Sharpening anxiety

[Gene Gabriel]

Well, my CBN wheel came in. It will be my only CBN at least for the near future. I’ll be installing it on Saturday. Quick question, and I know that it is probably a “see how it feels” thing, I am right handed. Should I mount it on the left side or the right side? Any advice?

 

[John K Jordan]

Well, my CBN wheel came in. It will be my only CBN at least for the near future. I’ll be installing it on Saturday. Quick question, and I know that it is probably a “see how it feels” thing, I am right handed. Should I mount it on the left side or the right side? Any advice?

I'm right-handed and see no difference in use of wheels mounted on the left or right.

If you mount it and it doesn't turn perfectly true, get a spherical washer set if it didn't come with one. I bought some from Woodturner's Wonders. Inexpensive. Sometimes the nut on the grinder is not perfect and the washer set takes care of that.

JKJ

 

[Gene Gabriel]

I ordered a set of the washers when I ordered the wheel. I figured better to have them. And use them regardless of needing them or not. I’ll mount it on the left side, if it doesn’t feel right, I’ll swap it. Thanks.

 

[robo hippy]

I saw Ashley Harwood demo some years back, and she would only sharpen on the left side. I found that funny/strange. With turning, all actions are done with the body. I do tend towards being ambidextrous though so maybe easier for me than for others. I do like to keep my Big Ugly tool on my right side with my left hand by the tool rest. I did try it the other way and found I was not as comfortable with it. I guess it just depends.

I have found my Tormek useful again since I started stropping my skews. I have some pieces of plywood with stropping material on them, some pieces of poplar, alder, and some kangaroo leather which compresses less than most other leathers. I did see one from Bernal Cutlery in San Francisco that is cork with green chromium oxide on it. I really like it for my kitchen knives. Strangest stropping material I ever heard of was balsa wood. After thinking about that, I think it might be ideal for carving chisels since you could make it conform to any shape. One guy on You Tube, I Sharpen, swears by kangaroo tail with no compound. To demo how sharp his knives are, he slices cigarette papers. I was impressed!

robo hippy

 

[John K Jordan]

One hint I heard that may be useful:

Since the motions used for sharpening and turning can be similar, it's best to mount the sharpening wheels at about the same height as the lathe spindle. Far less awkward than if too high or too low.

I have some pieces of plywood with stropping material on them

Leather on wood: the advice I got for chip carving knives (the sharpest knives I have!) was use leather as thin and hard as possible. Thick, soft leather can tend to compress and round the edge a tiny bit..

JKJ

 

[hockenbery]

Since the motions used for sharpening and turning can be similar, it's best to mount the sharpening wheels at about the same height as the lathe spindle. Far less awkward than if too high or too low.

Probably a good starting point.

Before jigs I sharpened the Ellsworth grind by hand with a platform for support.
I found mounting the wheel at about shoulder height gave me the best view and results.

When I switched to jigs I found something a little lower than lathe height to be most comfortable.

 

[Aaron Harris]

I started turning exactly 5 years ago yesterday during the pandemic shutdown, with not a clue how to sharpen my tools. After many YouTube videos and a lot of wasted steel, I slowly began developing my sharpening skills, which improved exponentially with the Wolverine jig and CBN wheels. To me, it's a circular thing: turning is sharpening is turning. After I moved my grinder to the workbench directly in front of my lathe, I got in the habit of just turning around for a quick touch-up on the 180 grit wheel, then right back at it. Another epiphany for me was the long learning journey of learning to grind the way I cut, which made ALL the difference. I started to develop that skill after a couple of classes with Matt Monaco, who uses some very idiosyncratic grinds like a wizard at the lathe. I will be taking his platter class at John C Campbell next month, and no doubt will learn much more. The learning never ends!

 

[John K Jordan]

The learning never ends!

The secret of a fulfilled life!
The opposite of living in a boring, soul-stifling rut.

 

[Gene Gabriel]

Got my wheel installed and tried it out. May just be psychological, but I find it cuts a lot smoother than aluminum oxide wheels. It was definitely a wise purchase.

 

[Aaron Harris]

It's not psychological. If your wheel is CBN, it is much easier to use, smoother and more predictable than the AO wheels. Enjoy!

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Rich Colvin has create a wonderful resource on sharpening the Sharpening Handbook there is a section for woodturning tools, but also how to sharpen your Hori Hori knife and dozens of other tools. This is more educational than training, but I refer to it regularly.

I’d never seen this Jim, so thanks for such a great tool!

 

[John K Jordan]

Agree that carbide tools are not an answer - they work differently (even the cupped cutters) and inhibit learning how to use hss tools.

Sorry, just saw this. With students, I haven't experienced the use of Hunter tools inhibiting learning to use conventional gouges. I teach both, they learn both.
I have no idea about those learning on their own.

It's not psychological. If your wheel is CBN, it is much easier to use, smoother and more predictable than the AO wheels. Enjoy!

I was one of the last holdouts to switch from conventional grinding wheels to CBN. What I don't miss about the conventional wheels is the requirement to add balancers to some wheels, the constant, although slow, decrease in diameter, plus the constant need to dress the wheels. I used a single-point diamond tool to flatten the wheel, then a multi-diamond tool to smooth the wheel. All this made a lot of dust and mess. Looking back, what a pain.

Can't remember, it may have been John Lucas who finally convinced me. After the first CBN I couldn't go back. I went through a number of grit combinations before settling on what works best for me.

Speaking of grinding wheels, anyone "need" one of those large antique grindstone? My dad sharpened his axe on it, turned the stone with a crank handle.. I have just the stone plus the iron arbor. I never had the frame. I'm downsizing. Trade for a good story or a good joke.

JKJ