Sharpening your gouges and tools

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
phillywood

phillywood

Member
Joined
May 10, 2010
Messages
2,067
Location
San Antonio, TX, 78250, USA
I tried to search on the forum for this article or any articles that would help with this subject. i have asked for a demo in our local chapter and keep getting we'll do it, and the time has not come up.
Can anyone here help with directing me to the right direction to find articles or videos that I can improve my sharpening,please? I know this is very touchy subject, and I am challenged with it.
Thanks for your time and input.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
My advice, and it's worth every penny you pay for it, is to find ONE you like and stick with it. When I first started I flip flopped around and got really poor results. I finally settled on the Oneway system, watched the video that came with it, and have stuck with it since. If you change grinds and angles every time you sharpen you will end up very frustrated.
 
Are you currently sharpening with a jig or by hand? If you are sharpening by hand, I'm not surprised to hear that you are frustrated. Kirk Deheer, a sharpening expert, production woodturner, and author of many articles and videos on sharpening, told me this summer that after years of sharpening by hand, he was asked by Dale Nish, (woodturners guru) to do a demo of the wolverine system. He had never used it before, but was sold on it after half an hour. That was good enough for me, I bought one and love it.
 
When I first started turning ,I bought a less expensive set of tools at HF. and that one thing, was the best thing I could have done(not knowing how to sharpen the tools or what grind I liked. There is a learning curve to sharpening and finding the angle that works for you. I would have passed out from shock ,if I had ground off all that metal from some expensive tools. If you are not in a local AAW club, I would say, WHY not. They have a wealth of information and knowledge to offer.And pen turners too. www.woodturner.org go to find a chapter, punch in your State. If you are comming through Texarkana in the next two or three months, I am off work (seasonal)I will let you grind on some of my HF tools or bring your own and I will show you how to sharpen them.
or if you want to come to our next ARKLATEX IAP meeting Saturday Jan.15. come on and several of us will show you how to.
Don't laugh at the distance, I drove from Texarkana,AR to Springfield,MO and back the same day for their first IAP meeting. Did'nt even have time to go to Grizzlys.

I have a 8" grinder with wolverine system. And 120 grit stone and 80 grit.
Before I got a sharpening system, it was tough I mean bad on tools for me.
 
Last edited:
Currently I am not sharpening, and I am in need of doing it. I bought the woodchuck form my good friend ken here on IAP, and tried to rough some mesquite with it and it dulled up the carbide blade so I am down to two sides and I am waiting for soem new inserts form him. I just acquired a 5 set of Sorby tools from a friend and they belonged to his dad. they don't feel very sharp though and i have to sharpen them.
I looked at the wolverine and I am leaning towards purchasing that, i was just wondering about the Work Sharp and Tormek system (which is very pricey). I was wondering if wolverine system will beat them or what?
 
Phillip, I agree with those that support the Wolverine system. That system, with an 8" variable speed grinder works well. But, you have to watch the Oneway video - grinding is demo'd in a very understanding way.
Also, before you start grinding those Sorby's you got, get a cheap set of chisels from Harbor Freight and practice, practice, practice. Learn the bevel angles for each of the chisels. Learn by marking the chisels with a black felt tip marker and grinding the markings evenly away to maintain the angles. The angles, or bevels, are important and must be consistent for turning.
Also, Google "Sharpening Lathe Chisels Youtube". You will see a bunch of videos about the different chisels.
Gordon
San Antonio
 
I have the jigs but prefer to sharpen by hand. Russ Fairfield once gave me a few pointers on doing so. Find it to be faster than the jigs as all I do is step away from the lathe and spend 30 seconds on the grinder then back to the lathe.

I saw a video by Cinda Drozda today on youtube. If you search her name and sharpening you should find it easy. This is how I do my tools. It does not hurt to have a few cheap tools to practice with.
 
phillywood said:
Currently I am not sharpening, and I am in need of doing it. I bought the woodchuck form my good friend ken here on IAP, and tried to rough some mesquite with it and it dulled up the carbide blade so I am down to two sides and I am waiting for soem new inserts form him.
Click to expand...

