Tool sharpening for the novice turner

[Robert Marshall]

I've been turning since February this year, when I acquired a Jet 1236, mostly using carbide-tipped tools. I think I'm ready to branch out from those, and start acquiring some HSS tools, like scrapers and gouges. Mostly, I turn bowls. I'll need to learn how to sharpen them, of course.

I have an 8" bench grinder, but no sharpening jigs.

Can someone point me to a primer on how to sharpen lathe tools: what jigs to use, and how to use, etc. Maybe that's been covered in one or more good discussions here; links to those would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Reed Gray]

There are a bunch of ways to do it. I have a couple of sharpening clips up on You Tube if you type in robo hippy. Mostly I do platform sharpening rather than jigs. I have another clip up Sharpening with Larry Karlin, a friend of mine and mentor who uses a number of jigs. I will get the links up. Another good one is from John Lucas.

Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdZ4iDyPhWo with Larry.

I do know there is one DVD from Kirk Deheer, who works with Craft Supplies, and I haven't seen it, but have chatted with Kirk, and it sounds like he really knows what he is talking about. Glen Lucas has one as well, and he is a master in efficiency. If you have a local club, they most likely will have some in their library, as well as mentors. You can't beat a hands on session.

robo hippy

[Roger Chandler]

The Oneway Wolverine sharpening system is the most used sharpening system with 8" grinders and is pretty much the system the great majority of turners that I know of use........a well spent $100, for sure!

[Wayne Kuhn]

The Oneway Wolverine system is a beautiful thing, inexpensive, simple and easy to use, repeatable results. Take your time setting it up on your grinder and you won't look back.

[Aaron Craven]

For a variety of reasons which I won't get into here, I don't really have access to a grinder or any real jigs (except a V-notch jig I made myself for my roughing gouge)... I have taught myself to freehand on a cheap Harbor Freight belt sander. I'm sure my tools are crap compared to some of the really experienced turners, but I've manage to make them work for me...

[Barry McFadden]

A few years ago I switched from a grinding wheel to a belt system when I went to a sharpening workshop at Lee Valley. It was pointed out that the wheel leaves a concave surface on the bevel of the tool where the belt leaves it flat. It's been working well for me and I would be interested in other members opinions of the two methods.

[Prashun Patel]

I have a slow speed grinder and a cbn wheel with a varigrind jig. I haven't tried the others but this system works so perfectly, I haven't wanted to.

good luck. I have found the feel of a well sharpened gouge surfing down the side of a bowl to be one of the joys of life!!!!

[Brad Barnhart]

I've been turning about six months, & am learning to free hand sharpen at the grinder. I started with the better of the two hf sets of chisels, & have had good luck so far. Am far from a professional, but I'm a perfectionist in most everything I do. So I'll work at it til I get it right. I've read a couple books on tool sharpening, & have practiced on some old tools I acquired with another lathe. I'm getting it figured out. I would like to ask, why is it that when one thinks they don't have the best money can buy, you get the idea your tools are crap, Mr. Aaron? At this point, your tools & equipment are evidently the best you can afford, Sir. Not to get on a soap box, but who cares? In time you'll have better tools. The hot shots on here didn't acquire their shiny tools all at once, I'm sure. If they tell ya different, they've got deep pockets, or are full of bullish**! I'm not a young man myself, & have very few new tools in my shop, nor have the desire to own them! But I've spent 15 years acquiring the tools & equipment I do have. They're not all name brand, nor are they show room presentable, but they do what I need them to, when I need them. And, I can work on most all of my tools without a ten year college education. My apologies for the short rant, but your tools are just a piece of your hobby. You are the rest of the puzzle. Make the best of what you have so when you do acquire expensive tools, you'll do work ten times over what you are now! Enjoy the day!

[Marvin Hasenak]

Spend some time watching You Tube videos, and reading about homemade sharpening jigs. You will save yourself some money and most importantly learn why you need to sharpen to the various angles etc.. This hobby can be as expensive as you want to make it, but buying the latest gadgets without knowing why you think you need it will not make you a better craftsman.

