How do you sharpen up?

[thebowlerhattedturner]

I was going to post this on Paul's post about grinding back the wings but didn't want to hijack his thread.

I have a bee in my bonnet about sharpening as anyone that has seen me demo will know. I will expand on this in due course but first let's have some comments on what you use to sharpen up your chisels.
Regards
John BHT

[woodndesign]

I have an early model Creusen HP7150 Powerline Grinder, got it just before the slow woodturners option..    ..   I'd ground free hand for sometime and still will for quickness, but a few years back I got the Robert Sorby Deluxe Universal Sharpening System as I had 2 of their Fingernail gouges and it's always good to recreate the exact grind.

Then there's their small diamond file (yellow) just for an edge freshen up.

Cheers   David

[Doug Barratt]

Sorby Pro Edge for me, I got fed up with dressing stones so the belts work well for me.

I grind free hand just using the adjustable tool rest for support, I find this good enough to re-create the profiles of the gauges I have.



Cheers.

[Bryan Milham]

I started with a DIY store combination slow Wet Wheel and fast Carborundum wheel but the 90º nylon worm gear gave up after about 2 years.

I now use a grinder with a Pink wheel for the heavy work and a Schlapp Tiger wet wheel, retrofitted to take the Sorby fingernail system as I did not like their system.

I've further modified it by the addition of a 150 grit diamond lapidary wheel against the side of the wet wheel, to sharpen my skews on.

I also keep a couple of cheep (Aldi) diamond hones in my smock pocket for touching up the edges.

[woody]

I did use two Creusen grinders one slow speed with the wide white wheels for all my gouges and the HP7150 for my scrappers and diamond impregnated steel plates Med, fine and very fine for my wedge type tools and my turning smaller tools and skews including all my home made tools that you cant buy also for the last few months of turning I made a sanding station to go on my lathe just a platform and a disk that went on the chuck for fine sanding disk great for sharpening any flat tools on including my carpentry chisels it was mush faster than using the diamond steel plates if used before you set up to turn or when you have finished

[Paul Disdle]

I was happily grinding free hand (Keith Rowley platform) until I was introduced to the fingernail and swept grinds. Fingernail were reasonably achievable freehand but anything else I just couldn't master. My club lent me the storme jigs and a record grinder to try and it sharpens everything well (from my limited experience), but my small workshop and its long arm = bruises. I have now got a trugrind jig to try based on several recommendation mounted on a Axminster wide wheel grinder.

Paul

[Paul Hannaby]

let's have some comments on what you use to sharpen up your chisels.
Regards
John BHT

I usually sharpen my chisels with a small flat hone by hand. I sharpen my gouges on a 8" bench grinder or with a 10" wet grinder.

[Jim]

Sorby Pro Edge for me also, i was hopeless with a grinder ..Using the Pro-edge has saved me much steel ... 

[malcy]

Pro edge from Sorby for me also. My gouges and scrapers are vastly improved since I got this. I can sharpen finger nail gouges so easily with good swept back sides using their suppied jigs. Other gouges and scrapers I usually do by hand. This device makes me sharpen more frequently and thus have better turning with a lot lot less hassle. A wonderful bit of kit. Malcolm.

[thebowlerhattedturner]

I have 3 bench grinders, an Elu which is 30 years old with a white wheel and a Sorby finger nail jig one side and a grey wheel and homemade angle jig the other. I have a B&Q 6" grinder with a light grey,fine, stone with a homemade angle jig that I use for bowl gouges and parting tools and a dark grey stone with a Sorby jig that I use for everything else, apart from my skews.
         These I hone(yes hone) on the 3rd B&Q grinder that has a rush wheel one side and polishing wheel the other and rotates backwards.
The bee I have in my bonnet is this:- A well know company tells us we should use their water cooled machine when replacement stones cost the earth and only the first 1" is useable after that the stone is too soft. Another well know company tells us we need to use a 40mm, slow running grinder with a white/red/blue wheel that costs the earth. Another well know company tells us we need to use a belt to get the best edge ever. Now I know they would not make them if there was not a demand for them, but sometimes I think they are creating the demand, a bit like chisels" buy this one it will make you a better turner!"( don't get me started on chisels) My widest wheel is 1" wide and that is for the finger nail grind the others are only 5/8 to 3/4 wide,the wheels on my ELU grinder are the original wheels, so they are 30 years old and still with loads of life left in them.
            When I teach I show my students how all they need to do is refresh the edge rather than grind 1/2 " off at a time, I show them that you can still sharpen a tool without buying expensive gear, the B&Q grinders were 12 quid each when I got them so I got 2 and they are giving stirling service.
      So my advice is this,sharpen your tools as you use them and not just on a Sunday morning, make or buy jigs so that you get repeatable grinds and just refresh the edge,1 or 2 sweeps is all that is needed. Never grind on the side of a wheel and every now and then dress the stone gently and without losing too much off of it.
Rant over
Regards
John BHT

       

[Paul Disdle]

Sounds like a fair rant to me. I guess its like all hobbies you can spend as much or as little on equipment as you want and everybody has their own preference. My preference is function over cost so if I can make it or adapt it myself I like too. As with all tools its better to get a personal recommendation than believe a company who only objective is to sell you something.

Thanks

Paul

[Terry Miller]

I have been using grinders since I was an engineering apprentice in the 1960's and I agree 100% with John BHT.
If you want to sharpen a metal cutting twist drill it is done on the old grey wheel without any detriment to the drill.
Regards
Terry

[Woodcrafts]

Sorby Pro Edge for me also, i was hopeless with a grinder ..Using the Pro-edge has saved me much steel ... 

Save your money! The Pro Edge uses exactly the same jigs as were sold to go in front of a bench grinder, under the name Universal Grindig jig.
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/universalsharpsys.htm
Those are still available. And grinding wheels last a lot longer than sanding belts!
I used to have that setup but found it couldn't cope with short tools as the bevel angle is set by how far the tool protrudes in front of the jig. I now use the Woodcut Trugrind system where the angle is set by the support arm.

[Woodcrafts]

..... So my advice is this,sharpen your tools as you use them and not just on a Sunday morning, make or buy jigs so that you get repeatable grinds and just refresh the edge,1 or 2 sweeps is all that is needed. Never grind on the side of a wheel and every now and then dress the stone gently and without losing too much off of it.
Rant over
Regards
John BHT     

John, I just had to reply, to say I totally agree with all your comments. ( I only quoted some of it to save space). I find it unbelievable that people will buy a 'grinding system' that costs as much as a small lathe, or several new tools, when all it needs is a gentle touch on a grinding wheel.
I DO use a jig for consistency of grind but nothing fancy.
Unfortunately I have never seen one of your demos but it sounds like you cover a topic often overlooked. I will have to keep an eye open for a bowler hatted turner

[john taylor]

What grinder, jig or system you use is irrelevant as most will do the job they are designed for.   The key is learning how to use the system you have properly be it free hand or on the most expensive system available if you dont use it properly it wont sharpen your tools.

I sharpen a lot of my tools freehand just using a rest for most of my gouges I use a jig to make sure I get a repeatable grind every time, I have tried sharpening them freehand but for me it doesnt work for me.

john