getting my tools sharper

[Stephen Hibbs]

I have 60 and 80 grit wheels on my grinder right now, and I don't really use the 60 grit wheel, so I was thinking of upgrading the 80 to a higher grit stone and the 60 to a leather strop stone. I saw someone had a similar set-up, and I was thinking of buying one of those white 120 grit wheels as my main sharpener, and then turning an mdf circle, gluing a leather ring on, and attaching it to my grinder somehow, or possibly just chucking it up occasionally and using my lathe for the strop. Is the strop thing easy to do, or am I likely to blow it? Also, what kind of wheel for the main sharpening would you suggest, and what kind of leather for the stropping?
Right now I'm not getting great sharpening results, and that thing about razor gouges just made it more obvious. Would a diamond slipstone and regular leather strop give the same results? Do you guys have any other suggestions for fixing that? I mostly use a fingernail-ground bowl gouge, a round scraper, a skew, and a diamond-point scraper.

Sorry for the questions, thanks for the help.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Stephen I use a 60 grit and 100 grit Blue Norton wheels. I use the diamond hone that Alan Lacer uses and can be had from Craft USA. Don't have any problems with things being sharp. I also hone while turning and very seldom go back to the grinder till I am done.

[Bill Grumbine]

Stephen, I use most of my tools right off the grinder. I have an 80 grit wheel right now, but had (and preferred) a 60 grit wheel in the past. The skew gets a little different treatment in that it gets ground, then honed by hand on a diamond plate, and then stropped on a piece of birch plywood charged with white diamond compound. In the interest of full disclosure, I bought a jig for my Tormek this past weekend that is supposed to make sharpening my bowl gouge just as fast as the bench grinder. That remains to be seen, but it may convert me. Who is to say?

Bill

[Darrell Feltmate]

The problem with a leather strop on a grinder is it will turn in the same direction as your grinding wheel, toward the edge. Man that could give a mean catch. I like to use an 80 grit wheel and a jig (home made). I have used a 120 and feel that it is just too fine an edge for a lot of the rough wood I use. It might cut down on the final sanding though. By the way, I think white is unnecessary, any consumer aluminum oxide should be fine. The bonds are friable enough to wear down enough without the wheel grooving as bad a white wheel.

[David Walser]

At the DWR, Craft Supplies brought with them Jeff, the head sales guy for Tormek. Standing next to that guy can be very expensive! Watching him sharpen bowl gouges, scrapers, and skew chisels, I became convinced that I needed one of those machines. The $600 price for the seemed very reasonable for all that came with it -- besides the sharper tools would mean more time turning and less time sanding and...

Well, just as I was about to pull out my wallet, I checked my watch and realized I had to run if I was to make it on time to run the video camera for Bob Rosand's demo. (Great demo, by the way.) By the time I got back, the vendor's booths were all closed for the banquet and I was unable to buy my new toy, err, tool.

The fever is gone and I no longer feel the need for a tormek. My 60 grit grinder still does the job. But, I do believe that a finer grit will produce a finer, longer lasting edge. Maybe next year, when the tormek is available at the show special price with all those extras thrown in...

[George Tokarev]

Another recurring topic. How sharp is sharp enough. I'm a carver, and with tools powered by me rather than the lathe, I like a good stropped edge. Keeps me from crushing rather than cutting when entering the wood. Once the tool's moving, it really doesn't seem to matter much. The dual motion move where the gouge slips sideways - equivalent of skewing a knife - will make a great peeling cut even with a gouge that had trouble cutting its way in without crushing or fuzzing the wood.

Since that dual motion move is the essence of gouge work on the lathe, I don't even bother to hone under normal circumstances. Some claim it might even shorten the life of the edge to hone, because it will produce something so thin it will curl away from applied stress like turning a burr on a scraper. The knife types talk about realigning the "teeth" on the edge with the steel as giving the best results. Probably happens to some degree even with our more brittle alloys.

If you want to strop, grab a seperate motor and put a felt or leather on it and strop away. Or put your grinder with one guard removed on the edge of the table so you can strop from underneath. I don't think you'll find it worthwhile.