[Mark Greenbaum]

The Oneway Wolverine sharpening system is the most used sharpening system with 8" grinders and is pretty much the system the great majority of turners that I know of use........a well spent $100, for sure!
I just had a lucky find - whole wolverine system for $75, base, angle jig, skew jig, and even the DVD. Early Christmas. I also lucked out and won our club's President's Challenge for my first hollowed ornament (not pretty, but I did it, so I got a raffle ticket). I hollowed that out with a homemade mini bent gouge of HSS. Not too hard to make and worked well.

[Aaron Craven]

I've been turning about six months, & am learning to free hand sharpen at the grinder. I started with the better of the two hf sets of chisels, & have had good luck so far. Am far from a professional, but I'm a perfectionist in most everything I do. So I'll work at it til I get it right. I've read a couple books on tool sharpening, & have practiced on some old tools I acquired with another lathe. I'm getting it figured out. I would like to ask, why is it that when one thinks they don't have the best money can buy, you get the idea your tools are crap, Mr. Aaron? At this point, your tools & equipment are evidently the best you can afford, Sir. Not to get on a soap box, but who cares? In time you'll have better tools. The hot shots on here didn't acquire their shiny tools all at once, I'm sure. If they tell ya different, they've got deep pockets, or are full of bullish**! I'm not a young man myself, & have very few new tools in my shop, nor have the desire to own them! But I've spent 15 years acquiring the tools & equipment I do have. They're not all name brand, nor are they show room presentable, but they do what I need them to, when I need them. And, I can work on most all of my tools without a ten year college education. My apologies for the short rant, but your tools are just a piece of your hobby. You are the rest of the puzzle. Make the best of what you have so when you do acquire expensive tools, you'll do work ten times over what you are now! Enjoy the day!

Point well taken, Brad! Though I was referring more to the grind I've put on them than the tools themselves. The chisels I have are also the Harbor Freight chisels (Windsor Design, I think) that you mentioned. Overall, I've been very impressed with the quality of the build and the steel (the initial grinds were just so-so, but that's typical of any set from what I've read). I do hate that that set didn't come with any bowl gouges. Until very recently, I was making bowls with two skews and a round-nosed scraper! Finally got a Woodstock 3/8" gouge. Seems to be good steel, but the initial grind was useless. I quickly figured out how to put a swept-back grind on it -- again, freehand -- and I'm loving it!

The edges I make free-handing are far from perfect, and I feel like I waste a fair amount of steel trying to get them right sometimes... so I guess I was just saying that if you put the end of my gouge next to that of a truly experience turner (just look at some of the youtube videos out there! beautiful polished surfaces!), they'll look pretty ugly, and they may not be quite as sharp or well-honed. But yes, I am proud of what I've managed to do with them and will keep striving to improve. I have this idea in my head that by the time I am ready to consider getting a grinder and the necessary jigs, I'll have improved free-handing enough that I don't want them any more!

[Tony De Masi]

Robert, watching the videos will help, some. But for me it never really took hold until I had someone actually show me in person how to sharpen with the Wolverine jig. You don't say where home is, but I would check to see where your closest turning club is and find someone to help you out. Knowing what I know now I encourage new turners to learn how to sharpen before even thinking about putting a piece of wood on the lathe.

[Brad Barnhart]

Good job Mr. Aaron! Keep practicing!! My advice, as crazy as it may sound, look around at some pawn shops, or yard sales & pick yourself up some old chisels to practice your sharpening techniques on. I was blessed with some junk tools with a lathe I bought, & that's how I got pointed in the right direction before I started in on my working tools. Ehhh, the utube works for some, but it never caught on for me. I'm a hands on type a feller, & I have to learn things in my own time. Just keep at it, brother! You'll figure out what works for you! Good luck!!

[John Sincerbeaux]

I have a slow speed grinder and a cbn wheel with a varigrind jig. I haven't tried the others but this system works so perfectly, I haven't wanted to.

good luck. I have found the feel of a well sharpened gouge surfing down the side of a bowl to be one of the joys of life!!!!


