HELP!!! Sharpening skews and bowl steadies.

[Hilel Salomon]

Folks,

After almost two years of turning and lots of ground down chisels, I finally-more or less-know how to sharpen a bowl gouge on my grinder. I have discovered that the Tormek is made for those with patience and perfectionists, none of those sins pertaining to me. I still don't know how to sharpen a skew, and no matter how often I look at skew, son of skew and even grandson of skew dvd's I can't get a nice unbutchered skew. I have the attachment for my wolverine jig but really can't get an even bevel. Any and all advice welcome
As long as I'm at it, what do you folks use for a bowl steady? I've seen the oneway and wonder if it will work well with a long vase???
Thanks, Hilel.

[Paul Heely]

I do my skews with the wolverine jig or using a sander for the skew that I want a flat vice hollow grind bevel on.

I have found one thing that is important no matter the method. And that's to not use the grind a little and look, grind a little and look method. Once I touch the skew to the wheel or sandpaper it stays in contact until that side of of the skew is done. Before I figured this out I would end up with a really horrible face with multiple facets and it would not cut well at all.

Once I figure out how to get a single faceted face the other problem is getting the bevel and skew angle you want. I actually measure both each time I sharpen so I know if I need to make any adjustments. I find it easier to make small adjustments all the time than to wait until the angles are way off and then have to grind a bunch of metal to get the tool back in shape.

That's my $1.298. Hope it helps some.

[Jim Becker]

For the bowl steady question, the OneWay is a very nice unit if you want to buy a commercial offering. You can also make a very nice bowl steady setup with a few roller-blade wheels and some scrap materials if you want to economize and have the time.

[Patrick Taylor]

Do you have the tormek?

I have a tormek and I use this jig for my skew. Works like a charm.

[Hilel Salomon]

Thanks for all your help. Yup, I bought a new Tormek here in Columbia with all the fixings-almost none of which I have ever used, and I bought a used Tormek with turners' jigs in VA. I also have a Makita, grinders up the kazoo and almost a dozen other sharpening jigs. The fact is though that I am terrible. Sometimes I feel like a kid at a Carny show. I see other people doing things with ease and jump and buy the stuff, only to be reminded of how inept I am. I've tried the Tormek but it takes time and I always want to just sharpen and get back to the lathe. I'll try it again, as I have five skews here and four in VA that are in desperate need of sharpening. I'll also try not to constantly look at the skew as Paul suggested. I look frequently with bowl gouges, but without much problem. Thanks again. Hilel.

[Keith Burns]

I use two of the Oneway Bowl steadies, one on each side of hollow forms. This setup works great and allows for different set ups.

[Patrick Taylor]

I've tried the Tormek but it takes time and I always want to just sharpen and get back to the lathe.


Give the tormek another go with the jig. Once you get the right grind, it really is quick to just get a fresh edge on the tormek. Also, the slow speed makes it easy to not take off too much at one time. ;)

Another thing I do sometimes is touch up the skew on the side of the tormek wheel (DO NOT try this on a regular-speed grinder!)

[Jeff Farris]

One thing that will speed up the job on the TORMEK is to use the vertical mount for the Universal Support instead of the horizontal mount. The horizontal mount is shown in the hand book, and is generally a better choice, but on a skew, particularly when it has been hand ground a few times, the vertical mount will get you where you're going a lot faster.

[Richard Jones]

One thing that will speed up the job on the TORMEK is to use the vertical mount for the Universal Support instead of the horizontal mount. The horizontal mount is shown in the hand book, and is generally a better choice, but on a skew, particularly when it has been hand ground a few times, the vertical mount will get you where you're going a lot faster.

Jeff,

Are you able to sharpen a curved skew in this fashion?

Thanks.

Rich

[Jeff Farris]

Yes. It takes just a little more concentration on the operator's part, because the stone is turning into the cutting edge and pushing the jig away from the Universal Support. Use one hand to push the jig against the bar of the Universal Support and the other to put some pressure against the grindstone.

[Patrick Taylor]

Yes. It takes just a little more concentration on the operator's part, because the stone is turning into the cutting edge and pushing the jig away from the Universal Support. Use one hand to push the jig against the bar of the Universal Support and the other to put some pressure against the grindstone.

Thanks for the tip Jeff, it's helpful to have you adding comments on SMC. :)

[John Terefenko]

One other tip I like to use with the skew and other chisels is to use a red marker and color the cutting edge before I hit the grinder so when I do grind I know what has been hit and what hasn't.

[Jeff Farris]

John has a good tip there -- never cut more than you need to, and keep the bevel uniform so that it cuts the same when you go back to the lathe.

One more tip for skews on a TORMEK that I will mention is that the alignment of the Universal Support and the surface of the grindstone is particularly critical for this application. I almost always true the grindstone before I resharpen a skew. Bring the Universal Support right down to the grindstone and inspect the line of light between the two surfaces. If it isn't perfectly straight, true your stone before you start. That will keep the two bevels the same.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Jeff, I read your postings with special interest. I am in the middle of some turners that dont like the Tormek.They were in awe when Tormek came out with instructions on sharpening the Irish--Ellsworth grind in about a minute. They rode me hard on that issue till then. Thanks.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Patric, what you are showing is the jig with the oval skew. I am asking about a jig that will hold a skew with square cornere. I have 4 of them of various widths. Yes, I can use the low speed grinder, but I see dollar signs going away from me, never to return. I much prefer to get as much cutting as I can from those rascals not watch the sparks and steel disappear. Thanky, Max

[Patrick Taylor]

Patric, what you are showing is the jig with the oval skew. I am asking about a jig that will hold a skew with square cornere.


This same jig is also for the straight skew (oxymoron? :rolleyes: ) If you took the jig piece that the guy's left thumb is on, and rotated it couterclockwise about 20 degrees, so that it rests on the bar all the way along its length, that's how you would hold it for a non-oval skew. You set the relative angle of the inner jig piece to get the skew angel you want. You position the bar in or out to get the right bevel angle. I gently slide the jig back and forth on the bar WITHOUT rotating to get an even grind (because no wheel is perfectly flat).

Hope that helps, if not I can take a picture tonight.

edit: go watch the instructional video here http://www.tormekusa.com/en/jigs/
He does oval and straight skews in the video.

edit again: CLARIFICATION: When I saw oval I do not mean rounded faces, I mean a curved cutting edge.