New Lathe Tool Sharpening Setup

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beloitdavisja

James
Corporate Member
Took the plunge and bought a whole new sharpening setup.

1/2 HP Rikon Slow Speed Grinder with 180 grit & 600 grit CBN wheels from Woodturners Wonders
OneWay Wolverine jig with VariGrind.

I'm totally impressed and thrilled with the CBN wheels. 180 for shaping and 600 for sharpening & touch ups. I had emailed Ken Rizza, the owner, for his recommendation on the grit combination and am glad I went with his advice. I sharpened all my chisels and gouges in no time last night. I had been using an 8" Grizzly wet grinder, which worked ok, but had it's problems. I get a much better edge with the CBN wheels with a lot less effort and mess.

$320+shipping for the grinder and 2 CBN wheels
$140 for the wolverine w/varigrind via amazon (Peachtree Woodworking was the seller).
Both took about a day to get to me once shipped (both shipped from GA)

Couldn't upload an image, so here's a dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v08pvduf52d7dw5/CBN.JPG?dl=0
 

Dee2

Board of Directors, Vice President
Gene
Staff member
Corporate Member
Wish I'd known. I'll see Ken tomorrow and could have brought the grinder back to you and saved you shipping.
 

Dee2

Board of Directors, Vice President
Gene
Staff member
Corporate Member
I'll do that.

He's been very helpful to me in the past as well.
 

golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
Very nice James. I have the same setup minus the 600 grit wheel. What I love is no sparks in the shop.
 
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Leviblue

Kevin
Corporate Member
That's a great system for sharpening. It's similar to mine. You'll enjoy the quick touch ups you can do while turning.
 

Michael Mathews

Michael
Corporate Member
Totally agree on your setup! I just bought the CBN wheel, around the 350 grit and love it! It does a beautiful job!
 

joec

joe
User
I have the 180 grit CBN wheel but only sharpen turning tools with it. Now I wonder if I need to go higher with the grits. I am new to turning and 180 seems to be good, but I have not experienced sharper tools to compare.
 

joec

joe
User
I have the same setup with 180 and 600 on a Rikon 8 inch grinder. Couldn't be any happier with it.

Do you have to have a Wolverine system under each wheel if you mount both wheels on the grinder at once, or do you switch the wheels around (on the same side) when you need to change grits?
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I have a homemade version of the Wolverine. After initial grinding on 180 I only use the 600 now. On the 180 side I put a plane blade grinding jig. It is not in the way if I need to move the tube for the Wolverine jig. So, to fully answer your question both wheels are mounted and I can easily move the jig from side to side.
 

beloitdavisja

James
Corporate Member
Do you have to have a Wolverine system under each wheel if you mount both wheels on the grinder at once, or do you switch the wheels around (on the same side) when you need to change grits?

Wolverine comes with 2 mounts to put under each wheel, and you can change the attachments (V-arm and platform come with it) between the mounts. No need to change the wheels on the grinder.
 

joec

joe
User
Wolverine comes with 2 mounts to put under each wheel, and you can change the attachments (V-arm and platform come with it) between the mounts. No need to change the wheels on the grinder.


My Wolverine only had one mount. I think I will see if I an order one more mount and set up both sides of my grinder now.
 

beloitdavisja

James
Corporate Member
My Wolverine only had one mount. I think I will see if I an order one more mount and set up both sides of my grinder now.

Ah. All the ones I saw had two mounts. Definitely order another mount. Changing out wheels would be a PITA.
 

joec

joe
User
My Wolverine only had one mount. I think I will see if I an order one more mount and set up both sides of my grinder now.

Duh...I just looked and did get two mounts and I had installed both a couple of years ago.
 
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