by Johannes Michelsen.
I observed two things worth mentioning.
Johannes sets his grinder so that the center of the wheel is at eye level.
I used the Norton blue 8" wheel that is now in the Craft Supplies catalog.
It is soft and runs cool.   (You need to dress it often)
At eye level is very good for those that sharpen without a jig.
Note:  I raised my grinder to "my" eye level yesterday.
........
Regards to time required to sharpen by hand or by using a jig:    John
Jordan demonstrated last November that he could hand sharpen a gouge in 14
seconds and that he could ALSO use the wolvering jig and sharpen a gouge in
14 seconds....
So, with thousands of chances to sharpen, we could learn how to hand sharpen
too.
But for a no brainer, ANYONE can use the various jigs and get an accurate
grind, the first time and every time.
.....
There are lots of articles on sharpening........If you hand sharpen you will
have to spend lots of time practicing, just like you had to spend the time
learning how to make shavings.......
.......
Regards,

--
Jon Schilling
Ridgefield, Wa  USA   (10 miles north of Portland, Ore)