[Reed Gray]

I have a 320 grit wheel for my gouges, and remember really liking it from the start. It has been several years, and would be interesting to go back to a 120 wheel to compare the differences again. I stayed with the finer wheel because I did get a better cut, and because the gouges will last a lot longer.
robo hippy

[Dennis Peacock]

I primarily use a 120 grit AO wheel on my slow speed grinder for most all my turning needs. I know that I've stated this before in another thread, but my gouges seem to cut better, cleaner and longer when I touch them up on the Tormek. For roughing out though, I primarily stick to turning right off the 120 grit grinding wheel.

[Jeff Farris]

...
Well, just as I was about to pull out my wallet, I checked my watch and realized I had to run if I was to make it on time to run the video camera for Bob Rosand's demo. (Great demo, by the way.) By the time I got back, the vendor's booths were all closed for the banquet and I was unable to buy my new toy, err, tool.

The fever is gone and I no longer feel the need for a tormek. My 60 grit grinder still does the job. But, I do believe that a finer grit will produce a finer, longer lasting edge. Maybe next year, when the tormek is available at the show special price with all those extras thrown in...

And don't think for a second that the event coordinators did not catch some serious criticism from us vendors for closing us out right when everyone was coming out of the demos all excited. That was ridiculous.

Call Craft Supplies and ask for Ben Williams. I think with a little cajoling he'll extend the show special for you, particularly since you were a volunteer for the event.

[Rik Rickerson]

David I'd jump at that opportunity. I purchased my Tormek from Jeff over 5 years ago and have never regretted it. Like most good investments, once you start using it, you'll quickly forget how much it cost.

[Jim Becker]

I use 60 and 100 grit Norton 3X wheels. With frequent light sharpening, I don't find a need to get "sharper"...depending on the material, I'm sharpening after only a few minutes on some stuff and always before final cuts.

[Darrell Feltmate]

Another recurring topic. How sharp is sharp enough. I'm a carver, and with tools powered by me rather than the lathe, I like a good stropped edge. Keeps me from crushing rather than cutting when entering the wood. Once the tool's moving, it really doesn't seem to matter much. The dual motion move where the gouge slips sideways - equivalent of skewing a knife - will make a great peeling cut even with a gouge that had trouble cutting its way in without crushing or fuzzing the wood.

Since that dual motion move is the essence of gouge work on the lathe, I don't even bother to hone under normal circumstances. Some claim it might even shorten the life of the edge to hone, because it will produce something so thin it will curl away from applied stress like turning a burr on a scraper. The knife types talk about realigning the "teeth" on the edge with the steel as giving the best results. Probably happens to some degree even with our more brittle alloys.

If you want to strop, grab a seperate motor and put a felt or leather on it and strop away. Or put your grinder with one guard removed on the edge of the table so you can strop from underneath. I don't think you'll find it worthwhile.

Peter Child compared the cutting of a turning tool to an exe splitting wood. Once the edge starts the split it does not really hit the wood again. It continues the split which goes ahead of the edge. A properly cutting tool will hold an edge longer than a forced cut at the wrong angle. Practice, practice, practice. I too, carve and the shape and use of the edge is different but the principles of a sharp edge and a spitting cut are the same.

[David Walser]

And don't think for a second that the event coordinators did not catch some serious criticism from us vendors for closing us out right when everyone was coming out of the demos all excited. That was ridiculous.

Call Craft Supplies and ask for Ben Williams. I think with a little cajoling he'll extend the show special for you, particularly since you were a volunteer for the event.

Jeff,

I guess I'm busted! Can't avoid buying that machine of yours now. Darn!

We'll do our best to improve the DWR from a vendor's perspective. I enjoy talking with the vendors almost as much as going to the demos; I think many others feel the same way. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve things, feel free to send them my way. It looks like I'll be involved with planning next year's event.

[Jeff Farris]

Jeff,

I guess I'm busted! Can't avoid buying that machine of yours now. Darn!

We'll do our best to improve the DWR from a vendor's perspective. I enjoy talking with the vendors almost as much as going to the demos; I think many others feel the same way. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve things, feel free to send them my way. It looks like I'll be involved with planning next year's event.

I talked with John Lea quite a bit on Sunday regarding the schedule. John explained that the facility people were a little difficult to deal with, and the lock out at 5pm was their idea. You guys just need to assure the caterers that none of you want to steal any rubber chicken before dinner time. I understand that next year, the demo rooms won't be quite as spread across the whole campus, either, which should help with vendor visits between sessions. All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend for me, I just would have liked to have had a little more time to talk to folks.