Sharpening Bowl Gouges

[odie]

It appears as though, given a choice between cbn and diamond, the diamond abrasive would be the better choice.....within certain limitations. @Randy Heinemann 's observation of the heat reaction of diamond while grinding HSS is a consideration that would seem to make cbn a better choice for a high speed application.

I had thought of the cbn honing possibility, but that appears to be a waste of money.

This is relevant:
"Both diamond and CBN are almost equal, with about four times the abrasion resistance of Al-oxide. However, while CBN is substantially harder than other conventional abrasives, it has only 64 percent the hardness of diamond"

-----odie-----

 

[Randy Heinemann]

It appears as though, given a choice between cbn and diamond, the diamond abrasive would be the better choice.....within certain limitations. @Randy Heinemann 's observation of the heat reaction of diamond while grinding HSS is a consideration that would seem to make cbn a better choice for a high speed application.

I had thought of the cbn honing possibility, but that appears to be a waste of money.

This is relevant:
"Both diamond and CBN are almost equal, with about four times the abrasion resistance of Al-oxide. However, while CBN is substantially harder than other conventional abrasives, it has only 64 percent the hardness of diamond"

-----odie-----

Just shows it's always worth researching the intricacies of all tools, comparing their capabilities with your needs, and then buying the tool that fits them. I have thought many times of buying a 1750 rpm or variable speed grinder for tasks that involve a lot of grinding, but generally don't do anything except resharpen existing grinds on my gouges and scrapers. For those resharpenings the Tormek is a dream to use. I find their gouge jig is a dream to setup and use and perfect for duplicating existing grinds. The Tormek 600 grit diamnod wheel gives a somewhat smoother finish and, for resharpening, works great. If I did buy a standard low speed grinder, I certainly would equip it with at least 1 CBN wheel. They are more readily available for 8" grinders and, given what I learned about heat/HSS/diamond, the CBN wheel is a perfect for that type of grinder. That's what's good about this form. I learned something I had no intention of learning which might help me in the future if I do buy an additional grinder.

 

[odie]

Just shows it's always worth researching the intricacies of all tools, comparing their capabilities with your needs, and then buying the tool that fits them. I have thought many times of buying a 1750 rpm or variable speed grinder for tasks that involve a lot of grinding, but generally don't do anything except resharpen existing grinds on my gouges and scrapers. For those resharpenings the Tormek is a dream to use. I find their gouge jig is a dream to setup and use and perfect for duplicating existing grinds. The Tormek 600 grit diamnod wheel gives a somewhat smoother finish and, for resharpening, works great. If I did buy a standard low speed grinder, I certainly would equip it with at least 1 CBN wheel. They are more readily available for 8" grinders and, given what I learned about heat/HSS/diamond, the CBN wheel is a perfect for that type of grinder. That's what's good about this form. I learned something I had no intention of learning which might help me in the future if I do buy an additional grinder.

All of this is true to some degree, Randy......and, it's well worth evaluating that input information.

The alternative thinking to this, is to consider one's individual effort unaffected by mainstream thought, will in some cases, produce a uniqueness that is unmistakably contrary to what will be produced as a total effort by everyone else.....as, opposed to what can be produced by any one individual.

What makes that one individual unique, is the ability and willpower to rely on his own hands-on experiences...and, evaluation of the results, which occasionally opens seldom opened doors which may not be opened by the group as a whole.

-----odie-----

 

[Lennart Delin]

A little summary on abrasives. Diamond cannot be used for high speed grinding as it reacts with the iron at fairly low temperatures and is destroyed quickly. CBN can be used to grind carbide, but quite unsuitable as it quickly wears down.
Powder HSS has much higher carbide content than ordinary HSS and aluminum oxide wheels don´t work well and wears quickly.

 

[john lucas]

I used AO wheels for many years to sharpen my Thompson tools which are particle metal. Yes the CBN wheels seem to sharpen them easier and the AO seem to wear quicker with PM tools.
As far as carbide wearing downs CBN wheel. Maybe. My 180 CBN wheel is probably 7 years old. I ground a 1/2" Hunter carbide tool completely in half to be able to photograph the profile. That's far more abuse than anyone would normally do. I didnt notice any difference in cutting action at the time. My wheel was already worn and 4 years later I'm still using it.

 

[odie]

Features of Norton SG wheels: * Exceptionally high-performance proprietary seeded gel ceramic aluminum oxide abrasive * Self-sharpening abrasive * High performance VS and VSP bonds * Provide sharp edge on tools and dies * 5SG-Durable Norton SG and aluminum oxide blend-blue Benefits Of Norton SG Wheels: * Fast stock removal, cool superior cutting

A ceramic alumina (Seeded Gel - SG) grain that cuts faster and lasts longer (up to 200%) than standard abrasives. The supersize layer and strong backing provides aggressive cutting action, maximum performance and advanced cooling. ANTI-CLOG SURFACE TREATMENT

I have been sold on the benefits of the Norton SG wheels. Mine have been in constant use for a decade, or longer, and there is still plenty of life in them. If I didn't have to true them up with a diamond dresser once in awhile, they would last much longer. The specifications say they last up to 200% longer than standard abrasives, and what sounds like an exaggeration......may not be!

-----odie-----

 

[William Rogers]

I had thought of the cbn honing possibility, but that appears to be a waste of money.

The 600/1000 flat hand hone is $13.95. I have been using mine for 2+ years and still works like new. Inexpensive diamond hones in that price range don’t last nearly as long. I will say the CBN hone is NOT a waste of money. I’m not sure how you can come to that conclusion. The tear drop hone is much more expensive, but feel it will also last a very long time.

What grinding wheel we use is a preference. No matter how good a friable wheel is it requires constant attention and is constantly changing size. I prefer the CBN as it is a 1 1/2 face verses a 1” face of a friable wheel and produces a grind as good as any friable wheel. Tormek is in another class and is not considered a friable wheel for my comment. I prefer to never go back to a friable wheel and the constant attention necessary. I prefer to use a CBN with a wider grinding surface and cleaning once a year or so that doesn’t change size.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I’m in a similar situation to @odie - I got a great deal on Norton 3X SG wheels ancouple of years ago (along with AL bushings), and as long as the wheels are lasting, I may not need any other wheels.

At today’s prices though ($81/wheel) for these, I would replace them with cbn if needed - it makes cents.

Not sure what I will do for the griz wet wheel. The Griz replacement I bought 2-3 yrs ago is wearing faster, not as good of a wheel. I have a wen replacement to go on next. Depending how it works will help make the decision.

A lot of complaints about stone wheels getting smaller. Its no problem with the tormek setup - the stone to bar distance is set with a gage. The same can be done for wolverine, vector, and other jigs - dont set arm distance with a mark on the arm. Measure it out and set the distance, then make a gage that locates off the wheel face. Use different gages for different setups.

 

[Don Albrecht]

Well, check out Sharpening supplies.com. More things than you ever knew existed for sharpening anything. That being said, I would prefer diamond hones and cards for touchups if I did that. On the skew, it is worth it, but you still should strop. As for the difference between diamond and CBN, the diamond is harder, but on standard grinders, the speed is too much, and the diamonds degrade quickly with any heat build up. This is why they work on the Tormek, but not on slow speed grinders. The Tradesman grinder set up from Canada has a variable speed grinder, and you can get CBN or diamond wheels for it. I believe they started out for sharpening the CNC carbide bits. CBN can touch up carbide, but it really shortens the life of a CBN wheel. As for which cuts faster, I would expect comparable grits to cut equally well. The thing is that the CBN will eventually wear out. The diamond should pretty much outlast all of us. I had some old DMT stones, like 30 years old, that pretty much didn't cut any more. Put some trend lapping fluid on them and they really came back to life. I now use auto glass cleaner on my lapping plates. There is no ammonia in it, which can bother the plating of the abrasives. Plain water also helps keep them clean. I think that most of the time, what keeps them from cutting well is that they get gunked up. Really true on my CBN wheels when I am turning sloppy wet madrone.

