This seems to be one of my biggest unknowns. I want to make an adjustable jig for my bench grinder that the handle of my tool rests in. Like I have seen in some on-line stores. I can't see spending $60+ on something I can make in the machine shop at work. Any advise is much appreciated. How do you sharpen your tools?

My biggest questions are blade angles. And how do you sharpen the different types of tools...ie: Gouges, parting tool, skew, etc.

Also, what type of grinding wheels should I have (grits?).

Being able to get an edge back consistantly, quickly and accurately is my goal, without having to keep grinding and grinding and grinding till I get the edge I want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edcro5RZVyE

cool idea. never thought of that. thanks for posting bernzy.

Use a grinder. Slow speed (1725 rpm) is nice. White grit wheel (cut cooler) 80 grit, 120 grit are ok. A belt sander also works.

A parting tool is a hollow grind, using the tool rest.
A roughing gouge is a steep angle, hollow grind, rolling the tool on the rest using your grip as a stop.
A skew should be flat ground.....NOT hollow ground. You can use the side of the wheel, a bench stone, or a belt sander......don't grind it on the face of the wheel or you'll have a biitch of a time controlling it.

Most jigs are meant for bowl gouges which have a fingernail profile and require the handle to be swung through an arc while the tool is also rolled. You don't need them for tools used in plug turning, but an after market tool rest (or a home made one) is an improvement over the crumby rests that come on most cheap grinders.

I think I posted this before, but I recently got a worksharp 3000. My wife got it for me for Christmas. It works really well. It works like you wouldn't believe on your basic chisels all flat the kind you sqaure off a hole with.... Unfortunately we don't use those for turning. I use a skew, and a couple of gouges 99% of the time for all of my turning. This does a great job on them.
Sharpening is one of those things like epoxy that it seems you can never try all the methods or get it perfect.
I have used stones, my belt sander, a sanding pad on a drill press and on a drill, plain sandpaper mounted to glass, diamond stones, dremel attachments, and finally the worksharp. It is the best by far. The second picture below is of a lure I turned after sharpening my skew and it doesn't need any sanding. I had been planning on building one of those setups of my own after seeing the worksharp, but it is easier just to spend the $$ and get it and save your time for building plugs.

All of the other methods I mentioned work well to, but the worksharp makes it really easy. You can find videos on you tube on it and also of all sorts of other sharpening methods. Look up "scary sharp"

I use grits of 150, 200 and 400 and get really sharp edges.
You don't want to go razor sharp on a skew for example, once you start turning it will dull up.

I just match the angle of the tool on the abrasive and just keep it as best you can. That is where the worksharp really works well. Skews are a little harder than flat angle chisels, but you get the hang of it. The sandpaper method on glass works great for skews and gouges. I did ok on the belt sander but it moves to fast and you have to be careful not to burn the tool. They sell jigs you can get that will keep the angle you need. Woodcraft has them or you can fabricate one yourself.

I've seen those white wheels with water work very well too, but I never tried one.


Good luck.

that looks real good Eric, thanks

Lets see, I've got a grinder $100
a Tormek machine (for carving tools and barely used) $400
3 large Arkansas stones $180
A large diamond stone $90
2 unused water stones $90
An bunch of small slip stones $50
Various jigs $100
A granite lapping stone and sandpaper $75

And a cellar full of dull tools
Go figure

I use a disc sander mounted to my lathe. I flat gring my gouges and to my untrained hands they work great. Plus sandpaper is cheap and tends to not blue your tools. I posted some pics on the "other" site.

I'm a hack and I get my tools plenty sharp.

Lets see, I've got a grinder $100
a Tormek machine (for carving tools and barely used) $400
3 large Arkansas stones $180
A large diamond stone $90
2 unused water stones $90
An bunch of small slip stones $50
Various jigs $100
A granite lapping stone and sandpaper $75

And a cellar full of dull tools
Go figure

:rotflmao:

Lets see, I've got a grinder $100
a Tormek machine (for carving tools and barely used) $400
3 large Arkansas stones $180
A large diamond stone $90
2 unused water stones $90
An bunch of small slip stones $50
Various jigs $100
A granite lapping stone and sandpaper $75

And a cellar full of dull tools
Go figure

he does i've seen them, more grinders and stones than we have at work

How do you guys get a nice edge on a gouge if you don't have a grinding wheel?

I have the "scary sharp" kit, but its a PITA to try to sharpen gouges.

Never thought of Youtube......lots of video's on tool sharpening. I think I will make the $10 jig......that will work perfect. Also, some good instruction on how to "correctly" use the tools.

Thanks for the tips and links. Looking forward to the new lathe (and tools) coming in the mail. Time for shop re-configuring.

just clamp your belt sander upside down in your big vice

just clamp your belt sander upside down in your big vice
I throw it on the floor and kneel:laughs:

just clamp your belt sander upside down in your big vice

Or ... 2 big screws or bolts about 1.5" from edge of the bench depending on the belt sander .. Mine hangs 45 dgreees ,, been there like 6 years of fairly heavy use . works great ... I have some beautiful Sorby tools that need sharpening but not on the belt sander .. Thats why I use inexpensive tools Craftsman and Magna I can just hit on the white stone in the grinder. White Stone dosen't heat up like the belt sander . Belt sander will make your tool turn red fast .. Red is bad ..I hate sharpening ,, no time for that .. I should sell the sorbys on ebay .. if I can find them under the dust ..

i highly recommend that you do a shop clean out before the season
begins....


if there's that much dust... that is... :uhuh:

just think ....you'll find all kinds of cool stuff :rolleyes:
==========================================
i mentioned the upside down belt sander
as the cheapest way to go...
and not necessarily the best solution...

i would think :think: however, that the finer the grit of sand paper
on the belt sander, the less friction ,and the least amount of heat
to touch up a chisel edge might be a compromise.

I used the sanding disc in the lathe chuck the other day, nice edge on the gouges, they cut so much better when they are sharp! :spin: