Axminster Ultimate Edge

[Bill21]

I’ve recently bought one of these, are there any other users on here?

[Twisted Trees]

I use the cheaper ProEdge (no reverse or variable speed) but have a friend who uses the Axminster one the extra jigs and control of the belt speed direction makes it good for bench tools as well as turning tools, but in reality he seldom uses the features. However if you have questions I can pass them on.

[Bill21]

I have until now been using a much larger machine for sharpening my tools. The availability of a large range of different belt types and grits for these small machines has often tempted me though. Although I’ve never owned one I have used and often recommended the Sorby system. Axminster recently dropped the price of their Ultimate Edge by £100 and the temptation to buy one was too much.
I just wondered if anyone else on here had one.

[burywoodturners]

I have a second hand one, and it is a great tool to use. It does  planes and chisels really well if you have the right attacment. All the other attchments are direct from Tormek and do work. the main problem is the attahments can nearly double the price. Along with other belt machines, the belts seem to wear out quickly.Skews are the most difficult to get right though
Ron

[Bill21]

The Tormek jigs do seem pretty good. I was teaching a guy to sharpen a skew on the Pro Edge once and he inadvertently kept sliding the tool too far forward. This caused inconsistent grinding and bevel angle. Easily done as the Sorby jig is not very good. The Tormek SVS - 50 looks much better but I’ve yet to try it. Sharpening ordinary chisels with the Axminster jig also looks to be better.

Since buying the Ultimate Edge I’ve made a few bits for it to save spending any more money on it. It would be a bit of a faff to copy the SVS - 50 so I’ll probably buy one.
I like the idea of the leather stropping belt but they’re out of stock at present.
I also noticed the cost of the machine has gone back up £50. The only downside I can see at the moment is the weight of the machine - 20 Kgs with just the compound and no other jigs fitted!

[julcle]

Hi Bill, It was suggested on another forum that the Axminster Belts and Sorby Belts were the same size I wonder if you know if this is the case or not. I must confess  haven't had any issues with the life of the Sorby belts but then I am not in the workshop everyday.  Julian

[Bill21]

The Axminster belts are listed as 50 x 785 and the Sorby 50 x 780. I have no idea if this difference is enough to cause a problem. Provided you buy a minimum number of belts some suppliers will make them up in any size you want. I’ve only bought Axminster belts so far but I did notice these the other day. The 120g are only £2.01 each plus postage. Sadly they have a minimum order so I’m waiting for a friend to run out of belts so we can share the postage.

https://www.abtec4abrasives.com/50mm-x-785mm-ceramic-cloth-sanding-belts-pack-of-5-11703-p.asp

I have also made my own belts before but using Polyurethane adhesive makes it a bit messy.

[RichardS]

I have the ProEdge but modified to take the UltimateEdge Compound Jig.

However I do use the Axminster Belts and the Belt Tensioner easily takes up the difference in belt length.

Must say the Abtec option looks interesting.

Richard

[Bill21]

Thanks for the confirmation Richard. The adjuster only needs to move 2.5mm but you never know with these things. At some point I’ll check if the slightly shorter Sorby belts will fit my machine, I expect they will.

Yes those Abtec belts do look good value but on top of the £5.95 postage they also have a minimum order of about £15.00. I’m waiting for a mate to decide if he wants to try them or not. 

[julcle]

Thanks for that Bill/ Richard, I will probably try a couple of the Axminster ones when I am in there next.

[Bill21]

I’ve bought a couple of coarse 60g belts for reprofiling. They do seem very coarse though. Do any of you use them? Not available from Sorby or Axminster but I’m thinking 80g may be a better option. You can get a pack of 5 ceramic 80g ones from this supplier for £14.
https://www.abtec4abrasives.com/50mm-x-785mm-ceramic-cloth-sanding-belts-pack-of-5-11703-p.asp

[Twisted Trees]

60 or 80 grit is for reshaping or after you drop it edge first on the concrete or hit that hidden nail in an interesting blank, it is then refined on a 120 then diamond belt. In the old days all I had was a 60 grit 6" wheel to sharpen and go straight to turning.

[Percy]

I have a Sorby pro edge, and I really like it. The Axminster belts fit without any issues. It took me a long time to decide to give this type of machine a go, but as my work is literally next door to the Sorby factory, I eventually popped in for a demo and was converted. I much prefer it to my old 8" CBN wheel which I thought was the bee knees when I first tried it. The pro edge gives a flat bevel, and it literally take seconds to quickly tickle up an edge. Its proving a godsend at the moment as I've been turning a load of Laburnum which seems to dull the edge on my gouges almost as fast as I can resharpen them!

[Bill21]

What type of belts do you use Percy? There seem to be so many options, Alox, Ceramic, Zirconium, Trizact and even Diamond - at a price!  The Leather Honing belt sounds interesting as well. Did you see the abtec abrasives link above? Good prices on ceramic belts, only £2 each for some of them.

[Percy]

I have tried all sorts. Based on what I know about sharpening (working through the grits, etc) I bought a selection of different grits and types initially to see what works best. What I have found works for me are just standard cheap belts. I used an 80 grit belt to reprofile all the tools to fit the pro edges jigs initially, then worked through the grits (120, 180, 240) to get a nice sharp edge on each tool.
What I find now is that I just leave a 180 grit belt on the machine while I'm turning and give the tools a quick once over with this as the edge dulls. This gives a nice sharp functional edge every time and super quick.
I might change for a finer grit belt if I need a super sharp edge for a finishing cut in some tricky timber, but for most of my everyday turning the 180 grit belt lives on the machine.
I've tried ceramic and trizact but always revert back to aluminium oxide - cheaper and they last well when I use them as described above.