Who would have thought sharpening would be FUN!!!

:D: After playing around with the new Wolverine sharpening system, I do believe I got it set right !! Instead of multiple bevels on the turning tools, they are now a nice crisp even bevel. Turn pretty sharp too !! I do believe I will need a wet grinder to do the final finish sharpening. Don't want to spend the money on the Tormek. It is nice, but EXPENSIVE !! So, what are some good 2nd choice brands for Wet sharpeners? Doing wood chisels , Turning tools, and possibly in the future; some hand planes.

Thanks,

Clarence.

Most turners work with the burr direct from a dry bench grinder. To do a quick refinement some use a handheld diamond hone. The best investment I have made for sharpening, especially for turning tools is a 180# CBN wheel. I go from there to bench stones for chisels, plane irons and the like. There are as many opinions on sharpening as there are woodworkers, but I think you will find that CBN wheels have become popular for good reason- they run cool, maintain dimension, don't need dressing, make less dust and are very durable.

I have the Wolverine system but intend to add a Roborest for consistent angles on different tools.

I’ve got a Makita 9820-2. Not sure it can do turning tools but it’s great with chisels and plane blades, can even do up to 15” (?) planer/jointer knives.

I'm with Kevin here the only tool I hone is a skew. Right off the 180 and it works for me.

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Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness

Most turners work with the burr direct from a dry bench grinder. To do a quick refinement some use a handheld diamond hone. The best investment I have made for sharpening, especially for turning tools is a 180# CBN wheel. I go from there to bench stones for chisels, plane irons and the like. There are as many opinions on sharpening as there are woodworkers, but I think you will find that CBN wheels have become popular for good reason- they run cool, maintain dimension, don't need dressing, make less dust and are very durable.

I have the Wolverine system but intend to add a Roborest for consistent angles on different tools.

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There are a number of Tormek clones on the market, but no clue as to if they are the same quality. With bench chisels and plane irons, after getting the primary edge, I believe most go to the fine stones and honing compounds.

I also hone my skew chisels, but don't bother honing my gouges.

robo hippy

I've seen Tormek clones from WEN and Rikon. Watched a couple videos about the WEN from a professional knife maker and he was impressed. From what I remember, most of the Tormek parts fit on it and are much better quality.

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Originally Posted by Clarence Martinn

:D: After playing around with the new Wolverine sharpening system, I do believe I got it set right !! Instead of multiple bevels on the turning tools, they are now a nice crisp even bevel. Turn pretty sharp too !! I do believe I will need a wet grinder to do the final finish sharpening. Don't want to spend the money on the Tormek. It is nice, but EXPENSIVE !! So, what are some good 2nd choice brands for Wet sharpeners? Doing wood chisels , Turning tools, and possibly in the future; some hand planes.

Thanks,

Clarence.

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There are zillions of ways to sharpen and almost all of them will work, but some work better for different types/styles of turning and for different turners.

If you sharpen on the Wolverine Vari-grind jig it won't match up easily with the Tormek jig. What I do instead is use the Tormek jig on the bench grinder when needed, which is only occasionally.

While I use bench grinders and Tormek with CBN wheels (1200 grit for the Tormek for my spindle gouges), you can easily skip the Tormek. For most sharpening I use a 600 grit CBN wheel on the grinder and a 60 grit CBN for removing a lot of metal when reshaping a tool. A lot of people say they use the 180 grit CBN for most of their sharpening. Some of how you sharpen depends on how and what you turn and your level of skill.

Some people leave the grinder burr on the tool edge. I personally remove all grinder burrs with either an extra fine diamond hone or a leather strop or stropping wheel with polishing compound. I use polishing compound on a flat board to strop a razor edge on my skew chisels.

JKJ

The Robo Rest is such an efficient and effective sharpening sytem. In seconds I can change from a 40 deg bevel on my basic bowl gouge to a 50 deg for a small bowl gouge to a 70 deg for a scraper, and so on. Whether one likes to push and roll or fan, the Robo Rest accomodates both flawlessly. It allows me to change between gouges (with different bevel angles) and scrapers without hesitation as the wood requires, knowing I can adjust the rest and touch up the edge in seconds.

Tormek works well for my gouges and scrapers. With a diamond wheel I can even sharpen my carbide cutters on EasyWood Tools a couple of times. For other tools, like chisels and planes, I hand sharpen using a combination of diamond and Shapton Glass Stones. There is no one way to get good results for all tools; for me at least. The best way to sharpen is the one you use all the time and get good at. For me, after years of trying different methods, I found it's more a matter of use and practice than anything else. So, whatever works best for you is the method you should perfect.

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Originally Posted by Matt Day

I’ve got a Makita 9820-2. Not sure it can do turning tools but it’s great with chisels and plane blades, can even do up to 15” (?) planer/jointer knives.

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Matt,
I was beginning to think that I was the only feller left who owned (and used) the Makita. Excellent tool, and WAY less expensive than others.