What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Aaron Craven]

Good job Mr. Aaron! Keep practicing!! My advice, as crazy as it may sound, look around at some pawn shops, or yard sales & pick yourself up some old chisels to practice your sharpening techniques on. I was blessed with some junk tools with a lathe I bought, & that's how I got pointed in the right direction before I started in on my working tools. Ehhh, the utube works for some, but it never caught on for me. I'm a hands on type a feller, & I have to learn things in my own time. Just keep at it, brother! You'll figure out what works for you! Good luck!!

Out there today actually! :)

[Rick Bailey]

Good job Mr. Aaron! Keep practicing!! My advice, as crazy as it may sound, look around at some pawn shops, or yard sales & pick yourself up some old chisels to practice your sharpening techniques on. I was blessed with some junk tools with a lathe I bought, & that's how I got pointed in the right direction before I started in on my working tools. Ehhh, the utube works for some, but it never caught on for me. I'm a hands on type a feller, & I have to learn things in my own time. Just keep at it, brother! You'll figure out what works for you! Good luck!!


What Brad said
What works for some may not work for you.
That's what it's all about, You'll see what works for you.
I did.

[Brad Barnhart]

Good morning Gentlemen!�� Its been brought to my attention that my wording, or the way I said what I did in my first response, may have offended some of you. My Sincerest apologies. I meant no harm, in any way, shape, or form. In my own sweet way, I was merely trying to make a point to the original op. Folks here have been very helpful to me, & I, in no way, want to destroy that relationship. I'm the type of feller, that, if I've got something to say, I'm going to say it. I'm often reminded by my bride that I'm no longer among truck drivers, I'm among folks with feelings. In short, again, gentlemen, I'm a beginner here too, & am, by no means a professional. I'm slowly learning what works for me, & need guidance too. My apologies for offending you. I'll do better with my creativity of wording. Enjoy the day, gentlemen.

[Guy Belleman]

I got good at free hand sharpening for a couple of years, but then broke down and got the Varigrind jig. Made my own sliding pivot point holder and it is a joy to use. Quick, repeatable results, grinding a minimum of metal each time, are all reasons I wished I had gotten it years before.

[Royce Wallace]

I have been turning for about 40+ years. I learned to freehand grind a long time ago. However, I concluded Oneway Wolverine jigs for doing the job. I believe it extends tool life some what. I use it all the time with CBN wheels and a 1750rpm grinder.

[hu lowery]

I've been turning since February this year, when I acquired a Jet 1236, mostly using carbide-tipped tools. I think I'm ready to branch out from those, and start acquiring some HSS tools, like scrapers and gouges. Mostly, I turn bowls. I'll need to learn how to sharpen them, of course.

I have an 8" bench grinder, but no sharpening jigs.

Can someone point me to a primer on how to sharpen lathe tools: what jigs to use, and how to use, etc. Maybe that's been covered in one or more good discussions here; links to those would be appreciated.

Thanks!


Robert,

Hand grinding is an art and skill all by itself. Most can learn how to do a decent job given time. Very few can match a fixture and jig every time. A consistently sharp and near identically shaped edge makes wood turning far easier. I have read of more than one person who has hand ground for many years who still went to the fixture and jig purely for convenience.

I too am going to strongly recommend the Wolverine jig, vari-grind one, and fixtures. There are other sharpening systems out there that might be just as good or better but the Wolverine works well, is economical for what you get, and most importantly is the small block chevy of sharpening. If you have a question or issue and come to a forum for help the odds are that others have the answer. If you are using the Bad Beaver ZX and are having difficulties it is far less likely someone can help you.

If you decide you want to mostly freehand sharpen, Reed Gray right here in this thread has a very nice little table to work off of that is very reasonably priced. I wanted one but then realized I have three or four tables already laying around that I never use. I use one once in a blue moon, not much sense in buying another one to just sit around. Still might buy Reed's one day, would be nice to own with the repeatable angles it offers. I have two more grinders to set up, oughta be room for that table on one of them . . . .