robo hippy

 

[Dennis Weiner]

It seems over the years I have heard the verbs sharpening and honing used. Now there is a poll on which is used and where. In order to vote accurately, I feel that finally, members of this forum should define exactly what sharpening is and what honing is. It appears hone often pops up in discussions as a noun. That is I use my 600 grit diamond hone etc. In fact, I used my 300 grit diamond card to sharpen my only 10v gouge for a few months before switching over to CBN. Was I sharpening it or honing it? What do you think? Does grit define the difference between the two processes, or is it the use of a machine vs a manual process or the fact that I used a "hone"?

 

[Doug Freeman]

By definition:

noun
a whetstone of fine, compact texture for sharpening razors and other cutting tools.

verb (used with object), honed,hon·ing.
to sharpen on a hone: to hone a carving knife.
to enlarge or finish (a hole) with a hone.
to make more acute or effective; improve; perfect: to hone one's skills.


As a verb, ie to improve refine, etc, the hone (noun) must be a finer abrasive that what was previously used. If you formed the tool bevel with 300 gr, then you were sharpening. If you formed the bevel with an 80 gr wheel and ran a 300gr stone over it, you were honing.

 

[john lucas]

As a wood carver as well as turner I consider honing refining the edge with a strop. I suppose using a 1200 or 600 grit diamond card is form of honing. I mean if you look at it you are simply refining an edge. I have diamond cards from 180 on up. I have a CBN wheel that is 350. I have 600 and 1000 grit sanding belts. In my feeble mind I'm still sharpening with the CBN or sanding belts but I'm honing with the diamond cards even though they are courser. How silly is that. I think it's because if I do it by hand its honing and if its powered its sharpening. So that should throw some mudd in the water.

 

[robo hippy]

Hmm, well, to me, there is grinding/sharpening, honing, and stropping, and all 3 are different. The grinding is for creating an edge, and hopefully you are not starting with a butter knife or a screw driver if you let your tools get that dull. Honing is more touching up or refreshing an edge. It still leaves a burr. This is generally done with diamond or CBN cards or rods. Stropping is removing the burr, and done with leather or wood. You use a fine compound on some thing like leather or even pieces of wood. Not positive, but I think you bend the burr back and forth till it breaks off. Stropping does not refresh the edge. You have to go to a card and/or light touch on the grinder to do that. There are now stropping pastes from about 800 up to 30000 grit. Some people do tend to feel that honing and stropping the same thing. I don't agree.

robo hippy

 

[Doug Freeman]

Powered or by hand is irrelevant, unless you want to argue that the leather strop wheel on my wet grinder is sharpening, in which case debate is futile.

Be definition, honing is refining. One can argue straightening up a many faceted bevel with the same grit as honing, I would argue it is sharpening to correct a poor job of original sharpening. Correcting is not refining. Honing requires a finer grit - its all relative, though. Assuming all the grit sizes etc are equal, hitting a bevel off an 80 gr wheel with a 100 gr stone is refining, ie honing, though not a lot to be gained.

Stropping - oh boy, let’s debate politics or religion, it might be more successful. If I hone my plane iron edge through grits down to 0.3 um using a flat abrasive (which I do for smoothers), is there anything to gain with a 0.5 um abrasive on a strop? Not sure what grit 0.3 or 0.5 um is.

 

[Brian Gustin]

Powered or by hand is irrelevant, unless you want to argue that the leather strop wheel on my wet grinder is sharpening, in which case debate is futile.

Be definition, honing is refining. One can argue straightening up a many faceted bevel with the same grit as honing, I would argue it is sharpening to correct a poor job of original sharpening. Correcting is not refining. Honing requires a finer grit - its all relative, though. Assuming all the grit sizes etc are equal, hitting a bevel off an 80 gr wheel with a 100 gr stone is refining, ie honing, though not a lot to be gained.

