Skew sharpening

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Marc Phillips

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I have been sharpening my skew on a belt sander for a long time, and it seems to work OK... that is until I tried sharpening on my new Jet wet grinder...

I did a lousy job, facets all over it, but the part that actually got sharpened worked so much better it was amazing... almost no resistance at all when cutting now...

Has anyone sharpened a skew (oval) on a wet grinder before? I used the side of the wheel and the regular tool rest, but like I said, I couldn't really get a nice smooth even pass on the thing...

Jigs? .... advice? ... I'm all ears!
 
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I have a tormek and sharpen my skews on it with no problems. If you don't already have one get yourself a jig for sharpening skews, it makes the process a lot easier than doing it freehand. The tormek jigs work on the Jet from what I have heard.
I have sharpened both oval and curved skews. I also think you will get a better surface on the skew if you sharpen on the circumference of the wheel and not the side. Sharpen with the wheel turning away from you.
 
I used to try to sharpen on a 70 rpm wet wheel but it wouldn't sharpen. The stone is just too fine. Then I went to hand held on a 1750 blue 80 grit and that works very good. Then I tried the 1" belt sander. It's OK for touch up but doesn't really sharpen. Depending on my mood, I'll use either the belt or the blue wheel.
 
for me jigs are a life saver when it comes to sharpening. In fact I am in the process of making one to sharpen barrel trimmer heads. The skew jig is pretty simple. look at the one for the Wolverine system. basically a piece of angle iron on a support bar. figuring out the right length for the bar and angle iron would be the real work. you would want the bar to be adjustable for distance from the grinding wheel. The angle iron always stays the same length. Skew is ground on the face of the wheel. just for general info for anyone reading this. not all Grinding wheels are designed to grind from there sides. they can and will break. even a small piece coming off at 1700 R.P.M. can be very dangerous. I know people do it all the time but be very careful and know you are asking something from it it is not made to do. I have an 8" high speed bench grinder with 1" thick wheels. that one I would not be so nervouse about but still make sure I am not in line with the wheel. I also have a 8" sharpening machine that has wheels as thin as 1/16 of an inch. that one you even think about touching from the side and things get real interesting fast. I would not trust a half inch wheel on that machine. basically it is the spinning of the wheel that gives it strength do to centrifical force. It has far less ability to resist forces from the side.
 
with your wet grinder you should always sharpen on the circumference of the wheel, not the side. Buy a Tormek jig and use that on your jet sharpner. They are interchangeable. You will set the skew at an angle in the jig so that the cutting edge is parallel with the grinding wheel, and exstend the skew out in the jig until the right angle is reached on the faces of the skew. Then all you have to do is move the skew/jig back and forth on the grinding wheel until the face/or bevel of the skew is completely smooth or shiny (ie no facets or unground parts). If you have a double faced skew turn the skew/jig over and sharpen the other side. Then hone on a leather strop and there you go! One scary sharp skew, then let the chips fly. Hope this helps

Rob
 
Thanks all... I have been under the impression that a hollow grind on a skew did not work nearly as well as a flat grind... hence me trying to sharpen the skew on the side of the wheel.

Because the Jet (Tormek) wheel is a larger diameter I guess I can assume that it works better than the results I have gotten with my Wolverine on the 8" white wheels...
 
From the time I was a kid with pocket knife and an Arkansas stone, I've never had the knack for sharpening freehand. Just don't get it. Gotta have my jig and skew attachment.
 
Mark, As a rule of thumb a hollow grind will dull faster than a flat grind. most tolls will not have much of an issue with the hollow grind from an 8" wheel. Since the bevel of a skew is used in actually cutting with it. a hollow grind woudl have more of an impact. you can sharpen a skew on the wheel and use it even though it is hollow ground. You can also hone it back to flat fairly easily. the best solution would be a flat grinding machine, like the work sharp has.
 
Originally posted by cdcarter
<br />From the time I was a kid with pocket knife and an Arkansas stone, I've never had the knack for sharpening freehand. Just don't get it. Gotta have my jig and skew attachment.
Click to expand...

Think most everyone is in that same boat. Try this one.
http://knives.mylamb.com/calc.htm

I cheated and bought one of these :)
05m0903-inset1b.jpg

05m0903-dsp2.jpg


once it is set it's super easy to do and the stones make it very sharp. problem is not all chisels can be sharpened this way.

Ed
 
I played around with sharpening the skew on the circumference of the wheel, and the hollow grind is pretty mild... It seemed to work very well, especially after using the honing leather on the other side of the machine [:D]

I will ask Santa for the skew jig... I haven't been all that bad this year [:0]
 
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