01-12-2011, 05:19 PM
Hi,
I hope this thread will generate a bit of interest as it is a carry over from my thread covering the turning of chaise longue legs where the subject of tool sharpening arose.
I use lots of cutting tools both machine and hand. Sharpening the tools has always been problematic to me as I never invested in decent sharpening equipment always “making do”. For some years I owned a Denford Sharpedge 16” powered honing machine. This machine was brilliant for sharpening perfect bevels on tools such as planes and chisels and an attachment was available for sharpening gouges but I never owned the attachment.
This Sharpedge had an horizontal grinding/honing abrasive wheel at 16” diameter and the wheel was constantly fed with honing fluid therefore it never heated the tool being sharpened; the downside to me was that the tool was then covered in fluid and required cleaning before use; not a big problem but my hands also used to become wet with the fluid and I was always wary about contaminating anything I was working on. The machine was quite large; about the size of a tall tumble drier; it was a most pleasant but slow machine to use and eventually I had a big clear out in the garage and this machine was sold together with my two big lathes to give some working space.
Denford sharpedge honing machine.
At the time I also owned a 3 phase Denford 8” double ended floor standing grinder; this too took up quite a bit of floor space so was sold. The double ended grinder removed metal quickly but also just as quickly could ruin good tool steel if care wasn’t exercised as it heated the steel rapidly.
Denford double ended 8" grinder.
A while ago I bought a cheap (£15) diamond honing plate and found this to be a total waste of money; I tried to hone a chisel and found the cutting action to be extremely poor putting me off these for life.
Many years ago I bought two Japanese water stones; one medium the other very fine. These work well and the fine stone leaves a mirror edge but having to keep soaking them in water soon became troublesome; added to this the medium stone rapidly lost its flatness. These reside under the bench and are now never used.
I’ve also owned an expensive industrial Clarkson MK2 tool and cutter grinder. Another fine machine but wasted a great deal of time in setting up and once again occupied a large footprint so it too was sold.
A couple of years ago I decided to buy another 8” double ended grinder and wanted either a Wolf or Gryphon. I spotted a Wolf on eBay but it was only 6”, at a winning bid of around £11 I wasn’t going to be robbed and it was a local seller so I collected it. The grinder had led a very hard life and looked terrible but at least it still worked once I ran a new safe 240V power supply into it. I couldn’t live with it looking so bad so completely stripped and rebuilt using new bearings and also a new grinding wheel; the wire brush was retained but I think I’ll eventually replace this with a second grinding wheel. This grinder is a bench model and once up to speed is very sweet running. At the moment it is fitted with a fine grit grinding wheel and the wire brush. This grinding wheel is prone to rapidly heating tool steel but it is a means to an end and I use it often. At least it is a Wolf and now looks pretty with a new paint job and was cheaper than buying new.
Wolf grinder under coated and top coated.
I’ve spent many hours surfing the web looking at various ways of tool sharpening. One site in particular really caught my attention. The site was in America and the company manufactured belt grinding machines together with supplying components to make my own grinder in kit form but being tight the prices would put me on oxygen should I dig so deep into my pocket. However the site got me thinking and the free videos were most impressive. I decided to experiment in making my own belt sander. A friend had kindly given me a scrap motor and I always have lumps of black iron and offcuts kicking around so went into the garage with an open mind to see what I could find. A few days later I had a very rough looking but highly usable 4” wide belt sander. I bought 10 off 60 grit abrasive belts from eBay at £10 and these were delivered as I worked on the grinder.
Belt removed. Right hand construction.
I glued solid oak together to give me two thick blocks and turned these down to provide a bottom drive roller and top idler roller slightly crowning each to aid belt tracking. A simple lever and cam was dreamt up and made for belt changing and a tilting top roller ensured correct tracking. Belt changing is rapid taking only seconds. Since knocking this grinder together I wouldn’t be without it as it is so useful. The only problem I now have with it is trying to find best quality grinding belts as shown in the videos. The 60 grit belts are too fierce for tool sharpening as I tried to sharpen my skew chisel whilst turning the legs. I sharpened one bevel perfectly but ended up with a double bevel at the other side and as skew chisels are at best difficult cutting tools to use adding a double bevel could turn working on the lathe into a hazardous place.
Oval skew chisel.
http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeaumontMetalWorks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYllaxuzMk0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy_guBBaUTU&feature=endscreen&NR=1
I do like the belt sander though and once I get a decent belt of a finer grit and make some grinding jigs I think this is the way I want to go as the belt leaves a flat bevel unlike the grinding wheel which leaves a concave bevel. I’m very picky when it comes to likes and dislikes regarding my tooling. If I’m happy with a tool I can produce good work but it must feel “right” and be sharp. Please watch the videos as they are most impressive and demonstrate just how rapidly metal can be removed using a belt grinder; of course a much slower feed rate will be needed whilst tool sharpening or the tool steel will end up useless.
Tool sharpening is such a big subject and I hope my ramblings generate plenty of discussion as this is one area I’d really like to get to grips with without resorting into doing anything silly like spending money.
