sharpening and technique

[SamV]

I'm having a hard time learning on my own. Does anyone have a link to sharpening lathe tools and their proper technique.

[jwatson]

have you tried a search on youtube? i have seen a few on there. its tricky though lathe tools a great deal of turners use jigs to assist with sharpening.

[Lawrence Brown]

Get your hands on a copy of "Ellsworth on Woodturning: How a Master Creates Bowls, Pots, and Vessels" (just do a search for "Ellsworth on Woodturning" on amazon). He's got a whole lot of practical information in there. He's basically the guy that started the modern woodturning movement, so he knows what he's talking about. After reading his take on sharpening, it completely changed my methods and I'm much better for it.

[SamV]

Awesome, sounds like a great book. Thanks.

[thewoodwhisperer]

I don't turn much, so when I do I don't want to spend a lot of time sharpening. So I use a variable speed grinder with the finest wheel I could fine. Then I use the OneWay Wolverine Jig and the Varigrind?? accessory. Sharpens just about anything I can think of for turning. Simple repeatable sharping that makes it very easy to touch up an edge and get back to work.

http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/grind_jig.htm

[jwatson]

I don't turn much, so when I do I don't want to spend a lot of time sharpening. So I use a variable speed grinder with the finest wheel I could fine. Then I use the OneWay Wolverine Jig and the Varigrind?? accessory. Sharpens just about anything I can think of for turning. Simple repeatable sharping that makes it very easy to touch up an edge and get back to work.

http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/grind_jig.htm

thanks mark I couldn't think of the jig I saw turners using. by far that is the easiest way to sharpen.

[AceHoleInOne]

This is a shop made jig I use made of scrap material, not fancy, but works fine.

-Ace-

[Wayne_K]

The wolverine is by far one of the most used sharpening jigs out there.

The importance of sharp turning tools cannot be overstated.

With the wolverine jig you will always have easy, sharp, repeatable results. Repeatable is the key word here. Wood turning is all about muscle memory, if your grinds are always different, there is no muscle memory.

Wayne K

Columbia, MD

[Geffre]

There are many DVD's as well that give you an overview of how to use some tools. The best video for the skew chisel is Alan Lacer's The Skew Chisel and the sequel Son of Skew. The first video teaches in great detail how to sharpen the skew, which can translate to other tools. Then the second video teaches practice techniques that really hone your skills.

Geffre

[Torch02]

For everything sharpening, I would check out Bob Rozaieski's podcast series on it

Also check out Ron Hock's "The Perfect Edge" - a great book on sharpening

[pfmala]

I use a jig like ace made. I also made jigs to hold my other gouges. It is a block of wood with a hole the size of the gouge drilled through it, a dowel rod at the angle I like my grind. 30 or 40 degree. and a screw to hold the gouge in the block. Then I move the back of the grinding jig close and use the V to hold the dowel rod. Something else I've done is make turning tools with carbide inserts. They work great at roughing a piece and they stay sharp for a long time. If I have time tomorrow I may take pic's and post them.

Phil Malavolta

NW Indiana

[went_postal]

I don't turn much, so when I do I don't want to spend a lot of time sharpening. So I use a variable speed grinder with the finest wheel I could fine. Then I use the OneWay Wolverine Jig and the Varigrind?? accessory. Sharpens just about anything I can think of for turning. Simple repeatable sharping that makes it very easy to touch up an edge and get back to work.

http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/grind_jig.htm

Another vote for the Wolverine. Another nice thing about the OneWay product... their customer service is AWESOME.

Oneway has a bunch of videos on their website showing how to use the jig properly to sharpen tools. At one point I was having a hell of a time getting my skew sharpened even with the videos... I emailed them and asked for some tips and the guy that is actually in the videos is the one that called me. =) Gave me some great advice and tips and I have been pretty happy with the results ever since.

Not sure what you are using for a grinder... but I have one of the variable speed deltas and all I can say is... the stock wheels were/are useless. I wound up replacing them with a set of Norton wheels and that has worked out a LOT better for me... I also try to make sure I dress the wheels before a turning session to make sure I get the most out of the wheel.