Hu

[Reed Gray]

There are two styles of 'free hand' sharpening. One, you have a finger under the tool while it is on the tool rest, and determine your bevel angles by raising or lowering the handle. The other method, you set the platform at the desired angle, and by keeping the tool flat on the tool rest, you get a consistent angle. In the days before the CBN wheels, most of the free hand sharpeners used coarser wheels, in the 60 to 80 grit range. Some claim the more serrated edge cuts better. Also, I figure that with the coarser grit wheel, you spent less time going back and forth to get a fresh edge. The CBN wheels have changed this for the better as far as I am concerned. If you watch any platform sharpener, the motions they use are the exact same as they use when turning and cutting. Pivot your body, and keep your arms in fairly close to your body. The difficult part is setting the platform angles. If you do a fair amount of turning, you have the skills, you just need to learn to transfer them to the grinding wheel. I had all sorts of variations in my grinds when I had jigs. I still have them when I platform sharpen. The thing here to remember is that you don't need a 'perfect' grind to cut. If it is pretty close, cut till it needs to be resharpened, and then correct a little at a time. The worst mistakes I made where when I went over the edge of the grinding wheel and put a big divot in the wing. I don't think I have done that one since switching to the 1 1/2 inch wide wheels.

I have reshot my platform sharpening video, and hope to have it up soon.

robo hippy

[Geoff Whaling]

But for me it never really took hold until I had someone actually show me in person how to sharpen with the Wolverine jig.


buying the latest gadgets without knowing why you think you need it will not make you a better craftsman.


It was pointed out that the wheel leaves a concave surface on the bevel of the tool where the belt leaves it flat. It's been working well for me and I would be interested in other members opinions of the two methods.

Robert, Learning to master tool sharpening & selection of tool grinds & profiles to suit the wood type and profile being turned marks a significant milestone in many turners development. Life becomes so much sweeter as the turner is no longer battling to achieve a good cut with less tear out and can concentrate on the more enjoyable aspects of turning, perfecting profiles and simply enjoying making shavings.

Most of the arguments put forward about the benefits of flat or concave grinds have just as many supporters as detractors with turners such as Eli Aviserra even preferring a convex surface on the bevel of his skews. The import thing is the cutting edge, all other factors such as tool cross section, (V or U or parabolic flutes on gouges; radiused, arised or square corners on skews etc) bevel angles, grind profiles, presentation angles etc. serve to make life easier for the turner. All are important factors which combine to improve the success of the cut/scrape being performed.

Learning how to present the cutting edge and how to sharpen is best achieved one on one with a competent mentor who turns in a style you would like to emulate. If your circumstances don't permit that luxury, then I would suggest finding a recognized & respected turner and follow their advice in DVD's etc.

I have assisted several turners to achieve the grinds they want to use with the equipment they have available. Recently we used a very cheap wet stone grinder wit a 5" wheel and a home made "wolverine style" jig to achieve a swept back grind on a bowl gouge. The grind was not as well polished as my Tormek sharpened gouges but it closely replicated the desired / preferred profile in all the important areas. A little work with a diamond hone improved the edge and wallah one very happy turner. All that the turner was missing was someone to show & guide him through how to achieve the grind profile with what he had. The wet stone wheel will definitely not last as long as the Tormek will but it achieved the goal. Often it is the small nuances that vastly improve grinding success the turner is missing while viewing video clips.

[Stan Smith]

Spend some time watching You Tube videos, and reading about homemade sharpening jigs. You will save yourself some money and most importantly learn why you need to sharpen to the various angles etc.. This hobby can be as expensive as you want to make it, but buying the latest gadgets without knowing why you think you need it will not make you a better craftsman.

Excellent advice, Marvin. Been there, done that. I use a Carver Sharp that I've had for years--bought mainly for my carving tools. It's 1750 rpms. I think you probably can do as well with a HF belt sander and your own jigs though.