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Honing, Bevels, Veritas, Newbie

Hello All I had not done any wood turning prior to recently making approximately 50 pens on a Taig mini lathe. Upon suggestion(s) from the pen expert at a local Lee Valley, I have been using a HSS 3/4" forged Gouge and a HSS 3/4" Oval Skew. These turning tools worked very well, but the honeymoon was over when they became dull. Acting on the advice of Leonard Lee's "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" , I purchased a 1000/4000 water stones and the Vertitas Precision Honing System. This tool allows one to quickly establish and maintain the correct honing bevel and provides directions on establishing the bevel angle using their 'pentagon angle jig Here is my problem: The Oval Skew has 2 bevels ( a flat one and a rounded edge) and the overall length of the chisel is not flat but oval. Here is my question(s) 1) How does one establish 'each' bevel angle with (or without) their angle jig? (2) Since the Vertitas Precision Honing System brass screw will not set on the oval shank, what tips are there for manually maintaining the correct honing of any bevel angle?

Lack of any sharpening experience likely prevented me from adequately framing my questions........... but please try to understand this situation.

Many thanks for any and all replies

Fud ........ooo..................ooo..........

There must be a hundred silver dollars in here. I can't handle that sort o' money, you've gotta be in the league of lawyers to steal that much.

- J. H. "Flannelfoot" Boggis

Reply to
Fuddzy
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Laying the bevels flat on the stone by feel is the normal solution. I personally like to take the stone to the carving tool rather than tool to stone. Allows me to check on what I'm making a difference on pretty much as it happens. Not sure how the method would work with waterstones, as soft as they are. I use Arkansas and ceramics.

Reply to
George

Fud, I would like to post the correct answer including some tips re the Veritas jig, but the risk of incurring an actionable patent infringement restrains me. I'm very sorry. The rcw archives will explain the problem. Arch

Fortiter,

Reply to
Arch

Hi Fud. Inside jokes aren't very funny. Ignore my inappropriate post and I'll try to help, or at least, do better.

***********************************************
  1. Establish the bevel cutting angle by sighting the tool/grinding wheel interface at eye level from the side.
  2. Fix the tool handle against your hip, centering the shaft's oval on the rest.
  3. Keep elbows in against your body.
  4. Move the tool by swaying your body, not by moving your arms.
  5. Gently grind the bevel, _not the edge until tiny sparks are coming over the entire edge.
  6. Maintain the skewed angle by skewing the tool at angles from both sides such that the grind marks are in the plane of the wheel.
  7. An option that I don't use: After grinding, hone the edge on a flat stone, being careful not to round over the edge.
  8. Important: These suggestions are in digital form to practice with the grinder turned off--Do the actual sharpening in gentle, fluid analog form.

There are no always or nevers in our craft. I hope others will suggest better ways with clearer instructions. Mine is a can opener to make up for my initial post. Arch

Fortiter,

Reply to
Arch

Hi -

If you've purchased the honing guide and angle jig, you've got a wonderful set-up for bench chisels and plane blades...however it's not intended for use with turning tools :(

The 1000/4000x stone will work fine though...

For hand sharpening turning tools with a bench stone, I've always tucked the butt of the handle under my arm, with the tip of the tool held in my left hand about 14-16" in front of my chest... holding a stone in my right (same orientation as a handshake) - you can move the stone in a circular motion - using as much of the surface as you can, while rotating the chisel/gouge if necessary...

This way - you can see the bevel angle directly.

A method shown to me by a very talented Dutch turner, who did most of his sharpening by hand....

Cheers -

Rob

Reply to
Robin Lee

Good day, all

Fuddzy asks how to maintain (or create) a bevel angle on a tool when sharpening by hand in the absence of a suitable jig.

First of all, the specific angle isn't all that critical. The correct one depends more on how the individual handles the tool than on the theoretical One True Way. Feel free to change it, if that will be more convenient to produce or work better for you.

The human body, by it's nature, is set up to move in curves, not straight lines. So you must practice making compound moves involving several joints so that the ends of the actuators (your fingers ;) move properly. Once you can do this, you can make up some small wedges cut to the desired angles, and use them to position the cutting edges flat on the stone.

At the powered grindstone, all it takes is a little practice to produce acceptable bevels, that can be refined or corrected on the coarse stone. I do prefer to use jigs, but some of my tools don't fit in them, and I'm too lazy to adjust or redesign them..

As far as the oval skew goes, the bevels are going to be flat or slightly hollow ground, to your preference, regardless of whether the edge is straight or curved. All that is different for the oval, or round, or rectangular or rectangular with radiused edges skew is the shape that the transition from bevel to shaft assumes. This is a function of grinding the bevel, not something that must be made 'perfect' for itself.

Regards Dave Kassover Troy, NY

Dave Kassover Troy, NY

Reply to
David Kassover

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