Stropping - oh boy, let’s debate politics or religion, it might be more successful. If I hone my plane iron edge through grits down to 0.3 um using a flat abrasive (which I do for smoothers), is there anything to gain with a 0.5 um abrasive on a strop? Not sure what grit 0.3 or 0.5 um is.

3 micron would be smaller than 5 micron (what you're typing as um) so if you hone to 3 micron abrasive and then strop with a 5 micron you're making it worse, not better.

for flatwork honing (planes & chisels) depending on how bad the edge starts at I may sharpen as coarse as a 300 grit diamond , then progressively up through 1000, 1200, 1800, and then polish at 8000 and then 16000 (anything from 1200 grit on up is done on 3M lapping paper) , and then stropped with a 3 micron (approximately 30,000 grit) stropping compound on leather... such a fine edge would be gone almost instantly as soon as it touched spinning wood , so IMHO no real sense in going beyond 600 grit honing for turning tools (which I might do on a skew, though I touch up after with a 1000 grit CBN honing plate) such a keen edge as 12000 (or higher) grit is quickly lost in the rigors of turning wood, I think.. but can last quite a while on hand tools such as chisels and planes which might cut about as much wood in a month of daily use as a turning tool does in 30 seconds. just MHO.

 

[robo hippy]

DMT has diamond stropping pastes. The 1 micron is about 16000 grit. 1/2 micron is in the 30000 grit range. At least that is what it says on the tubes it comes in. To me, there is a difference between honing, and stropping. The honing will produce a burr, the stropping removes the burr. As I said, I am not sure if the stropping removes the burr by bending it back and forth until it breaks off or not.

robo hippy

 

[Doug Freeman]

3 micron would be smaller than 5 micron (what you're typing as um) so if you hone to 3 micron abrasive and then strop with a 5 micron you're making it worse, not better.

I typed it accurately, the lapping film is 0.3 um (.0003 m). The chrome oxide strop compound is quoted to be 0.5 um. It was a rhetorical question, I know the stropping makes it worse, and rounds the edge, hence the “politics and religion” part.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Over the years, I have never embraced the concept of stropping. I have tried it and found that sometimes I don't improve the edge; that I may actually polish it but round a perfectly sharp tool. That was my experience with wood chisels. I tried it lately as I do have a leather paddle mounted strop from Sharpening Supplies with some very fine compound. I will still say that I don't believe stropping a great, sharp edge improves the edge, especially with turning tools. I do have some HSS hollowing tools that I use diamond hand-held hones to sharpen rather than a wheel. I have more control and I'm really just trying to create a burr on the tips anyway. Even that is a coarse diamond hone though.

I am completely satisfied with the edge I get on my gouges and scrapers from my Tormek with a 600 grit diamond wheel. The tools are extremely sharp and the edge lasts at least as long as I would expect. I can't imagine stropping the tools would make it better.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I can't imagine stropping the tools would make it better.

There are 2 turning tools I strop, because both can be used with either side up - parting tool and skew. Even with a 1200 gr diamond hone, I can tell the difference between edges when I flip them, particularly a skew. Strop a bit each side to bend and break the burr and I cant tell the difference.

 

[Brian Gustin]

Over the years, I have never embraced the concept of stropping. I have tried it and found that sometimes I don't improve the edge; that I may actually polish it but round a perfectly sharp tool. That was my experience with wood chisels.

There are 2 turning tools I strop, because both can be used with either side up - parting tool and skew. Even with a 1200 gr diamond hone, I can tell the difference between edges when I flip them, particularly a skew. Strop a bit each side to bend and break the burr and I cant tell the difference.

