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Tungsten Carbide Chisels

edlea

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My beginners set of Axminster TC chisels seem to be performing OK but I have now turned around thirty odd pens with them. The skew is definitely not as keen as it was. Surely they will soon need sharpening. Is a bench grinder with a silicon carbide wheel the way to go for sharpening tungsten carbide and is a jig a must have ?
 

mattyts

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I dont know about Carbide but heres a jig i made from some rail and a wooden block to set the distance from my grinder,bad pictures but you will get the idea...skews can be sharpened by hand,roughing and bowl gouges are inserted into the jig and twisted while the grinder is running
CAM00072_zps0d6d3113.jpg

CAM00071_zpsf237c17a.jpg
 

clumsysod

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If you need to ask this question can you be trusted with sharp instruments?
Likewise the jig shown is all wrong, the stone is too course the grinder too fast and the toolrest will stop it from making contact after two seconds on that grinder.
It may work for this once on this tool but not all tools are the same length, material, diameter stop digging this hole is getting too big too quick shut up Geoerge.
 

yorkshireman

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30 is a lot of pens to make Ed without sharpening, I touch up mine much sooner than that. Will the budget stretch to Sorby Pro Edge? Thats certainly the quickest and easiest method but not cheap.

keith
 

MikeD

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Ed, are you sure they are tungsten carbide? They are more likely to be High Speed Steel (HSS)
Most TC are provided as tips which can be rotated to a new edge. The tips can be dressed with diamond sharpeners to extend their life but this also depends on the grain size of the TC.
 

Terry

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I use the Axminster AWSRG2 slow speed grinder at £133.50 which have adjustable rests. The speed is 1450 RPM. You can buy the cool Ruby stones for this grinder from the Toolpost store. It is an 8in grinder and many top turners use it. It has a review on its page on the Axminster website by Glenn Lucas who is a renowned woodturner and that is all he uses in his turning school!!!!
 

bellringer

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I use an 8 inch record wide wheel grinder with aluminum oxide wheel
And a Robert sorby jig
 

Woody

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I always use a bench grinder the same as matt uses and with the same type of wheel to sharpen my scrappers the only other thing I have is some water to keep dipping the tool in to stop the tip from going blue I just hold the scrapper at 90 deg to the stone with very light touch job done after all you only want to raise a burr on the edge and I had used this method for years since being in school some 55 years ago my last batch scrappers I had for over 20 years and sold them with plenty of life in them
 

edlea

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If you need to ask this question can you be trusted with sharp instruments?
Likewise the jig shown is all wrong, the stone is too course the grinder too fast and the toolrest will stop it from making contact after two seconds on that grinder.
It may work for this once on this tool but not all tools are the same length, material, diameter stop digging this hole is getting too big too quick shut up Geoerge.


I need to ask this question as the sales bumph states that ' These chisels last far longer than HSS chisels and need less frequent sharpening' I'm new to this game and I don't know the answer....... It was asked in the hope that someone else had had some experience with same. In the same context as you answer . if you need to answer like you did, then, can you be trusted with a computer key board ?
 

Penpal

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Ed,

Using your information the only way to sharpen Tungsten Carbide seems a compromise using a Silicon Carbide (not too expensive) grinding wheel then diamond laps, then comes the expensive one stop answer Diamond wheel

If sharpening Tungsten Carbide never dip in water A NO NO so a slow process.

Surely the seller should have all the answers. OH&S Cobalt is a DANGER in the CARBIDE Manufacturing Process and involves loose Cobalt when ground dont breathe use safe practices.

There is no magic Elixer in tools you pay your money and you take your chances.

An alternative is to make your own Carbide tool holder easy breezy use square cutters throw them away after using the four faces the cutters ie. Heaps of info Google lots of U Tube how to etc. I have such a tool still stick to bowl gouges and scews on the flat. To throw the cat among the pidgeons I grind my bowl gouges at 90 degrees to the wheel I can easy see the correct angle from above giving a slow twirl works for me. When I grind old faithful skews I grind them with an angle bar resting the tool to wheel vertically.

Anyway something prompted you to buy the tools you have put the information back to them, also buying sets waste of time sometimes as a tool junkie it took me a long time bto learn that I mostly use very few chisels especially for Penmaking.:goesred:

KInd regards Peter.
 

Jim

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If you need to ask this question can you be trusted with sharp instruments?

George, lets go back to the old adage of ... "The only silly question is the one you don't ask." A more constructive answer would have helped, or none at all ...
 

edlea

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Hi Ed,

Check-out You Tube there is loads on sharpening.
Not to sure on the difference between TC and HSS.

I found you a link on making a cheap jig


How To Build Sharpening Jig For The Bench Grinder - Woodturning Tools - YouTube

I made one similar and it works brilliant on my HSS chisels.

Hope this is of some help:bwink:


Ta for the link ,Rowdy and also for the info from the rest of you chaps. I think my main problem is that they are TC tipped. See link

Buy Set of 3 TCT Woodturning Chisels from Axminster, fast delivery for the UK

Maybe I should chuck 'em and start again with HSS ?
 

edlea

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Ed,

Don't chuck'em, try these out. I have been using them from day one. Cheap as chips
Clarke 8 Piece Wood Turning Chisel Set - Machine Mart
and you can learn sharpening, practice different turning techniques without the expense....
Once learnt we can both upgrade to the good stuff..:devil::devil:

Rowdy, If you were a woman or slightly better looking than your avatar suggests, then I'd kiss you. You have given me the perfect solution. The 'sharpening chisels' part of the hobby was the most daunting part for me as I didn't want to ruin expensive equipment. Your solution is perfect ,at those prices my old age pension could run to ruining a set every week !
 

PhillH

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Good find Rowdy !

I might invest in some for sharpening practice, I was worried about buggering up my lovely inherited Sorby chisels as well.

That price you could almost throw them out and buy new when they need sharpening :funny:
 
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