Catch at the Grinder

[Phil St.Germain]

Went out to the shop for a little while last night and roughed out a couple bowls.

Went to the grinder to sharpen some tools for some pendant work. Things were going along just fine, put some fine edges on a handful of tools, then BAMB! I know exactly how and why it happened, just glad that I didn't get hurt.



Phil

[Baxter Smith]

Ouch! Want to share the how so I can avoid that, although my wolverine jig perhaps saves me.:)

[Don Orr]

I'd also like to know what happened so I can avoid it myself. Glad you were not hurt.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Glad you were not injured! Waiting for the rest of the story!

[Phil St.Germain]

The problem was that the tool was a bit short so the Vari grind was clamping down on the round portion. This is not optimal. The next problem is that the wheel that I have tends to get a flat spot after sharpening 3 or 4 tools. This flat spot is very small, but it does cause a vibration. The vibration cause the tool to slip and the result is the picture.

I will be grinding a flat on top of a number of my tools so that I get a better bite with the vari grind, that is once I buy a new wheel.


Phil

btw, I use the WC Slow Speed grinder with the Wolverine and Vari Grind set up

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks Phil. I will have to keep that in mind. I have some spindle gouges that are pretty short as well.

[Don Orr]

Thanks for the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say.

[GLENN THOMAS]

At least you didnt get a finger caught between the wheel and the guard. I did that one time and it hurt so bad by my stomach got queasy. I lost a chunk of meat about an inch wide and DEEP. Anyway be safe, glad you didnt get hurt.

GT

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks for sharing. I will have to keep that in mind as I had a couple of gouges that are getting pretty short. Glad you are ok.

[charlie knighton]

thanks for sharing, if you still like the gouge, make a new handle, use that gouge to only sharpen free standing, i am starting to like sharpening free standing, it took a bit to get used to it, and they did not look very well at first, but i now take less metal off :D, course i would not say i was very good with the jig

[Allen Neighbors]

Glad you didn't get a chunk knocked out of you!!
Think of this as a design opportunity... Design a way to sharpen short tools, and design a new handle. :)
Then tell us how you did it.

[Don Geiger]

Hi Phil:
I've seen many cases where tools get too short and the flutes of the gouge don't register inside the jig.. I still don' see how the handle was broken. Please elaborate.

Thanks!

Don

[Phil St.Germain]

Don,

I don't know how the handle broke either. One minute I am sharpening, the next second I get a catch. Once I realized that the tool was no longer in my hand, I turned off the grinder. A chunk got taken out of the grinding wheel, the tool got jambed between the wheel and the cover and somehow the handle snapped. I could not exactly explain how the handle broke, just that it broke as a result of the catch.


Phil

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Based on what I see....I suspect the end of the tool got caught and driven down between the cover and the wheel. As a result of your having a good grip on the handle, the tool broke at it's weakest point.

That is dangerous and spooky.

[Don Geiger]

Hi Phil:
I teach sharpening to woodturners and wanted to share four main points with you for your safety:
1) Never attempt to sharpen gouges at greater than a 70 degree angle when held in a jig. Doing so will present the tip too low on the wheel and can cause the gouge and jig to be dragged downward.
2) Always make sure before you start sharpening that the tip of the gouge is well above the axle height of the grinder. Elevation of your V-notch position may be necessary to accomplish this. My Geiger's Vertical Solution is designed to do this easily. Another way is to build an insert that fits into the V-notch of your Wolverine.
3) When sharpening, you must keep your tool tip in the ceter of the width of the wheel. Practice with the grinder turned off!

4) If your tools are bouncing on the surface of the wheel you may have difficulty keeping the tool in the center. Properly truing the wheels, so they are concentric to the axle, will make the surface run true and when your tool is applied to the wheel it will not bounce and it will react almost as though the wheel is not turning. This is not easily accomplished with a hand held wheel dresser. Using a wheel dresser with a carefully controlled depth of cut, such as my "Geiger's Wheel Truing & Dressing Solution" or the One Way this is more easily accomplished.

Don Geiger