Chisels and Plane irons, since I hone/sharpen to 16,000 grit or so (mirror polish) I strop with a finger - just swipe finger along the flat surface of the blade or bevel out towards the point each side a few times and the tiny fin wire burr comes off easily, no stropping needed. I also do that with skews after touching up edge with a hone (1000 grit cbn card) in between sharpenings Burr left after sharpening is gone pretty much instantly soon as it touches wood, so I don't really bother with stropping the burr unless I'm working with some especially difficult wood (grain or tear out or whatever) that needs extra sharpness.

 

[Marc Banka]

Stropping, from my understanding, is quite different than simply breaking the burr. The keen edge is damaged, takes out small chunks (really small) if the burr is just bend back and forth. Since the tool is only pulled when stropping, and the angle of the pull is greater than honing, the fine abrasive cuts the burr and leaves a slightly duller (less acute) appleseed edge. That edge lasts longer than not stropped, and cuts smoother.

 

[Darryl Fective]

I have a Norton blue wheel that I bought a few years ago that was out of balance from the start. I probably should've just returned it, but I bought a One-Way wheel balancer kit and it has worked out OK. I'd never buy another though.

 

[hockenbery]

I have a Norton blue wheel that I bought a few years ago that was out of balance from the start. I probably should've just returned it, but I bought a One-Way wheel balancer kit and it has worked out OK. I'd never buy another though.

Matrix wheels almost always have a hole slightly off center and slightly off perpendicular.
Some are worse than others. Most can be tuned up to run true.
Common fix is to shim with paper to get the wheel running perpendicular then true it to round.

The ONEWAY system is a good alternative to paper shims.

CBN wheels will make those truing skills obsolete.

 

[robo hippy]

Some of the matrix wheels came with bushings. If they were plastic, those were junk. Metal ones are far better. When dressing the wheels, I would dress the sides as well as the face. This would take some of the lateral wobble out of those wheels. Some times, just spinning the wheel 1/4 of a turn would change the wobble. I had one wheel on my first Rikon 1 hp grinder that was so bad, if I had dressed the sides to even it up, I would have had about a 1/2 inch wide wheel. Like Al said, with CBN wheels, you don't have to worry about that.

robo hippy

 

[Neil S]

Diamond cannot be used for high speed grinding as it reacts with the iron at fairly low temperatures and is destroyed quickly.

Lennart, I know that is the commonly understanding and that there is good research evidence for it, but my practical experience has been different.

I purchased a diamond wheel back when the CBN wheels available at the time were too expensive for my means. There wasn't much talk about diamond wheels being a problem with HSS at the time and the one I got (#120 resin matrix) was a big step up from the Al-Ox wheels I'd been using up until then.

Some years later on I added a #180 CBN and later again a #360 CBN wheel, but I have also continued to use the diamond wheel every day I'm in the workshop. Once run in the #120 resin matrix diamond wheel gave as fine a finish as the #360 CBNs and it removes less and less steel as I continue to use it, which is more than OK if I'm just refreshing an edge on it.

When I look at that diamond wheel surface under a bright light it sparkles as bright as ever, so there are diamonds there. It would be reasonable to think that those are freshly exposed diamonds as the resin matrix has worn away. That would be partly true, however, the depth of the matrix has only reduced by 0.5mm/20thou in over a decade of heavy use.

My theory on why I haven't had the diamonds dissolving away in the HSS is that it doesn't heat up the steel anywhere near where that effect might happen. I get just a small amount of spark coming off the tool and expect that the tool itself is getting hotter than the large expanse of diamond around the surface of the 8" wheel.

My experience is limited to a resin matrix diamond wheel. It might be different with an electroplated diamond wheel.

If the price was right I might consider another diamond resin wheel, but at the rate I'm using it up (at 10% a decade) it will outlast me by a long way and probably also my grandchildren... :~}

 

[Doug Freeman]

It would appear your experience with the resin matrix diamond wheel proves the point that diamond will wear away in a hi speed grinding operation. It happens that at your usage rate it is acceptable to you. An electroplated wheel would likely not be any good by now.

 

[Lennart Delin]

Lennart, I know that is the commonly understanding and that there is good research evidence for it, but my practical experience has been different.

