Sharpening on a budget

[Robert Cox]

I am on the verge of buying a Jet Mini.

A slow down to the process is the cost of "stuff"

I could use a disc/belt sander. A grinder would only be used for tools.

Why can't I use the sander to sharpen?

Am I just wasting brain cells even considering it?

[Bob Hovde]

You can use the disk for sharpening. Shopsmith even makes a sharpening jig for their disk. (Actually, it can be used on any sander, since you have to drill holes for the adjustment bolts, anyway.) It works fairly well for "normal" grinds and flat edges (skews, etc.).

Bob

[Richard Allen]

Before the wolvorine jig became popular many woodturners used a 1"x30" belt sander to sharpen their turning tools. (Not most woodturners, but enough that using a belt sander didn't raise many eyebrows)

The jigs are mostly designed for using a bench grinder. So if you want to use one of the store bought grinding jigs then a bench grinder is a good choice. Many of the plans for making your own grinding jig are based on the store bought jigs and expect you to be using a grinder. There are some jig plans which are centered on a belt sander or a sanding disc.

Good luck

[Jim Becker]

Yes, you can sharpen with a belt sander. Do be sure that the belt is moving AWAY from you, however!! Richard's point about jigs is valid, however. You have more choices with a grinder, but with a little creativity, you may be able to build some things to use with the sander.

[Michael Stafford]

Before I "knew" a better way I turned on the Shopsmith and sharpened on the disc sander on the other end of the tool. You always got flat bevels but at least they were consistent with the jig I was using. I still use the jig to sharpen my skews because I have more control. Everything else is done on the Wolverine...

[Ernie Hobbs]

I prefer to sharpen on a belt sander. Maybe it's just me but, I feel like I have more control with it. It sits on a cabinet right beside my workbench and is easy and fast to get a good sharp edge. I rarely use my grinder for sharpening anything other than lawnmower blades. I'd be interested in learning how to develop my sharpening skills but for now, it seems to work fine.

Ernie Hobbs

[Michael Stafford]

Ernie, no expert here but I felt lost on the grinder until I bought the Wolverine system. It took sharpening out of my hands put it under control via the jigs. I would never have been able to get a fingernail grind on a spindle gouge or bowl gouge without it.
I am a firm believer. Works first time out of the box with very little practice.

[Robert Cox]

hmmmm,

Maybe I'll go with the grinder and the wolverine. I saw some guy name Morris using one at a store in Winston Salem last weekend. It looks simple enough.

I'm thinking I can cut a corner still by having my machinist buddy make me a bracket and just buying the $15 holder gizmo.

Or is the adjustability you get with sliding the rest in and out vital?

[Jim Becker]

Or is the adjustability you get with sliding the rest in and out vital?

Yup. If you cannot afford the Wolverine jig system (also on sale at Woodcraft right now, I believe), there are several plans "out there" to build your own jig in the shop from scraps that will give you similar functionality. I have something like that on my "alterno-grinder" that I cobbled together from plans in an old Time Life book on woodturning and it was functional, although not as elegant as the Wolverine I use on my main grinder. There is a quick picture of that below...while it's not "assembled" with the arms in (I didn't have time to deal with it as I'm on a conference call), you should be able to see what you need to understand it.

[Paul Lockyer]

I've had pretty good results with a homemade jig. I based mine on info published by Darrell Feltmate.

http://www.aroundthewoods.com/sharp.shtml

[Bud Duffy]

I have sharpened on my belt/disc sander for a long time and got to be pretty good at it. Recently i was at the local woodcraft store and saw the wolverine system on sale so one followed me home but since i didnt have a grinder one of the 8" ones on sale also fell in the truck. I decided to get this system after watching the new DVD i got from Bill Grumbine and could not get the fingernail grind right on the belt/disc sander. ( A couple stealth gloats in there somewhere!!)

[Robert Cox]

I see a hybrid bought/made system in my future.