I have just made my first oland tool using a 3/16 lathe tool. I have a few questions I hope BB members can answer for me. I ruined a grind stone trying to grind it, must I use a special stone or should the tool be treated in some way before and after grinding? I looked at Darrell's site and it seemed to me that the tool is presented "Square On" rather than like a bowl gouge (with the flute facing direction of cut) How well should it keep its edge? Does it need a lot of sharpening. Thank you in advance for any information.
I have a 3/16, a 1/4 and a curved one (bought the tip from Packard Woodworks). I use the straight ones for roughing, the curved one for hollowing under a incurved lip. It is rounded profile. I found they stay sharp as long or longer than regular HSS bowl gouges. One advantage in roughing is if it finds a nail you didn't know was there, it shaves it off with no damage to itself. I haven't got good enough with it to use it for finish turning, other than hollowing.
Tom.. the bit you're using is HSS, not carbide tip, right? (never overlook the obvious)
I sharpen all my 1/4" HSS bits on a 100 grit wheel, same as any tool..
I have been sharpening them IN the tool, but just watched a sharpening DVD that the AAW sent years ago and saw a neat trick that I'll use:
The guy used a small block of wood about 3" x 2" and 3/4" thick, with a 1/4" (or whatever size) dado down the length and the end cut to his preferred 45 degree angle.. He just presses a bit in, lays the block on the tool rest of the grinder and sharpens it, then goes through all his dull bits at once..
I'm making a jig this afternoon because I have several Oland handles and a variety of shapes on the bits.. "normal", pointed, tiny round scraper, left & right skew/scrapers, etc..
They seem to keep an edge much longer than a gouge, partly because they're more of an angled scraper than a cutting edge.. I've cut through a small nail in a log and not nicked the bit, so they're pretty tough.. They're my 1st choice for roughing because I don't want to cut sand/rock/nail/whatever bark with a good gouge.. Also because you really have to try hard to get a catch with an Oland..
I've turned a few bowls using just the Oland, but more for practice.. They'll never replace a swept wing bowl gouge, IMHO..
Yes mac the tool is HSS. I made a pretty spectacular groove in my grinding wheel with it but it seems from the other posts its because of the small size of the tool(3/16"). Since ten a friend of mine sharpened it on a diamond disc for me, perfect results and no damage to the disk.
If you made a groove in your grinding wheel, you have a technique issue to resolve. You should not be jamming the bit into one part of the wheel
- you should be grinding the bit across the full face of the wheel, moving it as you work, and never pressing all that hard. Not so little that it bounces, but not cutting grooves in the wheel, either.
I agree. It seems there might be a couple of grinding errors. When using a grinder (bench or hand held) to sharpen anything, it is not the amount of pressure you apply to the object being sharpened. You want to use a "soft" (couldn't think of a better descriptor) touch. You should try to build as little heat into the tool as possible. If you are grinding it to red hot, you've messed up. Also, second problem, you should use the entire width of the grinding wheel. Use a back and forth motion across the face of the wheel. Third, what you describe as ruined, might only need to be dressed. You can purchase a grinding wheel dressing tool (less than $10 at most big home supply warehouses) that when used correctly will remove the groove yo described and give you a new flat grinding face to work with.
I'd guess that you were at too aggressive an angle or too low on the wheel, Tom.. I sharpen mine on the wheel all the time, though I did have a gouge slip out of it's jig a few weeks ago and mark the center of the wheel for me..
The jig I built yesterday works well, after the first failure..
I don't have a tool rest on the grinder because I use a jig, so the 1" belt grinder that I use to sharpen scrapers works a lot better with the block of wood with a slot for the bit..
Since I have the belt sander table set at about -3 degrees for scrapers, I tapered the block to 48 degrees... that gives me about 45 degrees on the Olands without moving the table, as I sharpen scrapers several times a day..
I agree that a 1/4 in. bit is plenty aggressive (as small as needed) for an Oland (eponym for an inserted bit tool). I couldn't resist Darrell, forgive me. :) I didn't know Oland, but I've heard of both their contributions to woodturning. Anyway, following your tutorial, Oland tools are fun to make and they can cut, scrape and inbetween.
Since these shop made tools are inexpensive, I wonder if cobalt HSS is worth the difference? Does cobalt add enough extra edge keeping to warrant the extra cost?
I don't think that trueing and dressing grinding wheels is emphasized enough. Afterall they are not burnishing tools. We worry about frequent sharpening of our lathe tools, the color of the wheels etc. and forget to sharpen the sharpener.
I do have a gray wheel for shaping and a white wheel for sharpening on a
1725 rpm grinder with a shopmade "wolverine' under the white. Most of my tool handles are long enough that I can keep a narrow platform over the jig without interfering.
The other end of an angled bit Oland Tool, ie. with the sharpened end at about 7 - 8 o'clock looking down on the shaft sometimes works as well under a rim as a swan neck. /|
I actually BROKE an Oland tool today, Darrell.... My own fault, as most things like this are.. I got a catch while turning one of your damn wing bowls... First thought was "How in the world did I get a catch with an Oland?
It's the first one that I made and 2 problems combined to cause it, so I thought I'd pass it on..
The steel had apparently fatigued around the hole for the bit.. I never thought to check this, even after a lot of hard use for a few years..
I kept pulling the bit out and sharpening it, like it was 2 feet long and would never run out.. It appears that the set screw was either at the extreme end of the bit or not even completely on it..
So, what I suspect happened, is that the bit shifted a little, allowing the tip to point down.. that angle caused a slight catch, which caused the steel on the bottom of the tool to bend down and break..
No drama, but when I went to repeat the cut, I noticed that there was no bit in the tool..DUH..
I'll check both tool condition and bit length from now on...
Mine are 5% cobalt and I have no idea if it makes a difference.. They're just the only ones that Grizzly sells.. I don't see any real difference between them and the ones that I bought originally from harbor Freight that were made in India, but there could be..
I wouldn't pay more for better bits, because I change the grind a lot, depending on what cut I need at the moment... Sometimes a scraper, sometimes a skew, sometimes round nose, etc...
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