I purchased a diamond wheel back when the CBN wheels available at the time were too expensive for my means. There wasn't much talk about diamond wheels being a problem with HSS at the time and the one I got (#120 resin matrix) was a big step up from the Al-Ox wheels I'd been using up until then.

Some years later on I added a #180 CBN and later again a #360 CBN wheel, but I have also continued to use the diamond wheel every day I'm in the workshop. Once run in the #120 resin matrix diamond wheel gave as fine a finish as the #360 CBNs and it removes less and less steel as I continue to use it, which is more than OK if I'm just refreshing an edge on it.

When I look at that diamond wheel surface under a bright light it sparkles as bright as ever, so there are diamonds there. It would be reasonable to think that those are freshly exposed diamonds as the resin matrix has worn away. That would be partly true, however, the depth of the matrix has only reduced by 0.5mm/20thou in over a decade of heavy use.

My theory on why I haven't had the diamonds dissolving away in the HSS is that it doesn't heat up the steel anywhere near where that effect might happen. I get just a small amount of spark coming off the tool and expect that the tool itself is getting hotter than the large expanse of diamond around the surface of the 8" wheel.

My experience is limited to a resin matrix diamond wheel. It might be different with an electroplated diamond wheel.

If the price was right I might consider another diamond resin wheel, but at the rate I'm using it up (at 10% a decade) it will outlast me by a long way and probably also my grandchildren... :~}

It may be that the low pressure used when sharpening does not cause excessive heat. I have also seen some papers which indicate that the fear of rapid wear may be exaggerated. Anyway CBN wheels are now readily available, but the diamonds are still king for grinding carbides.

 

[robo hippy]

I had a resin matrix wheel before the electroplated ones were available to the woodturning world. The place that made it, Burton Saw, gave me a very hard aluminum oxide stick for 'cleaning' the wheel. The resin matrix wheels will clog up, and they do wear down. I did take them back a few times to have them trued up. They told me I didn't want diamond because the heat and diamonds do not work well together. Woodcraft did have diamond matrix wheels available for a while, and now they have their own CBN wheels.

robo hippy

 

[Neil S]

It would appear your experience with the resin matrix diamond wheel proves the point that diamond will wear away in a hi speed grinding operation. It happens that at your usage rate it is acceptable to you. An electroplated wheel would likely not be any good by now.

It could also be the case that it's the resin matrix that is wearing away and releasing good diamonds to reveal fresh ones the way that Japanese waterstones do.

Here is the thickness of the matrix as I recorded it on the side of the wheel as it was used over the last decade. For a number of years it was the only wheel I was using and it has refreshed the edge on gouges that have turned hundreds of bowls in that time...

​

So the depth of the matrix has only reduced by 0.5mm/20thou in over a decade of constant use. In March 2018 I redressed the wheel using a silicon carbide block and that reduced the the thickness by 0.11mm/4thou in one jump. At that rate I could redress it at about another 40 times before the remaining 4.98mm of matrix and diamonds would all be gone.

Because it cuts more rapidly after re-dressing, which I don't need, I'm not in a hurry to re-dress it again, but will do so if the wear in the matrix becomes uneven.

Now that CBN wheels have become so much cheaper and the price difference narrowed there is unlikely to be a resurgence in the diamond wheels. But, my CBN wheels are starting to slow down and I'm yet to be convinced that they are going to outlast my diamond wheel.

I've posted this because there may be turners out there that already have diamond resin matrix wheels who are thinking that they should be 'upgrading' to CBN wheels, which they may not necessarily need to do.

 

[Neil S]

It may be that the low pressure used when sharpening does not cause excessive heat. I have also seen some papers which indicate that the fear of rapid wear may be exaggerated. Anyway CBN wheels are now readily available, but the diamonds are still king for grinding carbides.

Yes, Lennart, I think that low pressure is another factor in keeping the temperature below 400°c, which I think is a threshold.

