Now I'm uncertain what kind of wood it is as I tend to do a bit of scrounging, particuarly when I hear a chainsaw in the neighborhood. Well I found it laying around in the shop and started making it round. The first thing I noticed was that it was MUCH harder than the maple, of which I have lots. One of the nicest things I find about hard wood is that it seems to cut much cleaner with less tearout than softer wood. Almost a mirror-like finish.
Kevin, I got some pear about a year ago. The color was almost white. The density of the wood comparable to hard maple, but the grain was so smooth and even, almost like holly. There was almost no grain pattern. The tree was almost 3 feet in diameter. The trunk came up about 6 feet then it did the hydra thing. It had bark inclusions going in up to 12 inches. robo hippy
That's one of the reasons I like working with woods such as Jarrah, where you can almost literally turn out a finished job with no sanding.
The downside is the cost to both tools & grind-stone. My 5/8" bowl gouge lost almost as much length in turning out one 8" bowl...
- Andy
Andy, might I suggest the fine art of -honing- rather than grinding all the time. Saves lots of wear on the gouges with just a few swipes of a diamond hone, and you barely have to slow down to do it. After I shelled out the last gazillion bucks for a raft of ASP 2060 gouges, I determined that I wasn't going to grind them away to powder (from whence they came) and invested in some DMT double-sided diamond hones. Can't beat 'em, and I rarely have to grind.
Andy, might I suggest the fine art of -honing- rather than grinding all the time. Saves lots of wear on the gouges with just a few swipes of a diamond hone, and you barely have to slow down to do it. After I shelled out the last gazillion bucks for a raft of ASP 2060 gouges, I determined that I wasn't going to grind them away to powder (from whence they came) and invested in some DMT double-sided diamond hones. Can't beat 'em, and I rarely have to grind.
My lathe had ben tied up doing other projects, mostly sanding disk stuff. Felt like turning something today and sharpened the chisels while the sanding disk was on it. Found a piece of bone dry beech kicking around, nice and hard alright. An hour later, one more round thingie to park on top the [already crowded] mantle. Yup, you gotta love hardwood. Oh, the chisels ended up sharper than I was used to, finally (for the first time) long spiral peels off a piece of dry wood. I figure I deserve a nice cold beer now :))) Bart.
- Check my most up to date email address at:
Andy, might I suggest the fine art of -honing- rather than grinding all the time. Saves lots of wear on the gouges with just a few swipes of a diamond hone, and you barely have to slow down to do it. After I shelled out the last gazillion bucks for a raft of ASP 2060 gouges, I determined that I wasn't going to grind them away to powder (from whence they came) and invested in some DMT double-sided diamond hones. Can't beat 'em, and I rarely have to grind.
Sorry about the repeats...my news server is stuttering.
I've only recently started doing this with a small diamond lap that I bought for other tools, chisels, etc. but mainly for the touching up of my scrapers. With a quick pass or two as soon as they start to lose their edge means I can generally complete a job or two before needing to renew the burr on the grindstone.
I've tried it on gouges, but need more practise in getting the motion right... another part of the art I've yet to master. More steel would probably be saved if (when, really) I buy a grinding jig but I'm a firm believer in learning the basics thoroughly before becoming dependant on aids.
Believe me, seeing my $ disappear in sparks is, for me, a me great motivator to learn quickly!
- Andy
I'm not sure what direction to use when honing gouges... do you stroke along the bevel (from side to side) or in the same direction that a grindstone would cut?
- Andy
I was concerned, at the beginning, about getting the correct motion, maintaining bevel, etc., on gouges, but have found, through several years' experience with them, that it is fairly easy to follow the angle of the bevel with the hone and a back and forth motion is just as effective as a one-direction-only motion, as if you were trying to cut the hone with the edge of the gouge. It saves time, sharpens faster and is easier to maintain the angle on the bevel. I just keep a little spray bottle of water on hand to lube the hone, and can also take it with me to demos and shows for the same purpose. Saves having to worry about anyone having a grinder on hand!
Probably doesn't make a rat's arse, but tradition says at right angles to the edge. That way tiny projecting pieces break off without significantly affecting the edge. If you've got a grit groove parallel and it breaks off, can make an edge twice as blunt.
Use it just as if it were a grinder. The idea is to pretend you are trying to shave a piece off the hone with the edge. IOW, if you hold your gouge so the curve is in this orientation --> U you would carefully hone in an up-and-down orientation, maintaining the angle of the bevel by resting the hone on it. I find it is easier with longer-handled tools to rest the butt of the handle against the work bench, so to stabilize the business end of it a bit more.
I'll tell you, that diamond hone works pretty well on my parabolic drill bits I drill pen blanks with, too. Every time I touch up the cutting edge, I manage to cut the end of one or more of my fingers, cleaning chips out of the groove. You'd think I'd learn after a while!
That's where I'm going wrong then, as I'm trying to follow the radius. As each gouge has a different radius I've found it impossible to "muscle learn" the motion I guess I should look at getting a stone to touch up inside the flute, too.
LOL! Glad I'm not the only one. I originally bought the hone to touch up my paring & dovetail chisels, then moved onto using it for router bits as well. Of course, as it's "just a touch-up," the first dozen times or so I'd hold the bit by the shank to hone... I must've gone thru several packs of band-aids before I thought of clamping it in a fly-jig!
- Andy
Well you know, I had read that, numerous times, in the various turning instruction books, but logic dictated, (and practical application bore out my deduction) that honing the flute really doesn't seem to make the slightest bit of difference. The burr that is rolled up as you make the pass on the upstroke is removed again on the downstroke, and even if you do get a slight burr, a couple of seconds' contact with a spinning piece of jarrah will quickly remove it!
I have a slipstone that fits perfectly in the flute, but I never bother with it any more, and am still able to make showers of beautiful curls from kiln-dried hard maple after touching-up with my diamond hones.
heheh...the first time I discovered how sharp it was, I was drilling a bunch of pen blanks and quickly cut the tip of my left forefinger. Then, in case that wasn't a stern enough lesson, I promptly cut it again, right next to the first spot! That was finally enough for me, so I moved on to cutting the right forefinger tip in exactly the same manner. Imagine me trying to explain bandaids on the tips of _both_ forefingers!
Well, at least it wasn't my thumb. My left thumb usually takes the worst of it, whatever the disaster is. Last major thing I did was bury half an inch of my 1/4" round skew in the side of it! Didn't hurt though, fortunately I was honing it on my diamond bench stone at the time. : )
SNIP .........
=============== Reminds me of the story of the not too sharp woodworker who was explaining how he had lost a finger on his table saw: "Well, I was just pushing a little piece of wood through like this ... Dang, there goes another one!" At least you've learned now .. right?? (:-)
Ken Moon Webberville, TX.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.