Sharpening lathe tools question(s)

[Bill White]

After looking at numerous sites/catalogs, I have decided that I need to spend at least a gazillion bucks on sharpening guides, bases, stones, lapping plates. I often wonder how the old guys did/do their sharpening. I can't believe that I must have all the tooling to get and keep my tools up to snuff.
Are there some vids or sites that feature sharpening on a grinder by hand without all the hoo hah?
I certainly understand the need for touch up with stones, etc.
Bill

[Paul Heely]

There's a You Tube video, Tool Design and Grinding with Mike Mahoney (http://youtu.be/4m8-8MNhpvY), that you may find helpful.

[John Keeton]

Bill, there are certainly those that sharpen lathe tools by hand, but please consider that consistency of grind is very important when using a gouge. One usually sharpens a gouge a few times while turning a piece (or at least I do) and I want to go back to that form with exactly the same grind angle. In addition, if you are duplicating the grind each time, one need only remove a very minute amount of metal. I suspect that free handing an edge would eat up a lot of tool until one became very proficient at the process.

Add to that - time is money, and it is mighty easy and quick to slip that gouge in a Vari-grind jig, push the gouge in a pre-drilled hole in your bench to set the length, and take off a whisper of metal to freshen the edge.

Just a thought! BTW, I rarely ever hone - though others do. My sharpening system consists of a Woodcraft slow speed grinder, a Wolverine system with the original Vari-grind jig, and a CBN 180 wheel. It takes me under 30 seconds to freshen the edge on my gouge and I remove just a hint of metal.

[Wally Dickerman]

Bill, I am one of the old guys you mentioned who sharpened by hand. It takes a lot of skill to do that and do it right. When the first jigs appeared on the market I resisted the urge to buy one. Hey, I've been sharpening my way for all of these years, what do I need with a freaking jig. Well, I finally tried one that a friend had bought. Well guess what... I made a bee line to the store and bought a Wolverine jig. Been using it ever since. Best thing it does is give the same exact grind every time. The real experts at hand grinding can do that but with most of us it was somewhat hit and miss.

I agree with what John says...you don't need much more than that. I don't hone bowl gouges but I do keep the flutes polished. Those finely honed edges will only last for a very short time. In fact the only honing I do is on my skews. All you need for that is a diamond card.

You do need a diamond wheel dresser which isn't expensive. Your grinder should have Aluminum oxide wheels which are designed for HSS. Dress them often.

Remember...USE SHARP TOOLS

[Curt Fuller]

Bill, I'm not anywhere near as old as Wally or John but I'm probably at least as stubborn. I'm one that hand sharpens my tools without any jigs. I would probably be a better sharpener if I would purchase and learn to use a good sharpening system like the Wolverine. So many people use them and recommend them that they can't be wrong. But I sensed something in your post that sounds like we share a little of the same mind set. If I can do something without buying a special tool or jig, I'll usually try it that way first. I've been sharpening on a regular old 8" grinder since the beginning of my turning. All I've done is to make a larger platform to rest the tool on than the one that came with the grinder. To me it was something that I had to learn from experience but once I learned it's just a natural motion on the wheel in a matter of seconds and I'm back to turning. So don't let it keep you from turning. Give it a try and if it doesn't work for you then you can always buy or build a jig.

[Gary Max]

I use a 2 x 42 inch belt sander with the rest it came with. I only spend seconds to get my tools sharp.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use a wolverine jig and it is pretty easy to learn. Now I am trying to learn how to sharpen freehand.

[Reed Gray]

Mike's clip on free hand sharpening is a good start, but pretty minimal for how to do it. I converted a few years back, and will never use a jig again.

I will disagree that it is difficult, most of that is in the mind, not in the actual functions involved. If you have basic turning skills with a gouge, no how to present the cutting edge to the wood, can move with your body, and roll the tool as you do a lot of times when cutting, you can free hand sharpen. It is easier if you have a platform to establish your angles.

Set the angle. There are plenty of jigs, or you can eye ball. Grip like Mike does, a little above center/balance point. I present the nose first, and roll to the wing. Some start on the wing and roll to the nose. I then do the other side. Keep the gouge handle at your side, and move with your body. For doing the 'other side' (left for me), I move the gouge to the other side. Important to remember to move with your body, not your arms as most of us are not ambidextrious. You can cross hands and rotate all the way from one wing through the nose, to the other wing as well. Stuart Batty only sharpens from the left side so the handle doesn't get in the way of the grinder and your body. He starts on one wing and rolls all the way through. Thing here is you don't need a perfect profile. My nose is never exactly centered. I just take a bit more off that side the next time. If you have small facets as in not a perfect roll through, it makes almost no difference, the tool still cuts fine. The only time I had one that didn't cut well, the nose was kind of snaggle toothed. If the wings are a bit concave, it still cuts, unless they are WAY concave, but that is fixable.

Really, it takes only minimal practice, a coach of course helps. I will be in San Jose, hopefully as a demonstrator, and if not, then I will find a way to be in the merchants area to show people how simple it really is. Hopefully a short You Tube clip as well.

robo hippy

[Dan Hintz]

Another video suggestion:
Woodturning Workshop... don't recall the episode number offhand, but it's called "Sharpening" something or other, with Alan Lacer (of Lacer Tools fame). I've watched it three times now (DVRed it when it came on a couple of months back), and I'll probably watch it once or twice more before deleting it.

[Phill LeBlanc]

I see this is an old thread - but I have an old question: Should I sharpen old lathe chisels (Butcher, Swan, Buck Bros, Greenlee) with a grinding wheel? I'm wondering if I should let the wheel do it's stuff on HSS and use stones on older steel. Any metallurgists out there? Thanks.

[John Grace]

While the myriad of jigs do create and maintain consistency, I have found the simple robots hippy platform sharpening setup repeatable, relatively quick to learn, quite affordable relative to jigs, and just as important for me...affordable.

[Ron Rutter]

I use a 2 x 42 inch belt sander with the rest it came with. I only spend seconds to get my tools sharp.
Gary.Is you backing plate up tight behind the belt on your grinder?I have found that the edge is rounded over otherwise.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Please note that this thread is over 5 years old!!

[Marvin Hasenak]

While the myriad of jigs do create and maintain consistency, I have found the simple robots hippy platform sharpening setup repeatable, relatively quick to learn, quite affordable relative to jigs, and just as important for me...affordable.
I have a similar set up, but mine is a old drill bit sharpening guide. I use it like of the PSI systems https://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCMPLUS.html The only difference is I have it rigged up on a 2" wide belt sander.

[jeff oldham]

reed I got your system and its great,,i encourage everyone,,even if they have the wolverine system to get yours,,,i still use the wolverine for bowl gouges and spindle gouges but yours is unbeatable for scrappers and skews,,,and honestly,,i use yours more than anything I have,,since I have been watching your videos my scrappers does not sit on the shelf,,,thank you a lot,,,