Sharpening Article in American Woodturner

[holmqer]

There was an excellent article by Alan "Mr Skew" Lacer and Jeryl Wright in the latest American Woodturner on sharpening that busts a few myths on sharpening.

The authors experiment with both skews and gouges made from High Carbon Steel through the high end powdered metal (CPM 15V). They try various combinations of grinding, honing and polishing and examine the tool edges an the cuts in wood under a microscope.

It is well worth reading! Check it out in the bookstore or your local Woodcraft.

I will be replacing my translucent white slip stone for honing the flutes of my gouges with a diamond cone as a result since my CPM 10 (A11) Thompson skews and gouges are harder than all varieties of Arkansas stone.

 

[KenV]

Good article, but I think the M4 steel is a High Speed tool steel instead of high carbon.

The article makes the point that fine finishes with tools tend to come with fine edges rather than straight off a coarse grinder. The article makes no claims about the ability of using tooling straight off the grinder for roughing out or intermediate cuts, but does show that more finely finished cuts with less need for sanding are related to more polished edges.

The article reminds me that those who turn for an avocation (many hours a day every day) sometimes make different tradeoffs than those who who turn with less frequency or experience.

even better than checking it out -- support woodturning in general and join AAW and a local wood turning chapter.

 

[markgum]

excellant reading. Just have to try and find a cone shaped stone.
someone once told me you would proably have to dig through yard sales and estate auctions to find them.