rubber-bonded abrasive wheel

ddvann79 · Post by **ddvann79** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:26 am

robinson46176 wrote:Yep, carving is a whole other ball game. I've not done much of it but I am really good at it. I can take a piece of wood and carve it to where it is an exact replica of a pile of wood chips.

I'm reminded of an episode of Mash, somewhere about Season 8 - after Col. Potter got there. Majors Burns and Houlihan sought the services of a local Korean craftsman to carve a bust of Colonel Potter. They asked him if he had any examples of his work. He proudly displayed a short board, grinning ear to ear. Burns said, "That just looks like a 2x4" and the carver replied, "Thanks. Used to be round."

Dad said he usually sharpened his lathe chisels with a sanding disc on his MK 5 and that was sufficient. I did all the chisel sharpening for squaring mortises on my mission-style canopy bed with a fine bench grinder stone. I didn't know any different and the chisels worked fine for me without 8000 grit water stones. I think Farmer's approach of light sharpening during use is appropriate. l hit my kitchen knives on a steel each time I use them (which is about every 4th or 5th time they are pulled out of the block) and they have good "working" edges. I still want to try out water stones or other fine sharpening tools to see what I can reasonably accomplish and I've wondered if those rubber bonded wheels fell in that category.

Once again, I'm thankful for the tact and respect that members of this forum show one another. Most of you conduct yourselves here as gentlemen and rise above potential insults. It is a wise man indeed that will ignore verbal volleys without returning fire. I wonder if those who stir the pot would be so bold on the other side of that computer screen.

dasgud · Post by **dasgud** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:06 pm

Ed, did they use a fine abrasive to put the final edge on the scalpels or was it polished with a strop? I think I've seen leather strips that can be fit on the strip sander.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:26 pm

From what he told me he had multiple strip sanders setup using varying grits on the belts. I think they did the final polish using a felt belt (possibly leather) load with a polishing paste. I believe on scalpels they went down to Jeweler's rouge to put a mirror finish on the blade. Remember any minute scratch was a potential hidding spot for bacteria and germs (crud)

His preference for the strip sander was based on speed, ability to easily get an keen edge, and versatility. He readily admitted there were other tools that would reproduce the same results but he said the strip sander was the fastest, easiest and able to sharpen a wide variety of tools. He said he could even teach me to put a keen edge on anything if few seconds. I'm sure he was saying that to prove how fool proof he felt the strip sander was.

ted766 · Post by **ted766** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 1:04 pm

I,m sorry I spelled your name wrong Francis ,my "attack"was tongue in cheek, Most of these letters are so bland I thought I would inject a little irony, The exchange of ideas on this forum is great ,I,m really enjoying it Ted

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 1:14 pm

I got started doing scissors and pinking shears back when I was working for the Hoover Co. We did them as a promotion in larger stores as a traffic tool. The store would have a big sale and we would come to the store and set up and grind the scissors. The store got the money from the scissors sharpening to pay for the ads. It worked quite well in spite of the fact that some of our guys were not very good at it.
I did a batch of surgical scissors for a doctor one time. We always had a soft cloth at hand to test scissors on (more show than need). We couldn't test scissors on tissue paper because the ladies would scream at us for ruining them on paper.

I was showing him that they were sharp with the cloth and he said "but they are not for cutting cloth, they are for cutting meat". I looked up at him and said "I don't know about you but I don't have anything sticking out on me that I want to try them out on..." He stood there a few seconds like a deer looking at headlights, shrugged, smiled and took them over the the register.

I used to do a few surgical tools for a local mortuary. Of course they do not have to worry about infection so they didn't sterilize anything, just rinsed them off, wiped them dry and put them back in the drawer. That was OK but when I would start grinding the smell was horrible. You wouldn't think that the steel would be that porous... I did their scalpels on a fine oil stone.
BTW, one of the worst things to happen to a pair of scissors was for someone that didn't know any better to get a new electric can opener with a knife grinder on the back. Over the year I was brought hundreds of them with the cutting edge ground off at an angle. Sometimes I could save them, sometimes not.

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JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 1:50 pm

ted766 wrote:I,m intrigued by Frances Robinsons' long list of machinery ,I,m trying to work out what it adds to this debate.,Is it supposed to instil a feeling of awe in those who dont possess such goodies? I,ve done plenty of carving and turning for people with factories full of such gear ,it must really irk them to have to employ a creative artisan. You can have all the machinery you like but it wont turn you into Thomas Chippendale! Ted

Ahh!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Tongue in cheek(irony) has its risks.

I be amused that one would notice the length of a signature and 'miss' the spelling.

[Gender changes not typically appreciated!]

Now if yer heart is set on obtaining 'one'! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320658504036&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT:)

ted766 · Post by **ted766** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:07 pm

the spelling of a name could be as easily missed as your omission of "would" between "I" and "be" Ted

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:12 pm

I just looked and I don't believe we have an emoticon for tongue in cheek.

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JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:32 pm

robinson46176 wrote:I just looked and I don't believe we have an emoticon for tongue in cheek.

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I take this to be so! Unfortunately it is 'defined' as sarcastic' Close, but all too easily misinterpreted.

FWIW: the intentional omission or mis-spelling of various words or other weird choices or uses of words is an attribute which an individual uses at their individual discretion so as to interject their unique personality into an attempted communication. Unfortunately some are clueless as to how to 'see' the beauty!]be[/color] an 'explanation', not a 'rebuttal!:) Yes 'is' would be a more 'typical' choice of words than 'be'!

ddvann79 · Post by **ddvann79** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:40 pm

JPG40504 wrote:... Now if yer heart is set on obtaining 'one'! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320658504036&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT:)

Hey, now I'm really interested in this subject. The listing photo shows the wheel was made by Cratex. How do you know what "grit" the wheel is? Or are they all the same?

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