Jool Tool sharpening system

[Bill Wyko]

While I was at the AAW symposium, I saw a demo being done by a woman named Anie, she is the owner of Jooltool. At first I was a little skeptical but after standing there and seeing for my own eyes the edge she got on my Synergy gouge, I was convinced it was a great sharpening system. But, I had planned on getting a Foredom rotary tool at the show and had to decide between the two. Then I walked by a little later and she was doing a demo with a rotary tool, to my surprise, the tool also can attach a rotary system to it as well. That was it, my order was placed. The way the system works is, you have a disc with slots in it. When it's spinning, you look through the wheel at your tool and can see the surface being sharpened. The wheels have grits as tiny as 1/2 micron, there also diamond wheels available for sharpening carbide. I also found that my gouge seems to hold the edge much longer due to it being sharpened on a flat plane vs a curved stone. Here's a pic of my gouge after 2 bowls and a pistol grip handle for an airplane brake handle. Seems to be just as sharp as when I started. I'll post pics of the machine later tonight.
jooltool.jpg

[Bob Bergstrom]

There always seems to be quite a few guys watching when this attractive lady is demoing. She is quite good at sharpening. She was sharpening my friends jack knife when she caught the edge and the knife came out of her hand and fell to the floor. She paused counted her fingers and laugh. It is usually not sufficient to pull items from your hand , but she may have had a loose grip. There videos of a sharper spindle gouge that cuts unbelievably well? Enjoy your new toy.

[Bill Wyko]

I'm surprised at how fine a finish I can get on it. The real test will be when I turn something segmented. We'll see if any glue loads up around the gouge. Something kind of funny happened though, a guy was debating his hand stone sharpening technique with her. Her comment was "you can rub sticks together to make fire too, doesn't make it a better way to start a fire" I had to laugh. I did talk to several people that have older versions of the machine, every one of them said they really like it & use it all the time. I checked with them before making my purchase.

[Jeff Gilfor]

I have Sorby's ProEdge sharpening system and can say that flat ground sharpening beats hollow ground for sure. The Jool system though suffers from (in my opinion) several flaws.

One, the disks are rather small in surface area, so will wear out faster than a 2 x 30.5 inch long belt, and they are more expensive to purchase. Also, the availability of jigs is perhaps an issue as well. Lastly, I don't particularly care for the fact that you need to contort yourself to sharpen while looking at the tip of the tool; and that you cannot change this position easily. A belt sharpener can be tilted from horizontal to vertical, and anything in between.

I have 600 and 1200 grit belts for my sharpener. With the 600 grit, my tools are polished looking. With the 1200 grit, my skew is sharp as a sharp straight razor (2 micron tip).

[Syd Sellers]

I agree with Jeff, having moved away from hollow ground tools, catches and torn grain may not be a thing of the past but greatly reduced.... A flat bevel allows the tool to rub much easier with no fear of the edge coming into play till you want it to...

[J.D.Redwine]

Syd and Jeff thanks for the comments about the difference between flat and hollow ground tools.

[Scott Hackler]

I looked at this tool while at the symposium in Phoenix. It is a interesting device for sure and it does polish/grind tools down to a mirror finish. But after serious thought from a tool hoarder... I decided against buying it. Why? Mainly because I already have a slow speed grinder with the Wolverine sharpening jig and a fairly new 180 grit CBN wheel. All of which are made of steel and will last a very long time. The finish I achieve off this combo, while certainly not the mirror finish of this sharpener is pretty darn good, fast and works well for my style of turning. I, personally, do not buy into the argument of hollow grind vs flat grind. It is irrelevant IF you grind the heal off your gouges while sharpening on the grinder and stop trying while the entire bevel is touching (see bruising) the wood.

It did look like a neat deal though and I am sure it will work as demo'd, but it seemed a little like a novelty than a tool that should last the test of time. The build was a composite or plastic of some sort.

On the flip side, it is very compact and might make for a great travel sharpening system.

...again, just my observations....

[Brodie Brickey]

I also saw it at the Symposium. I don't think of this tool as a grinder. It is really a polisher. Any profile shaping would still need to be done on a grinder. Hence, I won't be acquiring this tool.

I have a slow speed grinder and Wolverine also. I don't think there is any need to go beyond this.

Mainly because I already have a slow speed grinder with the Wolverine sharpening jig and a fairly new 180 grit CBN wheel. All of which are made of steel and will last a very long time. The finish I achieve off this combo, while certainly not the mirror finish of this sharpener is pretty darn good, fast and works well for my style of turning. I, personally, do not buy into the argument of hollow grind vs flat grind. It is irrelevant IF you grind the heal off your gouges while sharpening on the grinder and stop trying while the entire bevel is touching (see bruising) the wood.

On the flip side, it is very compact and might make for a great travel sharpening system.

...again, just my observations....

[Jeff Gilfor]

This impresses me as a tool looking for an application. It is very similar to the WorksSharp system that has been around for a while.

i agree that it is designed to do jewelry and stone polishing and not heavy duty lathe tool sharpening. Can you use it for that? Sure, but the disadvantages are such that the several much more purpose-built and well tested systems already on the market would be better bets for anyone looking to buy a sharpening system.

[Bill Wyko]

No one mentioned its ability to be used as a rotary tool as well. I was deciding between a foredom & the Jooltool. I figured I get a sharpener with my rotary tool. I need it to do more spiral work in the future like this.

[louis pittman]

Scott what speed do sharpen your tools

[Scott Hackler]

Scott what speed do sharpen your tools

Louis,

I have a Woodcraft slow speed grinder, 1725rpm. Works good with the standard AO wheels that come with it, but with the CBN wheel....it's exceptional!

But, I do hate walking to the grinder, so I do have a habit of honing a micro bevel on the tool edge with a 600 grit flat diamond hone! Maybe I need to relocate the grinder station closer to the lathe!