How do you sharpen....

[daveeisler]

With all the gizmo's for sale what do you use, I have a Grizzly wet , slow speed that looks like the Tormek, and I have the real Tormek accessories, I also have the one way system, Harbor Freight sells the Tormek look alike and it is real crap, the Grizzly is not nearly as good as the Tormek, but for what it cost's, it makes it a fine tool. The One Way is also pretty good and set's up fast with a re-peatable settings. for a beginner it may be best to stay with the wet grinder , as the One Way can tempt you to over grind and do some damage to the tool, many years ago I had a Tormek and sold it with regret now, and of coarse many of you have perfected the "Free Hand" but for the rest of us, a jig or tool is needed, and I have been turning for 12 years, I never spent the time to learn free hand, but you can buy a tool for a buck at a flee market and practice all you want, still, for me , the scarce free time is for turning. In the end, my Grizzly is fast ,accurate, repeatable and easy, I keep a bottle of water close by so I don't have to go get it from the sink. I reccomend it. Given the chance , if I find a very good used Tormek, I will buy it.

 

[drayman]

i have the tormek too, and its the dogs danglies.:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[Art Fuldodger]

Here's my take: The Tormek is, indeed, the Dog's Danglies for getting something super-sharp. However, if you turn anything of any significant size, your tool will need to be sharpened again quite quickly. Even if nothing else, you should sharpen again before the last cut, to get the smoothest finish you can.

Sharpening on a grinder is much faster than a Tormek. It may not get the tool quite as sharp as the Tormek, but the difference in sharpness between the two is lost in the first few seconds of turning.

Because of those, I went for a grinder. I can get the tool quite sharp in just a few seconds, then be back to turning. If you watch the "big name" pro turners, you'll see them using nothing but grinders. Typically, 8" units. The 1750RPM units are easier for the beginner.

Here's Mahoney's take on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m8-8MNhpvY

 

[daveeisler]

Yup it is true, pro turners do mostly freehand on an 8 inch slow speed wheel , using a pink or blue stone, but why do they do it, well I have been lucky enough to turn with many of them and it's for a few reasons, speed as mentioned is one and since they do not have other job's as income is only from turning, they have had the time to learn, but and it is a big but, they all tell the student to start using a gadget or gizmo, and the time between free hand and Tormek type's is not an important point to most, but it is a skill onto it's own that takes as many years to master as turning itself, I watched David Ellsworth sharpen free hand at his home and the edge and bevel was so perfect, I was as impressed with it as I am with his turning. I feel , once you get the set up with a Tormek type grinder, it becomes fast and easy, maybe too easy, and that's why after all these years, I have not learned to sharpen free hand.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I also have a Tormek and do mostly freehand sharpening. I use a sharpie to blacken my gouges and skews and go from there, after sometime, you get the hang of it - its faster than using the jigs.

 

[daveeisler]

Rudy,And Art. what type of grinder do you use, is it fast or slow, and what kind of stone, pink , white, grey etc. this is important not only to me, but the other readers here.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Rudy,And Art. what type of grinder do you use, is it fast or slow, and what kind of stone, pink , white, grey etc. this is important not only to me, but the other readers here.

I sharpen freehand on my Tormek!!

 

[sparhawk]

I use a 4" angle grinder by hand.

 

[marcruby]

Other than for my skews (and that only occasionally) I use a 2 speed grinder with 80 and 120 grit wheels combined with the oneway system with all its jigs. There simply isn't enough time for me to use the Tormek as a regular turning sharpener. I use it for my wood chisels and planes and about once a month for my skews.

Once I get an edge on a gouge it takes me only a few moments to set a gouge in a jig and dress the bevel on the grinder. The trick is to keep everything sharp - then it's easy to bring up the edge. If you wait until you think the tool might be dull, it takes a lot longer to sharpen it.

Marc

 

[DavePowers]

You need to add that as your signature, never heard that one before.

i have the tormek too, and its the dogs danglies.:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[GaryMadore]

I have the Tru-Grind system and it is indeed foolproof (need proof? well, it works for me....)

I use it with an 8x1" grinder with a 120 grit stone.

Simple, quick, easy, no muss, no fuss. Zip, zap, and back to turning.

Cheers!

Gary

 

[NewLondon88]

I picked up a few things at yard sales and such.. slow, fast, wet, dry..
I end up doing the chisels on my disc sander

 

[Art Fuldodger]

Rudy,And Art. what type of grinder do you use, is it fast or slow, and what kind of stone, pink , white, grey etc. this is important not only to me, but the other readers here.

I started with a combo wet/dry from Harbor Freight. The 10" slow wheel was... too slow. So, I'd use the 3500RPM, 6" wheel. With a little practice, I got acceptable at it.

Then, I replaced it with an 8", 1750RPM grinder, with decent rests. Suddenly, things got much easier. Nice, smooth, single bevels all the way around.

I am, though, going to buy a Wolverine to use with my bowl gouge, to keep the grind consistent and to speed it up - I won't have to eye it so closely.

 

[markgum]

i use the slow speed grinder with the wolverine set up for sharpening. When I took the class at Wood Craft for sharpening the instructor said he doesn't have a Tormak but it does a fine scary sharp edge. I say it's about 50 50 in my local wood turning group between wet systems and slow speed grinders.

 

[DurocShark]

I was futzing around with making jigs and such for my 6" 1750 grinder. I spent more time with that than sharpening.

I finally said "Screw it, I'll sharpen by hand." It's really not as hard as it looks. I can do it much more quickly now, especially touchups during a project. Plus I just mounted my grinder on the same bench as my lathe so not even a whole step over there.

 

[daveeisler]

I am ready to sell my one way system, and slow grinder< if you live in Va. or MD or south east Pa. I will drop it off for free , so if you want details, I will go get them.

 

[bubbatd]

I started turning with bowls and spindles. I use the slow speed grinder that Wood Craft sells with an 80 and 120 grit wheel. I use the Wolverine system for quick sharpening and if I have time will use a leather buffing wheel that I have set up with an old washing machine motor.

 

[marcruby]

I just witnessed a funny story about Tru-Grind. And I'm not knocking it's abilities. I went to through a two day workshop with Lyle Jamieson on bowl and vessel hollowing. He's a great fan of Tru-Grind simply because the jig doesn't have the spring steel flap that the wolverine does. We couldn't get him to shut up about it.

So he pops a gouge into the jig tightens is up and starts to sharpen without noticing that the tool is mis-set (which is easier to do witn a tru-grind if you are yakking when you should be looking. There were a few moments of blessed silence at that point.

Marc

I have the Tru-Grind system and it is indeed foolproof (need proof? well, it works for me....)

I use it with an 8x1" grinder with a 120 grit stone.

Simple, quick, easy, no muss, no fuss. Zip, zap, and back to turning.

Cheers!

Gary