What do I need to sharpen my turning tools?

[BigguyZ]

OK, so I'm just getting into the whole turning scene. I have a Jet 1014 mini lathe. I bought the dark handled tool set from HF, but I need to be able to accurately and reliably sharpen these things. I have a cheap $25 6" grinder from HF as well, but I don't think I'm doing much good with the setup as is. In fact, I'm worried that trying to sharpen these chisels with the wrong setup will make the tool worse, not better.

So, what is the minimum setup for sharpening chisels? Also, are there any good (preferably free) resources for learning how to sharpen?

[MikeMcCoy]

This is a link with a lot of articles that was posted the other day when I asked a similar question. I did order a couple of books off Amazon and they are enlightening.

http://www.woodturningonline.com/

[Tom Miller]

The first thing you might try is finer wheels on your current grinder, like a 60 and a 120. (I'm assuming it came with the fairly coarse gray wheels.) Those will run about $20 apiece.

Other options include upgrading your grinder. The first thing to consider is getting either variable speed, or slow speed. Then, there's 8" vs. 6". But, I think if you're careful, you can at least start out with what you have, with the upgraded wheels.

I would avoid a setup that requires swapping wheels back and forth. Each time you swap, you'll need to true the wheel, which wears them much faster.

Personally, I have a 6" variable speed that does just fine. But, I keep it on slow speed all the time, with 60 and 120 wheels, so it's kind of a waste. Woodcraft has an 8" slow speed on sale for ~$75 every now and then. For general grinding, I use a cheap 6" grinder with the coarser wheels.

Regards,
Tom

[Russianwolf]

Don't mean to highjack, but what are the thoughts of this system?

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lcm5.html

[Jim Boyd]

Don't mean to highjack, but what are the thoughts of this system?

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lcm5.html

That would work well with practice but most of my sharpening is needed while working on the lathe. Most turnings don't take well to being removed then replaced on a lathe, at least in my experience.

[Popeye]

The "King" turner at the local woodcraft told me he uses a belt sander for 95% of his sharpening, unless he is completely reshaping a tool. I bought this http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...180&lpage=none and a finer wheel for my old 6" grinder. I've found that with practice I can do a pretty fair job of both sharpening and reshaping with the belt for gouges and the disk will put a polished edge on skews and parting tools.
WC sells a seperate tool rest for use with your bench grinder, I may pick one up eventually as it's easier to adjust and alot bigger than the std. tool rest.
As an added bonus I've found I use the dickens out of the sander as a "sander".
Probably a guy could get buy with just a fine grinder stone and a decent tool rest. Figure you're gonna screw up the edge on a number of tools and have to work to get them back in shape while learning how to do it. That's one of the reasons for buying inexpensive turning tools to start out with.
Here is an online link I found http://www.woodcentral.com/newforum/grinds.shtml Have fun and make sure you buy good covers for all your other tools. Don't want them to get cold when you abandon them for the lathe Pat

[BigguyZ]

Would the belt sander from HF be acceptable? So do you use the belt or the disc on that? What grit paper do you use?

HF also sells a slow speed grinder that seems pretty reasonable price wise. Would there be much of a difference between that and a Delta/ another higher end brand?

I saw that Woodcraft has a wet grinder on sale, would that work, or is it really only for strait edged chisels and irons? http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4866

[SteveR]

I have this one... very happy with it. Has the "good" wheels already on it.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4605
I think the one you linked to is more for flat chisels/irons as you say....I could be wrong tho.
Steve

[Tom Miller]

I have this one... very happy with it. Has the "good" wheels already on it.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4605

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to (which goes on sale every now and then for $75). At any price, I wanted to highlight Steve's point about "the 'good' wheels already on it". That's ~$60 worth of wheels, at Woodcraft's prices.

Regards,
Tom

[maxparot]

The most important thing in sharpening your tools is good consistant technique. People sharpen their tools using a large variety of different tools, accessories and jigs. I myself have used high speed grinders, low speed grinders and even PSA sandpaper disks on the faceplate of my lathe. The real thing is to find what works for you and refine it so you get results you can count on. For someone starting out a cheap set of tools will allow for valuable practice at a lower expense. With these cheaper tools put less emphasis on how long the edge lasts and more on the quality of the work is can perform after sharpening.

[BigguyZ]

Tom, I think you make a great point that the value of the included wheels make the low speed grinder from Woodcraft worth it. I think I'll wait for a sale/ coupon and get it then.

[paulstenlund]

I have my dad's belt driven 1930's/40's 8" 1500 rpm grinder, I paid $40 + tax for a 80grit wheel for $50 more I coul've have the woodcraft with 80 and 120 and less footprint

[BrazosJake]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat, just bought a Wilton mini.

I've got a 6" delta GR100 still new in the box from when Lowes closed them out a couple years ago. Debating about buying an 80-grit norton white for $20 or so, or just putting the thing on ebay or craiglist to help fund the woodcraft unit. The woodcraft gets good reviews on Sawmill Creek.

[DeanKC]

For me, the whole deal on sharpening rests on a couple of three points.

First, can I easily and quickly REPEAT the grind that I have on my tools right now?

Second, are the tools really, really SHARP coming off the grinder so that I can create a reasonable surface?

Third, how steep is the LEARNING CURVE to the system and will I have to relearn it every time I need to sharpen?

I really, really want to spend my turning time actually turning, not fussing around trying to establish, re-establish, repair a grind. I thought long and hard about the trade-offs. I had already figured out that I was lousy at freehand sharpening. Yes, I could get a good edge, but it wasn't consistant and it was hard as the dickens to reproduce. I was spending my precious time and wasting pricey tool steel learning how to make sharp edges.

For me, sucking it up and buying the Wolverine with the fingernail jig was the way to go. It took me less than 2 minutes to figure out the jig for my fingernail grinds. Took me a while to build the table for my machine & the Wolverine hardware, but it's so worth it.

I'm sure that the guys and gals using either the Tormek or Jet look-alike will all say the same thing. There are a couple of sites on the web that will give you instructions for building your own Wolverine look-alike. I plan on building a couple of their gouge jigs, just so I can leave them at one setting for each of the several gouge set-ups that I like.

Good topic, IMO. Always need to be talking about sharp tools and the return on our investments of both time and money. I think the ROI on my money invested was the enormous amount of time saved and the nice sharp edges that are so easily attained.

[RayintheUK]

I'm with DeanKC here - the way sharpening pays off is to be able to swiftly repeat a grind. Many turners let their tools go way too blunt before (re)sharpening.

Since I got into the habit of re-touching an edge frequently, my turning experience has vastly improved and so has the finish straight from the tools. I used to realize that my edge had dulled, but actually put off re-touching as long as I could - WRONG! Not only is this counter-productive, but it can lead to some nasty experiences of catches and dig-ins because you're having to force the tool harder, etc.

I've got my sharpening system right next to the lathe and because of the way I'm set up, I can step to the right, re-touch the edge and be back turning in less than 2 minutes. I can't remember the last time I had a dig-in or catch (although that might also be down to improved technique through experience) and the re-touching has now become part of my turning technique. Sanding is greatly reduced and I've never regretted the "frequent is best" approach. FWIW.

Ray.