What is the best way to sharpen lathe tools?

[Swimmer]

I have been slowly doing an injustice to my tools for the last couple of years, and now with the turning season upon us I want to turn over a new leaf. Is thier a particular wheel that goes on the grinder or what. Oh, I do not want to sharpen by hand if that keeps my question more simple. Thnks

[Rockfish9]

I do the major sharpening on a variable speed fine wheel( made by delta, bought at lowes).. I have jigs, for the purpose but rarely use them... i'm good enough "by eye" to put the proper edge on them... you still need to burnish them on a stone or strap, I like to leave a thin burr on my skew that will take a fine chip for finish work... it cuts down on the sanding... i only use the power wheel at the start and maybe once during the season if i let them go too far or do a bunch of maple.. the rest is done with a few strokes on a fine india stone when they are not cutting smoothly, and because I use mostly WRC.. they need to be SHARP or risk tear outs..

[ProfessorM]

sending them to Joe sounds like the best way

[numbskull]

LOL

[EricW]

I have a worksharp 3000 and absolutely love it. I have tried regular stones, diamond stones, grinding wheels, sandpaper on marble/glass (scary sharp system), belt sander......and nothing compares to the work sharp. It will sharpen almost any tool you can think of.

I primarily only use a few chisels which are Sorby skews and gouges and when they get dull about 10 seconds on the worksharp and I am back in business. They keep my skews so sharp that plugs hardly need sanding, and I consistently get nice long shavings.

The 3000 is the higher end unit and a little pricey, but well worth it in my opinion. they make a smaller unit that would do fine but not as versatile.

Christmas is coming. It is one of the best presents I ever got. I've had mine several years. It is I am sure good for another 10 - 15 years or longer. I haven't even had to replace the abrasive yet. It came with some Norton sheets to start with. They seem to last forever.

Eric

[Saltheart]

Now I may be a beginner woodworker but I was a Senior Research Engineer at Norton company way back when and I taught in their school of grinding. Here's some advice.


As with all cutting tools , if you keep up with it with frequent touch ups its easy but if you let them go a long time , resharpening is a bitch. Be careful with the grinding. Don't overheat the edge or it will loose its temper and just not be durable. Best bet where possible is a dribble of water over the grinding wheel and edge and a slow RPM grinder.

I agree a fine grit is best for precision grinding.

[Swimmer]

Thanks guys.

[Swimmer]

I used my belt sander for the first time and it worked great. I am going to get a 220 grit belt too smooth it some. Then maybe get rid of the burrs with a stone. Thanks everyone.

[blondterror]

I do a lot of bowl turning and spindle turning with maple and cherry so i have learned how to sharpen my tools with Norton (white) grinding wheels. You need to occasional dress the grinding surface to expose fresh abrasive. the DARK grey grinding wheels are not good for sharpening lathe tools (too coarse).

It is best to have a Wolverine sharpening jig to get a reproducible edge... see attached YouTube link...



great info on how to properly sharpen lathe tools .. Wolverine is a One-way brand made in Canada.. they make high quality turning products

[rolm]

Novice here. My quick-and-dirty solution was to take a cheap belt sander and mount it in a jig next to my router. I have 180 and 220 belts for it. The jig holds the chisel at a constant angle to the belt. I touch up every time I use the chisel, takes just a few seconds. It's not scary sharp, probably nowhere near as good as it could be, but it's plenty sharp for me.