One other suggestion... water. I have a habit of quenching my tools as I sharpen to make sure the heat build up doesn't get too bad. When you are spot sharpening while in the middle of a project it is not as much of a concern... but if you are are reshaping an edge for the first time or after an oops... the water is your friend.

[sbwertz]

The wolverine is by far one of the most used sharpening jigs out there.

The importance of sharp turning tools cannot be overstated.

With the wolverine jig you will always have easy, sharp, repeatable results. Repeatable is the key word here. Wood turning is all about muscle memory, if your grinds are always different, there is no muscle memory.

Wayne K

Columbia, MD

The beauty of the wolverine is that even a rank beginner can produce consistant results. And I agree that the wheels that come on most grinders are good only for sharpening hoes. Get a good Norton aluminum oxide wheel in 80 and 120. Use the 80 for reshaping and the 120 for touchup.

[jHop]

does anybody use anything other than the wolverine?

I was thinking (once upon a time) of using the WorkSharp, realizing that it would work mostly only on chisels and plane blades as is. Then I saw that WorkSharp has a new setup out there, one for "knives," which can also handle curved edges. (It's basically a three wheeled belt sander, with a flexible platen.

I've also been considering the Sorby version of the Wolverine.

I like the fact that Ace built his own. Anybody got any advice? especially since I just ruined the edge of three tools tonight... I'm off to check YouTube and the podcasts now, but if anybody has quick tips, I'd greatly appreciate them.

[samhell]

I use the worksharp. I use a marker to color the bevel on the tool and then use the view through discs and just make the marker disappear. No extra jigs or anything. I used it on all my lathe tools. Skews, gouges, round scrapers, etc. Goes very quick and works great. I have a 6" grinder but I rarely use it for anything other than sharpening lawnmower blades or grinding bolts or whatever. I didn't want to mess around with jigs and stuff (I don't have the room) and I couldn't get the wheels off anyway...

[reforzar]

Fundamentals of Sharpening put out by the AAW is the best video I've seen by far. Multiple people with different points and lots of great camera angles and explanations.

[blobue]

does anybody use anything other than the wolverine?

As a matter of fact... I use the wood cut sharpening jig here. I have nothing to do with wood cut or with Craft Supplies but think the wood cut is great for lathe chisels. In the course of teaching wood shop I might have to sharpen upwards of 15 to 20 gouges a day. It takes about 30 seconds with the wood cut and I get consistent and sharp edges. I don't know if any sharpening system is the magic bullet for wood turning, but there is a huge difference between a sharp edge and an "ok" one. I think one of the big frustrations for beginning turners is trying to turn with a dull edge.

So whatever method you choose to use, get good at it and sharpen your tools sooner rather than later. Also, Mike O'Donnell has a good video about making bowls that is bundled with his sharpening video. His edges are SCARY sharp! I really recommend that video just to see his technique. A link to the video is here.

Enjoy,

Brian LoBue

Industrial Arts Teacher

Christopher High School

[mlehikoinen]

I went out and got the Wolverine, but despite using the skew attachment with it, I can't get my skew to cut. I have checked the video's by oneway, have Ron Hock's perfect edge and Raffan's 3rd edition of Turning Wood. No dice. All I get is dust and catches. My gouges all cut beautifully (haven't tried my scraper yet) though.

The skew is getting frustrating considering how important it is.

[blobue]

I think the Alan Lacer skew chisel videos are good to show the basics of sound skew technique. Lacer does show some common skew problems, what causes them and how you can avoid them. Raffan is too fast to really see what he is doing. The skew chisel takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it you can turn a pen with just that. Or any other not so curvy spindle. Alan Lacer also covers sharpening the skew. Usually I just lay one side of the skew on the wheel freehand and bring the edge down until sparks jump over the edge, then flip and do the same. Takes about 5 seconds. But then you need to know how to use it...