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Another question

alan morrison

Fellow
Joined
Feb 26, 2019
Posts
2,378
Location
Co. Down N Ireland
First Name
Alan
I have only used carbide tools for pen turning, but recently swapped an old mortiser for a box of rarely used lathe tools.
What sharpening system do you use/recommend?
I asked a neighbour who is doing a woodworking course at the local Tech what they used and he told me that the tutor only sharpens on a disc sander. I don't think that my tools would be up to snuff if I used that system.
Any suggestions? or I can just stick with the carbide.
Alan
 

Louie_Powell

Apprentice Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2014
Posts
39
Location
Saratoga Springs, NY USA
First Name
Louie
Alan

I use a combination of things to sharpen my tools.

I have a bench grinder. In my case, it's a 6" high speed grinder with an 80 grit aluminum oxide wheel. I have a shop-made jig modeled on the Wolverine system to help shape gouges. The guru's say that you absolutely must use a large (8") wheel on a slow-speed grinder, but I don't agree. The difference between a 6" wheel and an 8" wheel is how hollow the grind will be - and that difference is rather small and not very important. The supposed advantage of using a slow speed grinder is that you don't remove as much metal so your tools last longer, but I think you can accomplish the same thing by learning to use a very light touch at the grinder. So as far as I'm concerned, an inexpensive high-speed grinder with 6" wheels works just fine, and its also convenient for other grinding tasks around the house.

I also have a sanding wheel that mounts on my lathe. I made mine by mounting a commercial hook-and-loop disk on a block of wood with a threaded hole that matches the thread of my lathe spindle, but it is also possible to make one from a scrap of plywood or mdf. I use a fairly fine grade of sandpaper, and I don't replace them very often (so its actually much finer than the rated grit). A belt sander would also work. Like the grinder, the key is to use a light touch.

And I have various stones - both conventional oil stones, and diamond honing plates. These are ideal for parting tools and skew chisels, and can also be used to quickly 'tune up' the edge of a gouge. I've never actually bought a stone - the oil stones I have I inherited from my Dad and Father-in-Law - so they are easily 60-70 years old. I use a lapping fluid on my diamond honing plates that I make by adding a few drops of dishwashing detergent to tap water.

The point is that you can make sharpening into rocket science, or you can treat it as just another task that has to be done in the shop, and find quick, simple, and inexpensive workarounds.
 

Dalboy

Executive Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Posts
7,679
Location
Kent
First Name
Derek
I use a bench grinder with a white wheel for my turning tools and the robert sorby attachment and a record power wet grinder(similar to the tormek) for my other woodworking tools
 

Bill Mooney

Blind old git
Grand Master
Joined
Aug 16, 2014
Posts
10,997
Location
County Durham
First Name
Bill
Pro edge for shaping & sharpening my lathe tools. For sharpening my woodwork tools I use Japanese water stones.
 

Penpal

Grand Master
Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,340
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Using carbide tools together with high speed steel tools,I use a diamond file for the carbide and a double ended bench high speed grinder for all others. Also my gouges I sharpen looking down on the process and holding the chisel during sharpening at right angles to the wheel,easy and you can see the results instantly,works for me.In other words I value all types of chisels and sharpen accordingly.A mate showed me how simple it was on the curved gouges when held at right angles,blows the theory of 8 inch wheels versus 6 inch wheels as the stone addresses the chisel flat.No I never use 6 inch wheels I believe they take too much metal when used normally.

Peter.
 

Neil

Fellow
Joined
May 21, 2013
Posts
3,132
Location
Hitchin, Hertfordshire
First Name
Neil
Ok, here’s my bit of unwanted opinion, a dustbin for the carbides, and sharpen by hand. The obsession of the preservation of tools that are designed, by virtue of the fact that they have to be worn away by being sharpened, has always amused or confused me, learn to loose a little bit of metal and then sharpen according to your own style by hand.
 

Phil Dart

Moderator
Executive Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Posts
5,455
Location
Colebrooke, Devon
First Name
Phil
All roads lead to the Sorby ProEdge in the end Alan, so you might as well get one first as soon as last. All these folks who use Tormeks or a grinder are only doing it that way whilst they save up for a ProEdge :devil:

fight fight fight fight:boxer:
 

alan morrison

Fellow
Joined
Feb 26, 2019
Posts
2,378
Location
Co. Down N Ireland
First Name
Alan
All roads lead to the Sorby ProEdge in the end Alan, so you might as well get one first as soon as last. All these folks who use Tormeks or a grinder are only doing it that way whilst they save up for a ProEdge :devil:

fight fight fight fight:boxer:

I think that you will be winding some clients up, Phil.
 

Bucks

Fellow
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Posts
1,425
Location
North Yorkshire
First Name
Paul
Another vote for the Robert Sorby Pro Edge, used to have a Tormek but have no regrets in trading it in for the pro edge.
 

Neil Lawton

Longlocks
Fellow
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Posts
3,115
Location
York
First Name
Neil
I recently had a request to give a days tuition on the chaps own machinery at his home workshop. One of the things he wanted help with was sharpening on his Tormek. He had every jig available and still had about 40 facets on his spindle roughing gouge grind!
He only had one bowl gouge so I took a few with me. As I sharpen my tools on a Pro edge I took one with me. I tidied up some of his tools on the Pro edge to get him restarted on the Tormek. He bought a Pro edge the following day!
 

Pierre

Graduate Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Posts
996
Location
Southern Central France
First Name
Pierre
So does a magnet!:whistling:


The trouble is that a magnet on a tool leaves little magnetised particles stuck to it which then make grooves in the workpiece. :thinks: Ive tried them all, flat glass plates, linishers (which is what a pro edge is really) Rutlands worksharp system with the see through sharpening plate, stones and bench grinders, I use the latter for reshaping tools and sharpening the grass cutters (1.5 meters long) and the Tormek for the fine polished edges on the curved tools.

Seriously though it all depends on what you are most comfortable with, since I have to move from grinder to the Tormek, then the same manipulations and tooling suit me, if I were making knives then I probably would buy the pro edge.
 
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