Sharpening routine poll

[Bob Noles]

My curiosity (nosiness) has me wondering when most of y'all sharpen your tools, so I thought I would take a poll and find out.

[Raymond Overman]

Actually A, B, & C. Sometimes before I finish, sometimes after I'm done, and always when they need it.

[John Hart]

Yep...Me too. I want mine super sharp all the time. I sharpen before I start and, depending on the wood and conditions, I will sharpen throughout a session many times.

[Jeremiah Jordan]

Okay, I admit it. I do not sharpen my own tools. A fellow turner at my home chruch sharpens them for me. But, I was at the NWA show in Saratoga NY and saw these tools and instantly found my 21 st birthday present.

Take a gander at these guys, they saw they never have to be sharpened:

http://newedgecuttingtools.com/welcome.htm

[Ernie Nyvall]

Same here. With some woods it seems like I am at the grinder more than the lathe.

Ernie

[Jim Davenport]

I sharpen mine several times while turning. Especially scrapers. I think the burr left from grinding gives a much better cut.
I usually sharpen the tools I used when I'm done turning.

[Don Baer]

I pick up my tool, check for a burr on the edge with my thumb if it good I start turning, if not I go to the grinder. Then as I turn I sharpen when necessary.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Okay, I admit it. I do not sharpen my own tools. A fellow turner at my home chruch sharpens them for me. But, I was at the NWA show in Saratoga NY and saw these tools and instantly found my 21 st birthday present.

Take a gander at these guys, they saw they never have to be sharpened:

http://newedgecuttingtools.com/welcome.htm


Shameful... just absolutely shameful.:D

Ernie

[Bernie Weishapl]

I do B & C. I always try to sharpen my tools I used after I am done and as needed during turning.

[Jim Becker]

A, B & C for me, too. Sharpening is something that is a continuous operation, sometimes after only a few revolutions of the piece if it's heavily spalted and the cuts are finishing shear cuts. (The calcite that makes up the black lines will take off the edge nearly instantaneously)

I start with sharp tools and try to end with sharp tools, but always check them before starting the next turning day.

[Jim Becker]

Okay, I admit it. I do not sharpen my own tools. A fellow turner at my home chruch sharpens them for me. But, I was at the NWA show in Saratoga NY and saw these tools and instantly found my 21 st birthday present.

Take a gander at these guys, they saw they never have to be sharpened:

http://newedgecuttingtools.com/welcome.htm


I tried a few of these a year and a half ago as a potential review (no cost to me) and didn't particularly like them. Most are really aimed at production spindle work...which I don't do. I declined to do the review as a result.

[Andy Hoyt]

All depends on the task or session at hand. But in general - frequently.

[Bob Justin]

Like most others who have posted. . . When in doubt, I sharpen to start and again when needed and usually when I finish, before they get put away.
That new Tormek system on my back bench makes it a whole lot easier to keep em' sharp.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

With my cheapy tools, it seems I'm sharpening more than turning....:o

[Reed Gray]

It seems that I sharpen them more as needed. When hogging out material, my weapons of mass destruction will get a bit dull, but if they are still cutting, I don't really mind. I always use a fresh edge for the finish cut. I have 4 gouges that I use. One M2 Ellsworth, a Oneway, a Glaser, and a Packard. The harder 'lasts 3 times longer' gouges don't seem to keep that fresh from the grinder edge any longer than the M2HSS. The difference is that they will keep the 'I can still hog out some more ' edge a lot longer. I got to see Stewart Batty last year, and found one thing that he said very eye opening. His comment was that the fresh edge lasts all of about 30 seconds. This equates to about one half mile of shavings.
robo hippy

[John Hart]

I posted this quote in another thread...But it seems appropriate here. This is a quote from Richard Raffan's book, "Turning Wood"


"Remember that wood turning tools remove a great deal of wood very quickly and consequently need attention more often than a joiners chisel might. Don't worry if you seem to be going back to the grinder every few minutes. A fine edge can be lost very quickly regardless of the steel. With very hard woods it is not unusual to regrind after every three or four cuts, and I can recall keeping the grinder running when turning pieces of teak and elm with silica in the grain.
Too many of my students worry about their inability to achieve a so-called perfect bevel, when the shape of the edge (and the way it is presented to the wood) is usually much more important.
I would like to dispel the myths still hawked by some woodturning gurus that there are perfect tools, steels, bevels, and so on, and that little else works. I feel that I'm fairly typical of many professional turners who temper their quest for perfection in these matters with a need to earn a living. Watch any master woodworker producing magnificent shavings and you will find that work suddenly stops while the edge receives a quick hone or grind. The master knows when to resharpen from experience gained during thousands of hours of work....."

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Now I'm one of the experience challenged turners but here's my take based on my limited turning .....I will usually sharpen before I start.....several times during the turning........and have a India slip stone that I will use several times before going back to the grinder. The wood and the shavings that I am producing or lack there of tell me when I need to regrind. Even on those small boxes especially since they've mostly been made of oak, regrind a couple of times ....but the key word is lightly.:confused:

[Steve Ash]

Ohhh mannn....:( I gotta buy a sharpening device too? :D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve.....you don't have to buy a grinding device.....but beating that spinning wood into the shape you want is really time consuming and has fewer successful results..........DAMHIKT!:D

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Well, my limited turning surely tempers any advice I'd give, but I know that I've got to go to the grinder more often, I get so engrossed in the turning that I go past the point where I should hit the grinder. I'll suddenly notice, that things are not shaping up the way there were a few cuts ago, and realize I need to put anew edge on the tool. I promise myself that I'll do better next time, but do it all over yet again. I almost need a 2 minute timer or something :p

Even with my cheapo tools, the diff with a new edge is great.

Steve, you don't have to buy nothing, build it! :D

Cheers!

[Don Orr]

Jeremiah, where in Upstate NY are you ? I am a member of NWA and the turning group Adirondack Woodturners. I was at the show all weekend and did a lecture/demo each day. Check out our website at adirondackwoodturners.org for more info. We're also having another woodturning symposium in Albany this October. Stop in and say hello!

[Dick Strauss]

I want to turn everyone on to a new tool I use to help keep my tools sharp. I use an 8" grinder with two white wheels normally. I tried Harbor Freight's cheap diamond paddles for touch-up tool touch-up but they didn't hold up well (the diamond/metal matrix came loose from the plastic backer). I recently found a multi-grit AlOX sharpening stone (about 2x6in) at HF for under $3. It has fine and medium sides. It works great for a quick touch-up on turning tools and leaves a nice burr. I leave it right next to my lathe. It less time than my grinder takes to come up to speed (less than 10 seconds) to put the burr back on your tools.

Yes, I still use my grinder for shaping after a few touch-ups with the AlOx stone!

[Jeremiah Jordan]

Hey Don. I am originally from the heldeberg mountains, in a small place called Berne. I just moved out to my cousins, but plan on moving back to Berne soon.
I could only make it to the show on that Sunday, do not mean to hurt your feelings but me and my dad went to go see Roy Underhill's seminar. He has a wicked cool lathe.

I will log onto the site, thanks Don.

[Bob Noles]

This has been an interesting poll. At this time 12 sharpen before they start, and 4 sharpen when they finish. That is only 16 possible people that approach the the lathe with a sharp tool out of a possible 81. We already know 3 turn with dull tools all the time because they admit it. :D

Thinking for my own way of hoping to do it, I would like to sharpen all the tools I used when I finish for the day. This way they will be sharp when I get ready to turn and get me started sooner.... but you know what they say about good intentions :eek:

Thanks for all the wonderful replies and participation. These polls are always fun as well as educational.