And you are right that the CBN wheels are readily available now at a competitive price wise and a sound choice unless you are also needing to grind carbides.

 

[robo hippy]

Where did you get your diamond matrix wheels?

robo hippy

 

[Neil S]

Where did you get your diamond matrix wheels?

robo hippy

It's a Wood River from Woodcraft.

In retrospect, almost 12yrs later, a better buy than expected.

I read that the advice you received has been to use a very hard aluminium oxide stick to clean the diamond matrix. Elsewhere I've read to use a very soft stick. It's the resin matrix and any embedded buildup around the diamonds that is the aim of the cleaning/truing. As far as the diamond itself is concerned, neither the hard or soft stick will have much impact on it.

However, remove enough of the matrix and the surface diamonds will be released. The commonly used axiom in abrasives is hard abrasives for soft materials and soft abrasives for hard materials. They use resin for dental fillings now, so it's not exactly soft compared to many other materials, but it's way softer than diamond. I'm not sure then if that means a softer or harder abrasive is needed to clean out the resin from around the diamonds.

Any input on that from anyone?


PS - There seem to be very few diamond resin matrix wheels on the market now. Lapidary seems to be the only ones still using them and they have mostly gone over to plastic support discs and hubs. Much smaller and cheaper diamond flat discs can be used for carbides, so the market is no longer there for the wide 8" wheels.

 

[Neil S]

Limiting to bowl gouges in this poll... what others are using doing to sharpen their gouges and if they hone them.

William

Back to your original questions, I have more recently returned to buffing my bowl gouges. Not the bevels but just the flutes. And not every time I refresh an edge on the grinder, but every five or so times.

Like most of us I grind/hone out any milling tracks left in the flutes of any new gouges I get, but just the last inch.

Periodically buffing the flutes cleans them of any build up of crud, but it maintains the polish on the end of the flute as well as extending it slightly each time.

I used a powered profiled strop to do this for many years but have more recently gone over to a rag wheel loaded with cutting compound (black or brown) that is a lot quicker. I use an 8" rag wheel on an 8" full speed bench grinder.

I only strop for a count of three seconds, so it is very quick and the setup cost is minimal if you have a spare end on a grinder.

I'm not stropping to remove burrs, but refining the flute surface at the very edge to an extremely fine grit size. A very small amount of metal is removed and a very slight curve (dip) is created towards the cutting edge. Any subsequent burr created during the grinding of the bevel will be more refined and less fragile than one raised on a less refined flute.

I don't bother to remove any burr created from refreshing an edge on the grinder (#360 CBN) or diamond wheel.

I do hand hone skews and some scrapers at the lathe, but I know that wasn't your question. I know of professional turners who prefer to refresh their edge with a rag wheel used in this way, rather than hand honing, between return trips to the grinder. For them time is money. It does slightly round (dub) over the edge, so a slightly more acute primary bevel angle might be needed.

I'm not fussed whether you would call this buffing, honing or sharpening... in the end it is all about how sharp you want it, how long it takes to get that, and how long it then lasts.

 

[robo hippy]

Neil, my CBN matrix wheels would get 'out of round' with continued use. Fortunate for me that the maker was in town so I could take them back there for 'resurfacing'. They used a hard matrix ALO grinding wheel to true it back up again.

robo hippy

 

[Neil S]

Neil, my CBN matrix wheels would get 'out of round' with continued use. Fortunate for me that the maker was in town so I could take them back there for 'resurfacing'. They used a hard matrix ALO grinding wheel to true it back up again.

robo hippy

Thanks for that information, Reed.

I think I now understand that hard AlOx is needed for truing matrix wheels, but soft AlOx is best for dressing where you are only needing to de-glaze or expose just a bit of the diamond from the matrix to get a more aggressive grind.

A bit off topic, but for anyone who might have a diamond matrix wheel they need to true/dress, the following video covers the difference between truing and dressing, and also how to use a brake dresser, as well as which types of abrasives to use for those different processes.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5W1_96lOuM