Honing Woodturning Tools

Keith Get an aluminum oxide wheel for the grinder, preferably 80 grit although finer will do with a jig, and make or buy a sharpening jig. See my site for an idea. If you are going to try to file the tool, you are far better off sharpening on the grinder. Turners sharpen on a grinder, generally speaking.

Hi

Me again. I have a grinder but as somebody said to use it to hone tools is a bit wasteful. Bought myself a Mill file to hone the tools. Most of my tools are HSS. Did i buy the proper file. If not , what is the best file or sharpening instrument to get to keep a sharp edge on these tools.

Yours most sincerely Keith in Newfoundland

I just took a class from Alan Lacer. He sharpened tools on the grinder with a white or blue wheel. He also had a diamond hone in his pocket. Each time he picked up a tool he gave it a few swipes with the hone. Made sense to me.

Walt C

:( Trying to sharpen chisels with a file would be my worst nightmare. Use the grinder sparingly and hone with a diamond hone for touch up of the edge between grindings.

We use the"rubber bonded grinding wheel" that came with the Shopsmith over 20 years ago... (you can tell how much it got used before my wife took over the sharpening)

One thing that I miss, going from turning on the SS to the Jet Mini, is the rear shaft.... I'd just gotten into the habit of keeping the wheel on it when I was turning, to touch up/ clean the tools... lol

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Thanks Everyone. Took some bad advise. I have a grinder, now i need a while wheel

Sincerely Keith

Actually Keith, what you need is an aluminum oxide wheel with a friable bond. Color does not matter and if you use jigs, just about any color will do. I find the white wheels have too friable a bond for my taste. they grind away too quickly and they are expensive. Using a jig will speed up your sharpening and save wear and tear on the stone and the steel.

Trash the file Keith. You already had the best tool for the job. Just get a good wheel for the grinder. That's either a pink or white wheel. 80 or

You can't learn to turn well until you learn to sharpen well. You're learning two (2) skills at once here.

If you must "hone" your tools, use a credit card size diamond stone.

Barry

WADR, there are those of us who like to get things done quickly, precisely, and with relatively little build-up of heat, resulting in remarkable sharpness. For which a small belt-and-disc sander with a wheel full of buffing compound replacing the disc has it all over grinders, IMHO. Take a look at

Darrell

Hi Keith

I do agree completely with Barry's answer to your sharpening question, the buy of the Wolverine is where you could add "or build one". You are familiar with Darrell's site ???

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Barry N. Turner wrote:

Keith The friable quality of an item is its ease of crumbling as in the desire for a "friable soil" in agriculture. For a grinding stone it refers to the matrix that holds the grinding material. The more friable the matrix, the easier it is for the stone to wear away and leave fresh cutting material. However, too great a friablility and the stone will groove too easily and need dressing more frequently. Actually, most stones for the home shop are friable enough for our uses. A nice aluminum oxide stone about 80 grit works well for me.

Thumbs down on the super soft stuff. I had sharpened my tools for years on gray, but the bandwagon was getting louder and louder, and the gray was about a 4", so I bought a Norton white which lasted perhaps six months. Then bought one of those 120 green jobs that can supposedly grind SiC. It's a great wheel for sharpening the way I do. We were "gifted" a pink at school, but it's on a 3450, where it makes a bit more sense. I'm sharpening at 1725 at home.

Friable low heat wheel on a low-speed grinder to grind HSS? What was I thinking.

White, freshly dressed, because it grooves so rapidly, excels at carbon steel plane irons and WV chisels. Won't burn a thin bevel.

I went in search of the ultimate grinding wheel. Tormek is way too soft. Diamond works on carbide, but not HSS. Other wheels only came in grits up to 125 or 150. Then I found CBN wheels (carbon boron nitride) described to me as "like diamond wheels, only for steel". These are made to order in any grit you want, and available from abrasive or grinding supply places. I got an 80 grit wheel for my scrapers, and a

Leo Van Der Loo wrote:

question,

Thanks Darrell thats what i ordered.

Keith

George

I have the Sorby Fingernail profile, and now a aluminun oxide wheel to come.

Thanks All

Keith

The File is trashed

Keith, I'm sure you realize that with so many different methods and devices there isn't a one right way, no matter how forceful the advice. You can't buy and use them all, but remember that grinding, sharpening and honing a turning tool are not always the same thing.

I can't help you decide which advice to follow, but I do suggest that you review the rcw archives and the internet re methods and equipment. Several ways will do the job, but decide on one way and learn to do that one well.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter