How Do You Sharpen( New Turner Question)

[Richard in Smithville]

I know I have to sharpen my turning chisels and I'd rather do it now than wait until the work gets harder. My question is how do you guys sharpen? By hand sounds very labour intensive but I also don't want to ruin my chisels. Oh, did I mention that this isn't a good time to break the bank?

Any advise would be thankfully taken.

[dbhost]

Bench grinder...

Look on Youtube for "Jet Tools" and click on the Lathe Basics videos, one of those shows you how...

I have yet to use a jig for my roughing or spingle gouges, and they come out clean and sharp every time...

I put a cup of water next to the ginder, and dip the tool in it after every pass...

[dkerfoot]

You should probably be sharpening every few minutes of tool use, so you definitely don't want to wait!

I did pony up for the Oneway Wolverine system, but as long as your grinder has a reasonable size rest, you should be able to sharpen most lathe tools without a problem. I do recommend a better grinding wheel than the gray ones that came with your grinder.

The water is really important if your tools are high carbon. If they are HSS, it probably isn't needed. HSS is much more forgiving and doesn't need to be sharpened nearly so often.

As far as breaking the bank, it is probably too late. In my experience the lathe was the cheapest part of the hobby and turning is far too addictive to get away cheaply...

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[dbhost]

As far as breaking the bank, it is probably too late. In my experience the lathe was the cheapest part of the hobby and turning is far too addictive to get away cheaply...

.

There is some good advice I was too dumb to pay attention to!

As far as the water goes, my tools are HSS, and I still use the water...

I am presently using the blue / gray stones that came with my Ryobi grinder, but the white Alum Oxide 100 grit and 150 grit are going on it soon...

A steady hand, and an easy touch are VERY important...

A Wolverine Grinding system would be nice, but isn't in the budget for a while for me. There are some good jig plans I am finding online though. Will link here if I can find one that I think is worth doing, and easy enough to do..

[leehljp]

If a person doesn't have the experience, doing each chisel by hand on a grinder is a looong learning curve for most people to become consistent. Therefore, regardless of the grinding system you use, a tool JIG is the best and quickest step forward for consistency in sharpness.

Look up different sharpening jigs. Some people buy the Tormek jigs and then buy a Jet or Grizzly or HF Tormek knock-off. Alternatively, I think the Wolverine system is a good set of jigs for use on a traditional grinder. And there are other good jig systems around, I just can't think of the names.

Either way the secret to sharp tools lies in going with the jigs first and then the grinding wheels second - price wise.

[DonHo]

From my personal experience, I'd say get a jig. Only after I got the wolverine jig did I get truly sharp tools. I know many people don't use jigs and get good results but I wasn't one of them. I'd also say look at the PSI jig that looks to be just like the wolverine but cheaper.
I haven't used it but it sure looks the same. Also either way you go the white wheels are gonna be a big help.
Good luck,
DonHo

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCGRIND4.html

[Uncle Cracker]

Depends on the cutting tools you use the most. I'm spoiled, because I have a Tormek and all the various attachments. But you could do it nicely with a slow speed grinder and a couple of jigs, particularly if you use more straight-edged tools than curved ones.

If your tools are HSS (high-speed steel), you should sharpen infrequently and hone a lot. Honing is done with various stones and diamond-dust tools, and is intended to maintain/restore fine edges and keep tools sharp, as opposed to re-sharpening once an edge is allowed to get dull. You can get a lot of mileage out of a good honing program (you Coneheads fans can pull your heads out of the gutter now... ).

Another possibility is taking your tools into a sharpening shop once in a while to maintain the correct shaping and bevels, and you just maintain the edges in between sharpenings.

[dbhost]

If a person doesn't have the experience, doing each chisel by hand on a grinder is a looong learning curve for most people to become consistent. Therefore, regardless of the grinding system you use, a tool JIG is the best and quickest step forward for consistency in sharpness.

Look up different sharpening jigs. Some people buy the Tormek jigs and then buy a Jet or Grizzly or HF Tormek knock-off. Alternatively, I think the Wolverine system is a good set of jigs for use on a traditional grinder. And there are other good jig systems around, I just can't think of the names.

Either way the secret to sharp tools lies in going with the jigs first and then the grinding wheels second - price wise.

Funny... I didn't have any experiencing sharpening turning tools and got it the first time out of the chute after just watching the sharpening videos on Youtube... I guess I am just an odd bird then... I think a jig would make for more stable nerves, and certainly more certain repeatability. But are they neccesary? Not really... They sure are nice though and are something I want to add to my sharpening arsenal....

[SwingKing]

Worksharp 3000?

Has anyone used the WS 3000 for sharpening their turning tools? A lathe has been on my wish list for a while, but I don't have a slow speed grinder for sharpening. I know there was talk that the top tool rest on the WS 3000 could be used for sharpening non-flat blades, but has anyone actually done it? If so, how well did it work?

Thanks!

-- Ken

[dkerfoot]

If your tools are HSS (high-speed steel), you should sharpen infrequently and hone a lot.

This is the kind of statement that starts fights.

UC describes a legitimate approach. For me personally, I am in the "never hone but do frequent (very quick) sharpening" school of thought.

This is where the jigs for a regular bench grinder come in handy. I have it marked for the different tools and when I sharpen I touch the tool to wheel for 1/2 a second or less. This also accounts for why I never need water for my HSS tools. If I were regrinding a new bevel it would be different.

UCs tools may last a bit longer than mine (11 years instead of 10?) but my shop time is at a premium and I want to spend it with my tools on the wood, not on stone. Besides, by the time I wear them out, I am going to the newly-fangled ones that have been invented in the meantime.

Also, Oneway actually advises against the 1/2 speed grinding wheels, suggesting that a 8" regular speed wheel is ideal.

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[Rich P]

Oneway video

I found these videos helpful...

http://www.oneway.ca/multi-media/wolverine_videos.htm

Some folks swear you need a slow speed grinder with non-alox (i.e. non grey) wheels. I bought the Woodcraft one (goes on sale from time to time) and have not been sorry.

[Uncle Cracker]

UCs tools may last a bit longer than mine (11 years instead of 10?) but my shop time is at a premium and I want to spend it with my tools on the wood, not on stone. Besides, by the time I wear them out, I am going to the newly-fangled ones that have been invented in the meantime.

My skew chisel has lost less than 1/8" in length over roughly ten years. A couple of pulls across a diamond stone between workpieces isn't going to add much to the time I spend, but it's gonna take a heckuva lot less metal than a grinder. Both my teachers taught me that grinding is for shaping, honing is for sharpening...

[Uncle Cracker]

I bought the Woodcraft one (goes on sale from time to time) and have not been sorry.

Their 2-speed 8" is on sale right now for $85. Best of both speeds...

[Rich P]

That is a good deal especially for those who don't have a conventional "gray stone" grinder...it really is a 2fer.

[Richard in Smithville]

For using a bench grinder, do I have to reverse the direction of the wheel spin? It seems unsafe to push the chisel against the spin direction.