Kind regards, Col.
I hope this thread will generate a bit of interest as it is a carry over from my thread covering the turning of chaise longue legs where the subject of tool sharpening arose.
I use lots of cutting tools both machine and hand. Sharpening the tools has always been problematic to me as I never invested in decent sharpening equipment always “making do”. For some years I owned a Denford Sharpedge 16” powered honing machine. This machine was brilliant for sharpening perfect bevels on tools such as planes and chisels and an attachment was available for sharpening gouges but I never owned the attachment.
This Sharpedge had an horizontal grinding/honing abrasive wheel at 16” diameter and the wheel was constantly fed with honing fluid therefore it never heated the tool being sharpened; the downside to me was that the tool was then covered in fluid and required cleaning before use; not a big problem but my hands also used to become wet with the fluid and I was always wary about contaminating anything I was working on. The machine was quite large; about the size of a tall tumble drier; it was a most pleasant but slow machine to use and eventually I had a big clear out in the garage and this machine was sold together with my two big lathes to give some working space.
Denford sharpedge honing machine.
At the time I also owned a 3 phase Denford 8” double ended floor standing grinder; this too took up quite a bit of floor space so was sold. The double ended grinder removed metal quickly but also just as quickly could ruin good tool steel if care wasn’t exercised as it heated the steel rapidly.
Denford double ended 8" grinder.
A while ago I bought a cheap (£15) diamond honing plate and found this to be a total waste of money; I tried to hone a chisel and found the cutting action to be extremely poor putting me off these for life.
Many years ago I bought two Japanese water stones; one medium the other very fine. These work well and the fine stone leaves a mirror edge but having to keep soaking them in water soon became troublesome; added to this the medium stone rapidly lost its flatness. These reside under the bench and are now never used.
I’ve also owned an expensive industrial Clarkson MK2 tool and cutter grinder. Another fine machine but wasted a great deal of time in setting up and once again occupied a large footprint so it too was sold.
A couple of years ago I decided to buy another 8” double ended grinder and wanted either a Wolf or Gryphon. I spotted a Wolf on eBay but it was only 6”, at a winning bid of around £11 I wasn’t going to be robbed and it was a local seller so I collected it. The grinder had led a very hard life and looked terrible but at least it still worked once I ran a new safe 240V power supply into it. I couldn’t live with it looking so bad so completely stripped and rebuilt using new bearings and also a new grinding wheel; the wire brush was retained but I think I’ll eventually replace this with a second grinding wheel. This grinder is a bench model and once up to speed is very sweet running. At the moment it is fitted with a fine grit grinding wheel and the wire brush. This grinding wheel is prone to rapidly heating tool steel but it is a means to an end and I use it often. At least it is a Wolf and now looks pretty with a new paint job and was cheaper than buying new.
Wolf grinder under coated and top coated.
I’ve spent many hours surfing the web looking at various ways of tool sharpening. One site in particular really caught my attention. The site was in America and the company manufactured belt grinding machines together with supplying components to make my own grinder in kit form but being tight the prices would put me on oxygen should I dig so deep into my pocket. However the site got me thinking and the free videos were most impressive. I decided to experiment in making my own belt sander. A friend had kindly given me a scrap motor and I always have lumps of black iron and offcuts kicking around so went into the garage with an open mind to see what I could find. A few days later I had a very rough looking but highly usable 4” wide belt sander. I bought 10 off 60 grit abrasive belts from eBay at £10 and these were delivered as I worked on the grinder.
Belt removed. Right hand construction.
I glued solid oak together to give me two thick blocks and turned these down to provide a bottom drive roller and top idler roller slightly crowning each to aid belt tracking. A simple lever and cam was dreamt up and made for belt changing and a tilting top roller ensured correct tracking. Belt changing is rapid taking only seconds. Since knocking this grinder together I wouldn’t be without it as it is so useful. The only problem I now have with it is trying to find best quality grinding belts as shown in the videos. The 60 grit belts are too fierce for tool sharpening as I tried to sharpen my skew chisel whilst turning the legs. I sharpened one bevel perfectly but ended up with a double bevel at the other side and as skew chisels are at best difficult cutting tools to use adding a double bevel could turn working on the lathe into a hazardous place.
Oval skew chisel.
http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeaumontMetalWorks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYllaxuzMk0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy_guBBaUTU&feature=endscreen&NR=1
I do like the belt sander though and once I get a decent belt of a finer grit and make some grinding jigs I think this is the way I want to go as the belt leaves a flat bevel unlike the grinding wheel which leaves a concave bevel. I’m very picky when it comes to likes and dislikes regarding my tooling. If I’m happy with a tool I can produce good work but it must feel “right” and be sharp. Please watch the videos as they are most impressive and demonstrate just how rapidly metal can be removed using a belt grinder; of course a much slower feed rate will be needed whilst tool sharpening or the tool steel will end up useless.
Tool sharpening is such a big subject and I hope my ramblings generate plenty of discussion as this is one area I’d really like to get to grips with without resorting into doing anything silly like spending money.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
