HELP, with Sharpening

[Andy E.]

I have been doing some turning on my lathe recently and it seems like some of the cutting tools need to be sharpened. I dont have what is needed to do this, is anyone in the Durham or surrounding area that could sharpen theses for me ? I could supply a six pack in return or a little green to help out with Christmas, thanks in advance.

 

[JonB]

What tools do you need to sharpen? Spindle or bowl gouge? Skew? Scraper? I have a slow speed grinder with a wolverine set up, I'm on the far east side of Durham.

 

[Andy E.]

my gouge so far is what I think needs it the most, I'm not sure about the others. When are you available?

 

[JonB]

Evenings after 5 or weekends.
Turning tools generally need to be sharpened often, how much are you turning without sharpening?

 

[Andy E.]

I inherited these from my father along with the older lathe. I have only used them one other time before this project, he used to sharpen them. but prior to me getting them they had not been used in at least 8 or 9 years.

 

[KenOfCary]

Andy, if you're going to continue to use the lathe and it sounds like you are beginning to get hooked, you'll need to invest in some kind of sharpening system. It's no fun using dull tools in any form or woodworking. It sounds like Jon has a system he likes and can be a big help to you learning what you'll need to get yourself for Xmas to make your experience on the lathe much more pleasant. Good luck and glad you found a kindred soul to guide you.

Turning can be a real joy with the right tools - it is one of the few woodworking projects that you can start and finish the same day. Instant gratification.

Jon, thanks for offering to help guide a fellow member of NCWW - that's what we're all about here.

 

[Andy E.]

thanks for the info Ken, I will see what Jon has and see about getting a sharpening system for myself !

 

[sawman101]

I sold one of my lathes to a friend up the road; he comes to visit me a lot, with his dull turning chisels. I told his he needs a sharpening system; he said why, you have one.:wconfused:

 

[Hmerkle]

I "acquired" an 8" slow speed grinder and have white norton wheels for it. A friend in Iowa got lured by the spinny tool but was complaining about the grey wheels on his grinder.
I knew I would probably never use the old 6" white wheel, so I took it with me on my trip last week...

his words;
"That grinding wheel is SO much better than the one I had on there... I started sharpening anything that had an edge and was ligit enjoying it!'


Moral to the wordy story: You will enjoy the task when you have and use good tools!

 

[Andy E.]

Thanks for all the input a big help. I want to send a shout out to Jon B. for taking some time out of his schedule yesterday for sharpening what i have and giving me some excellent advice about turning :banana: he is very knowlegeable, thanks again

 

[awldune]

Every so often the Rikon 8'' slow-speed grinder will be on sale for $99. Great tool.

 

[alisa]

subscribed, this seems like a very interesting thread

 

[Mike Davis]

subscribed, this seems like a very interesting thread

Semarang, JT, Indonesia

 

[JonB]

Here are some quick points on sharpening lathe tools:
The two most common methods used is a slow speed grinder with a Wolverine Jig and Tormek slow speed wet grinder (Grizzly & Jet have clones of this), with the dry grinder and Wolverine being the most common. I have both but use the dry grinder and Wolverine 99% of the time, it's quick and easy and I don't have to worry about water in the wet grinder.
Rockler has the Rikon 8" grinder on sale now for $99.
The Wolverine jig can be purchased locally at Klingspor & Woodcraft or ordered from many of the online turning suppliers. If going the with the Wolverine, make sure to get the original Vari-Grind, not the Vari-Grind 2. The 2 model has limitations the original does not.
The white wheels that come with the Rikon work fine, a step up would be CBN wheels. CBN are diamond wheels that will always stay the same size and shape and never need to be trued. Ken at Woodturners Wonders has the best price on CBN wheels.

The most important part of sharpening bowl gouges is consistency, you want the same grind every time you sharpen so the gouge will cut the same way. There are many, many forum threads and articles on grind angles, I'm not exactly sure what angle mine is but I do know, it's always the same.

How long a tool stays sharp depends on a couple of factors, type of steel and species of wood are the main ones. If you find yourself pushing the tool, chances are it's dull. Good steel sharpened on a CBN wheel only takes a sweep or two, very quick.

There's much more and some web searches will lead you to enough reading to last weeks.

 

[awldune]

To the OP, you may have heard references to woodturning as a "vortex" and this is a good example of why. First you need a lathe then a chuck then gouges then a grinder then a grinding jig then x then y then z.

If money is an issue, a budget grinding jig is available from Eddie Castelin:
http://www.eddiecastelin.com/combos_and_other_items

I'm sure the Wolverine is nicer in many ways, but I have his Blackhawk jig and it is fine. I believe it is also not terribly difficult to DIY such a jig if you are so inclined.

 

[KenOfCary]

I also know of people that have made their own jigs similar to the wolverine gauges, and they work just as well for most purposes, but the real thing seems to me to be not that expensive and saves a lot of time to replicate.

That said, some of the woodworkers that I really respect have done their own jigs for sharpening and they work as well as the commercial versions.