Phillip; The carbide inserts are easily sharpened either with a credit card sized diamond hone by DMT OR using silicon carbide sandpaper and a flat plate (table saw table). 220 is coarse, 600-1000 is fine. remove the insert from the tool and ley top surface down. Put a drop or two of oil and rub in a figure eight pattern. Do 4 times, turn 90 degrees and repeat another 4 times. Then wipe well and re-install.

I just acquired a 5 set of Sorby tools from a friend and they belonged to his dad. they don't feel very sharp though and i have to sharpen them.
I looked at the wolverine and I am leaning towards purchasing that, i was just wondering about the Work Sharp and Tormek system (which is very pricey). I was wondering if wolverine system will beat them or what?
Click to expand...

Either one will work well if you use it regularly. The Wolverine system is a good one. You should put a short piece of stick back ruler on the side of the bar opposite the clamp lever. Sharpen a tool and write the ruller setting on the tool's shaft with Sharpie parker.

You can make a sharpening jig easily. Look on YouTube for videos by Eddie Castelin.
 
guys, I am so grateful for your advise. it's good to know I have a family here I can depend on when it comes to this kind of advice. Thank you guys again.
Gordon, I'll do like you said and try to find some cheap ones and practice on them.
Randy thank you for that tip I am going to try it.
 
wb7whi said:
I have the jigs but prefer to sharpen by hand. Russ Fairfield once gave me a few pointers on doing so. Find it to be faster than the jigs as all I do is step away from the lathe and spend 30 seconds on the grinder then back to the lathe.

I saw a video by Cinda Drozda today on youtube. If you search her name and sharpening you should find it easy. This is how I do my tools. It does not hurt to have a few cheap tools to practice with.
Click to expand...
Wayne, I appreciate your insight, I think I am not at that point yet since I am new to turning and with the woodworking I have the evidence on my chisels that I screwed up trying to sharpen them. I didn't even know that in some cases I over heated them and they turned blue and then I found out that I really messed up, but they were cheap.
Among the other stuff i got from this friend was a full set of German chisel set that some guy at woodcraft said that they should be wroth at least about $80.00, so I don't want to screw them up. I think I am gonna keep an eye out for some garage sale finds to practise messing them up and learn the right way.
 
Phillip ,
Harbor Freight has a set of cheap carbon steel chisels that are perfect for practicing . They are $10 for a set and perform well when sharp but get dull very fast so you will get lots of practice .
 
Sharpening with jigs

http://www.tormek.com/en/

You're correct in that this is a polarized topic. Check out the videos on the Tormek System. I think they are on YouTube. This system made it easy for me to always have sharp tools. The water eliminates any possibility of burned steel.
 
Hey Phil --

AAW has a DVD with 4 different well known turners/teacher showing how they sharpen. Common element is that they all use sharpening systems with students because of consistency and they do not want to spend the vast amout of time teaching freehand techniques. They are dry wheel methods -- Most of them use wolverine as it is simple and consistent. All the systems work with a little practice.

We all agree that some kind of sharpening system is better than nothing (read dull and duller steel).

A 6 inch Ryobi for $40 buck from the big box store is better than dull (that is what I use here in Tucson). Woodcraft has had a $100 more or less 8 inch grinder that is in lots of shops.

Texas is full of woodturning groups -- Go to a few meetings of your local AAW chapter and ask to try some different systems. Find what you like and go for it.

I note that Randy's suggestion is partially correct. -- You will not likely be able to renew the edge on a carbide insert with hand sharpening with a hone. You may be able to extend the life and useful function for roughing, but you will want a fresh machine honed (read new) edge for fine finish work.

As Robert Rosand says -- "I sharpen when the tool can be sharper". You do not want to wait for dull.
 
Phil you can sharpen those cutters by turning them upside down on a diamond whetstone and just moving them in circles. That is what I am doing and you can still get a razor sharpness out of them.
If you need to find a local sharpening class at Woodcraft and bring them there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom