I own both, so which should I set up a Wolverine or a Nova Sharpening Centre?

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Alright... Me being me and fully inside this vortex I bought both of these sharpening systems. I have at present never setup either one. I am still using one I made from plywood following Darrell Feltmate's designs. However when I moved a few months ago it got seriously soaked being outside and now is just off enough and just weak enough that I don't want to use it anymore.

So I was getting ready to start installing a better sharpening system. Something that would have the rigidity to give me clean repeatable edge again.

I was planning to set the Nova up. Seemed easy enough and I liked the clearly marked angles on the plate and the video makes it seem... well precise, easy to use and effective. All of which seem like good things. When I bought it almost a year ago people were having problems and were unhappy with it but fixes were promised by Teknatool and hopes were high. Googling earlier to day I found that since that time almost nothing has been posted about it. Nothing more really negative and nothing more positive either. Which was somewhat unexpected. So either everyone gave up on it or everyone got it working. Or I suppose there could be another OR ???

I found a few extremely negative reviews dealing with it. One guy offered it up for sale for $10 after having had it for only 4 days.


So I got to thinking that I really would just ask directly. Anyone else ever owned both? Which one is really better? Which one should I setup?

I have seen Bob Hamilton's videos where he uses the Wolverine. I have seen others posts from others using a great many things. I am just a little short on time and so while playing with both would be interesting and I enjoy problem solving. I enjoy turning too and would rather do that than monkey with the sharpening some more. To me it is like sanding. Just no where near as much fun as the turning.

If I still had the cash, this new house has really drained the old wallet, I would just buy a second slow speed grinder and set up both to monkey with. But I don't so... Any comments or thoughts?

Anyone been successful with Nova Sharpening Centre or is it, as some of the remote review have indicated, just junk?

Thanks,
Joshua

[David Christopher]

Joshua, I dont know about the nova but I do have the wolverine and love it....it works great, easy to set up and get uniform grinds everytime.....also I have never heard anything bad about the wolverine, that says alot to me

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joshua I have the wolverine and love it. I didn't buy the Nova because a friend of mine told me not to waste my money. He had problems with his and sent it back. I don't remember at this time what it was but something about the platform wouldn't stay put and not sure what the other problem was. Other than that have not seen or used the Nova.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Well, you could get a Tormek and complete the trifecta. :D

All seriousness aside, I used a Wolverine during a class and it was simple, quick and effective. In my shop, I use a Tormek and have added the bench grinder mount. I use it for shaping and then touch up with the Tormek.

If I didn't have the Tormek setup, I'd feel fine using the Tormek bench grinder (slow speed) mount/jig setup. I'd also feel fine using a Wolverine.

Never even seen a Nova sharpening system other than in the catalog. I do like my Nove lathe, though.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Josh - I have the Wolverine system and, once set up, you will be able to get consistent/repeatable sharpenings. When am turning and need to freshen up the edge it takes less than a minute and I am back turning.

I suggest you set the Wolverine up and use it and when you have more time - set up the Nova and see how well it works.

[Alan Zenreich]

I have both systems.

I use the Nova on a 2"x72" variable speed Bader belt grinder. I recenly bought a wolverine / slow speed grinder package on Craigslist for my wife to use.

There are things I like about each tool. The Nova's square rod does not need to slide under the grinding wheel, and that works best with the belt setup. I also like the slot in the Nova's table, and the angled jig that slides in it. The nova 's fingernail grind attachment is very well made, and works great. I'm not impressed at all with the nova's table adjustment , but hey, it's a grinder table.

I like the wolverine's general setup, especially paired with a slow speed bench grinder. I'll be adding some Raptor set up tools to it this weekend, making it easier for my bride to get consistant angles.

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/woodturners/Images/products/main/raptor_new.jpg

[Joshua Dinerstein]

I have both systems.
Excellent news! Thanks for responding to my query!


I use the Nova on a 2"x72" variable speed Bader belt grinder. I recenly bought a wolverine / slow speed grinder package on Craigslist for my wife to use.
Now that is quite interesting to me. I had seen a recent magazine article that talked about using a belt sander/grinder to do sharpening and it made me curious. About how well it works, does it create a better grind, etc?

Would you be willing to explain how you did your setup with the Nova and the belt sander? I really think I would like to follow suit and try creating the same kind of setup.

Thanks!
Joshua

[Joshua Dinerstein]

I think based on the replies I received that I will do pretty much as suggested. I am going to setup the Wolverine on my slow speed grinder. That will let me continue to sharpen and turn with a device that is known to work and is generally well loved.

I think I will then try to do something similar to Alan's belt sander setup with the Nova just to explore the differences between both the sharpening jigs and the belt sander versus the slow speed grinder.

Thanks everyone I truly appreciate the help.

Joshua

[Paul Douglass]

I have both, bought the Nova first because I like my Nova lathe so well, I though all Nova products had to be great. I set it up and tried to use it. I now have the Wolverine system...

enought said, Oh if your Nova system is unused, maybe you can get a refund and put the refund towards a second Wolverine....


now, enough said.

[David Hostetler]

I have the Wolverine, and it works EXACTLY as it is supposed to. No ifs, ands, or buts... My only sharpening issue is a slightly out of round stone that came from Norton (my 100 grit alum oxide wheel is out of round, and out of balance...). I have to wait until I get the $$ for the truing / dressing jig... Kind of spendy, but I need it to get going with my sharpening again...

Using the OE wheels from my grinder though gave repeatable, clean, SHARP results... Great for putting a touchup on the gouges as I was turning pecan...

[Dave Ogren]

When I saw you include the belt sander I figured that I had to reply. I have been told that the Wolverine is really great. Never used it. I reciently purchased a slow speed grinder from Wood craft, and also what I think is the advanced version of the Wolverine, the SharpFast. The Sharpfast has a few important features that the Wolverine does not have. That being said it is not set up either.

For the past 10 months I have been using a 1" x 42" belt sander free hand. The reason was I am cheap and did not want to grind off much metal. Over 100 bowls and I doubt that I have removed more than .010" from a gouge.

The rest of the story. When I got started I had seen a lot about belt sanders on the web, but in my mind it didn't seem that it would work.With the belt comming down it would have to chamfer the cutting edge. It took me a long time to figure that out. When I finally figured out that the belt sander has to run backwards it really made a super difference. I am on the same belt 120 grit, blue green in color, Norton NorZon Plus cost $1.24 each. The belt gives the bevel a mirror finish, which I really like.

I think that I have been being too cheap. I am going to get the grinder and the SharpFast set up and am going to use the belt as a Hone. I think that that will be the best of both worlds.

Good Luck and Happy Turning,

Dave

[Alan Zenreich]

Joshua,

These photos should give you a better idea of my current (always evolving) setup.

Feel free to send me a private message and I'll send my phone number. I'll be happy to chat with you about anything I've observed/tried.


http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/tour/nova_sharp_1.jpg


http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/tour/nova_sharp_2.jpg

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/tour/nova_sharp_3.jpg

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/tour/nova_sharp_4.jpg

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/tour/nova_sharp_5.jpg

[Thom Sturgill]

I was going to comment that using a belt grinder gives a flat grind as opposed to the hollow grind from a wheel. That was before I saw Alan's pics :D.

A flat grind makes honing harder, and I hone my gouges.

I like the raptor setup gauges for getting a consistent angle with my wolverine. I think if I had both, I would mount one to each wheel as they both have their advantages. I believe I recall that you built an MDF honing wheel (so did I) and may have that mounted on one side, but depending on the orientation that may not matter, though you would have to change the wheel occasionally. I have the guard removed on one end of my slow speed grinder as I was using it as a buffer, and it extended over the edge of the table. Now I have the MDF honing wheel there so that I can get to it from the back side. I buff on the lathe - slower speeds are better. Don't operate a grinding wheel without a guard!

[Mike Minto]

josh, why don't you try them both, and see if you have a preference regarding one over the other?

[Alan Zenreich]

I have both an 8" rubber wheel (shown above) and a combination platen (shown below) for my Bader III grinder.

I probably prefer a flat grind as opposed to a hollow grind, but for lots of reasons, and ease of honing, I've opted for the hollow grind on the wheel.

Flat grind would be just as easy for me, but would require some reconfiguring of my setup because of the vertical platen.

Sorby makes a very nice adjustable belt sharpener, a good but pricey choice compared to a low speed bench grinder.

However, I already had this incredible 2x72" belt grinder in my shop, so I'm adapting jigs to fit it. My wife seems pretty happy with her Wolverine setup, and we're removing one of the wheels and replacing with a buffer.

http://www.stephenbader.com/assets/images/B3_COMBO_FIN0051.jpg

[Thomas Canfield]

I have the Wolverine, and it works EXACTLY as it is supposed to. No ifs, ands, or buts... My only sharpening issue is a slightly out of round stone that came from Norton (my 100 grit alum oxide wheel is out of round, and out of balance...). I have to wait until I get the $$ for the truing / dressing jig... Kind of spendy, but I need it to get going with my sharpening again...

Using the OE wheels from my grinder though gave repeatable, clean, SHARP results... Great for putting a touchup on the gouges as I was turning pecan...

I just bought the Wolverine dressing setup. The difference was like night and day. The wheels no longer give a "bounce" that was there using a diamond "tee" . The quality of the edge is much better. It only takes a slight touch to get the new edge and the grinding sound is much better. A couple of friends have borrowed it and had same reaction. Tools should last longer with the trued wheels.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

These photos should give you a better idea of my current (always evolving) setup.
Oh my word! Wow. Well when I said I was thinking about this kind of thing I was thinking about something like the following attached images. Mostly because I own both of them. Your system is... well... wow!

I did a bit of research last night and belt sander/grinder rigs like that are interesting. Beyond me at the moment but still pretty darn cool.

The magazine article I saw was focused around the small hand-held belt sander and I had quite mistakenly thought you had done something similar. I will have to put a rig like yours onto my Christmas List and see what santa can come up with. :eek:

Joshua

[Joshua Dinerstein]

I was going to comment that using a belt grinder gives a flat grind as opposed to the hollow grind from a wheel. That was before I saw Alan's pics :D.

A flat grind makes honing harder, and I hone my gouges.

Yeah. I had the same thought in my mind. I hone my skews and for the first time I honed my bowl gouge this week. I was amazed at the edge I could put on with a hand diamond hone. The bowl gouge got sharp enough that I put a nice nick in one finger. I wasn't being careful enough I guess mostly out of habit. It has never been sharp enough to be that dangerous before.

I have recently read a number of posts from various sources that indicate that they like flat ground bevels better. Jon Siegel and others. I have wondered if it is better or worse for cutting? It would clearly be work/worse for honing but I wonder about the cutting action itself.


I like the raptor setup gauges for getting a consistent angle with my wolverine.
I bought a set of these recently from CSUSA. I haven't put them into use yet but they seemed like a good idea. I had seen plans from Kirk DeHeer and others for making your own but I have realized for myself recently that I was trying to make so darn many things to help with the turning that I wanted to do that I didn't have enough time left to do any turning. So I started taking some shortcuts and buying things. ;)


I think if I had both, I would mount one to each wheel as they both have their advantages.
I have thought about doing exactly that. But like anyone else with a slow-speed grinder from Woodcraft I have 2 grits of wheels. One is nice and fine and the other is... well not. It doesn't seem like I would get a very fine grind off of the one side. But then I suppose I could replace that wheel with another fine grit one, funny how that never occurred to me before. I believe from what I read when I got it that it was 60 grit and 120 grit. Oh man I just ran a check on woodcraft looking for details and found they no longer have this grinder on their site and a more details search said it was discontinued. That is sad news! I just about had myself talked into getting a second one. (A secondary search here on the creek reported that someone here was told they were just switching manufacturers and will have them back eventually.)


I believe I recall that you built an MDF honing wheel (so did I) and may have that mounted on one side, but depending on the orientation that may not matter, though you would have to change the wheel occasionally.
I did indeed make one. But I set it up from the get go to run on my HF 34706 lathe. I rotated the headstock around so that it was running up and away from me instead of towards and down. But I am about to give up on trying to use it. I get the most fantastically smoothly polished BLUNT tools you have ever seen.:mad: I am doing it wrong in some way I am just not sure how but it has gotten really annoying. What seems like it should put the most amazing edge on just sends me right back to the grinder.


Joshua

[Reed Gray]

I haven't used a gouge jig all year, and doubt if I ever will again. I have The Veritas tool rests, and set the table at one level. I have several wedge shaped plates to go on the table to change angles, so there is no fiddling around to guess the correct angle, and roll the gouges free hand. Really simple, and much faster than any jig.

robo hippy

[Alan Zenreich]

Joshua,

Take a look at the way a Robert Sorby ProEdge is set up. You might be able to adapt a belt sander into a similar configuration.

I don't know if I'm allowed to post a direct link to the Robert Sorby product page (I can never be sure if I'm violating the forum rules) but here's a photo from their page. There are additional configurations shown on their page.

http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/images/proedge2.jpg

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Joshua,

Take a look at the way a Robert Sorby ProEdge is set up. You might be able to adapt a belt sander into a similar configuration.

I don't know if I'm allowed to post a direct link to the Robert Sorby product page (I can never be sure if I'm violating the forum rules) but here's a photo from their page. There are additional configurations shown on their page.

http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/images/proedge2.jpg

Oh interesting. I went and watched their videos after reading this last night. It is kind of what I was thinking I would try and turn the HF special I bought into. I think it is possible and I am going to spend some time soon looking to see what I can make work.

Thanks for sending me this!

Joshua