• Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details)
  • Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Paul May for "Checkerboard (ver 3.0)" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 25, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Tool tuneup? and oops.

Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
53
Likes
3
Here is what I did. I purchased a set of the HF mid grade gouges. I wanted something to practice sharpening on and cutting other profiles. So why do that with expensive gouges.

I took the 1/4 gouge and started putting a fingernail grind on it. Flattened out and drew a long taper to the hollow. Well I went a little too far, so I started with a drill and 60 grit paper. Creating a deeper flute and that is when I realized it was not round at the bottom to begin with. Once I had a flute that matched my taper I progressed up to 1000 grit and polished the flute. At this point I learned another important lesson. If it starts to fall let it. The tip of the gouge is what I caught and it sliced the skin off my finger like pealing an apple! So I guess that is what they mean by a sharp tool. I tried it on some basswood which I could only get to tear not cut. Now it leaves a polished finish behind.

Before I do this to the rest of the HF set (minus the dropping part ).

1. Should the flute be perfectly round or U shaped?
2. Is stopping at 320 enough or does the extra help in any way?
3. Am I over thinking this whole thing and should get a life?
 
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
995
Likes
2
Location
billerica, ma
You're overthinking it but don't worry about getting over it. Should just get used to it. This is now your life. Your friends will become strangers. The local tree cutters and woodworking supply store employees will become your new friends. You will spend hours each day online, discussing obscure details of your turning life. You will spend more hours turning. Your work will suffer but your turning will impove. That will be acceptable to you. Your wife (if you are married) will begin recieving many round things as gifts, to the point where she asks you to either sell them, give them away, or just "get a life." But you already have a life. You're a wood turner.

Welcome, brother.
Dietrich
 

john lucas

AAW Forum Expert
Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
8,321
Likes
3,576
Location
Cookeville, TN
flutes are not always round or U shaped. It depends on how they were made and who made them. Personally I would sharpen the bevel and use the tool a while and see how I like it. then if it needs to be changed I might do it.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2004
Messages
282
Likes
0
Location
Alpine, AL
Excellent description of a turner!!!

Some of the most fun I have had with my turning is making my own tools. I've made all of my own hollowing tools following the information on Darrell Feltmates web page using metal lathe tips and round stock. I love turning my own handles and have even had one case where I could not master my detail gouge. The handle was hurting my hand so I turned a new handle and put the gouge in it and have since been able to obtain a resonable level of compentancy with the detail gouge!

Have fun - I love going to visit and looking at the "Handcrafted" tools - of course I would never steal an idea! ;)


Wilford
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2004
Messages
146
Likes
0
Location
Winston, OR
HF or nothing

Lad, I own 2 Crown tools and 1 Sorby tool the remainder are Harbor Freight tools @ $39.99/set. What makes a tool usable is the cutting edge. If you're really good then you can put most grinds on a tool by hand and eye. However, if you're as am I then you need a jig. I invested it a Woodcut Tru-grind jig about which Chris Wright told me.

As Dietrich said, put a grind on your tool that you think you'll like and use it for awhile. If you like how it cuts then keep it, if you don't then modify it. 'Taint nothin' wrong with trial & error as long as you learn.

Most of all, be careful or you'll bring new meaning to the term "bloodwood."
 
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
117
Likes
1
Location
Southwest Missouri
Website
www.hiltonhandcraft.com
The one and only thing I've learned from a woodcarver was that you never try to catch a falling tool. Not that my (poor) instincts don't stop me any sooner but at I least I try not to catch them.



Doghouse said:
1. Should the flute be perfectly round or U shaped?
Depends on what you like. I wouldn't worry about it at your stage. As you progress and use some different flute profiles (friends, club members, etc.), you might start preferring one over the other for certain types of work. You'll not notice the difference at this stage most likely.

Doghouse said:
2. Is stopping at 320 enough or does the extra help in any way?
There's some debate about it. Personally, I don't see the advantage for woodturning except for my skews to go beyond 120 grit. I keep the skews polished (honed) on all 4 sides. I know you were asking about the flute instead of the bevel but I see it as being completely related. If one is more finely sharpened than the other, then you don't have much advantage in the cutting action to the finer sharpened side.

If I feel like I do need a finer edge on a bowl gouge, for instance, for some cut then I'll just quickly hone both part of the bevel and the flute with a slipston/diamond hone.

Others like to have the same kind of edge and bevels/flutes as they do on their carving tools or bench chisels. It's certainly not going to hurt to have them at this level of sharpness (keeping in mind that you still want to have a good solid, supported edge on woodturning tools that isn't flimsy!) but I don't see the advantage given the time to get/maintain it as well as the fact that the instant you touch the spinning wood, you've lost all of that.

On the flip side of that, you don't want to have too course of a sharpened too either. I know of several pro bowl makers that just use a grey 60 grit wheel. For their kind of work and for their business to succeed, they've found that to be acceptable.

So, it all just depends. Your own experience will tell you far more than any of us can.


Doghouse said:
3. Am I over thinking this whole thing and should get a life?
Yes and Yes. Tool making is fun and I do a lot of it for myself and friends. I love figuring out the better solution and just the plain cost savings of it. I normally make at least 2 tools. The first is just a rough draft, if you will. It's cheap, easy, and rough. It's just enough quality to figure out what works and what needs to be changed. After that (and maybe a couple of other versions) and if I'm happy with the tool (the Pyramid Skew being a big mistake), I take extra care with the materials, manufacture and prep of it for the version I'll keep. It's hard not to go overboard on these things and many a woodturner has left it to pursue greater love (most likely profits!) in the tool making end of it.

I just remind myself that I'm making the tool to further my woodturning and not the other way around. It's time to get to woodturning. The tool is good enough!

Oh, when you finally DO get a life .... let the rest of know where to find it. We are all looking for it too. :cool2:

- Andrew
 
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Messages
1,287
Likes
4
Location
Austin, TX
Website
www.woodturner.org
I never hone any non-hollowing tools (gouges, scrapers, etc). They come straight off the grinder pretty darned sharp. When they get slightly dull I touch them up on the grinder so there is always a fresh surface.

Originally I started with HSS tools and have progressed to mostly using PM (Particle Metal) tools because the edges do in fact last longer. They are more expensive but if you do a lot of turning (and I do) then it saves you time.

But I also have some HF tools in the arsenal and they do get some use. They are decent HSS and pretty useful for various touchups.

For hollow work, the tips get honed regularly with diamond hones. Just a few strokes and the edge can get cleaned up quick. But more important than all the stuff above is that I spent a bunch of time like you, trying to get good sharpening techniques down. The time you put in now will be help you figure out which grinds work for your turning style. And it's fun seeing your customized tools create custom turnings....just doesn't get better than that in my humble opinion.
 
Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
53
Likes
3
Thanks for the insight. I hope to have enought room in the shop by the end of the weekend to get back to doing turnings.
 
Back
Top