Shopsmith Forums

Wondered if anyone out there has the strip sander with the sharpening attachment and what you are using it for and how you like it. I have the strip sander but not the sharpening attachment and while I have other sharpening tools I wondered how well this works and if it's a good attachment to buy.

putttn wrote:Wondered if anyone out there has the strip sander with the sharpening attachment and what you are using it for and how you like it. I have the strip sander but not the sharpening attachment and while I have other sharpening tools I wondered how well this works and if it's a good attachment to buy.

I have the sharpening attachment and like it very much. I use it for all of my lathe chisels. I have it mounted on my Crafters station so I can sharpen my tools without disturbing my lathe set up.

"Crafters Station"??

putttn wrote:"Crafters Station"??

Power station with a 510 table mount.

When I went out to Dayton, Nick gave me a one-on-one lesson on using the strip sander to first put an edge using the sanding belts & being careful not to heat the metal too much by simply dipping it in a small container of water. Once the finest sanding belt was used, he switched to a leather strop and used a white abrasive paster to further develop the edge and remove the burr which left a razor edge that cut through hard-grain end grain like a hot knife through butter.

After Nick sharpened the wood chisel, I sharpened my pocket knife. After my factory tour, I purchased a the sharpening attachment, but we didn't use it.

I had stopped at the Shopsmith Retail Store specifically to buy a leather strop belt that I had watch Nick use on one of the Saw Dust Sessions. The guy I bought a scroll saw from told me the store was open. Much to my chagrin, the store had been closed for a long time and was being used by Nick & Drew for the Saw Dust Sessions.

I ended up getting a belt from Dick Belcher along with some aluminum oxide like Nick used. Dick had but a couple leather strop belts left for the Shopsmith strip sander. His source of supple required a minimum order of 20 belts. He might have some. I believe I've seen recently a threat on a source of strop belts for the strip sander.

The video with Nick using the sharpening attachment is no long available on You Tube or Shopsmith. However, here is a link to Drew using the strip sander with a jig for sharpening plane irons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tgu9JQk6xE

I appreciate this information. Do you have some type of angle adjustment guide on the sharpening attachment? My freehanding is not good and I'd hate to take a good knife/chisel and ruin it. Most of my work will be for resharpening and not so much creating a new profile.

putttn wrote:"Crafters Station"??

Besides the mount for a main worktable, the Crafter's station has controls that allow it to rotate in the opposite direction. This makes it ideal for mounting the strip sander. I can run the Crafter's station in reverse (saw mode) and it will drive the strip sander so that the belt is going up.......perfect for sharpening chisels.

putttn wrote:I appreciate this information. Do you have some type of angle adjustment guide on the sharpening attachment? My freehanding is not good and I'd hate to take a good knife/chisel and ruin it. Most of my work will be for resharpening and not so much creating a new profile.

I feel that the guide is pretty much fool proof even for this fool. There is an angle adjustment and you are not going to remove material from the chisel like you can with other sharpening devices.

putttn wrote:"Crafters Station"??

Besides the mount for a main worktable, the Crafter's station has controls that allow it to rotate in the opposite direction. This makes it ideal for mounting the strip sander. I can run the Crafter's station in reverse (saw mode) and it will drive the strip sander so that the belt is going up.......perfect for sharpening chisels.

putttn wrote:I appreciate this information. Do you have some type of angle adjustment guide on the sharpening attachment? My freehanding is not good and I'd hate to take a good knife/chisel and ruin it. Most of my work will be for resharpening and not so much creating a new profile.

I feel that the guide is pretty much fool proof even for this fool. There is an angle adjustment and you are not going to remove material from the chisel like you can with other sharpening devices.

I do have a Worksharp 3000 with most of the accessories but it is limited to certain tools.

This is one of my favorite tools.

Just a couple of quick things I'd like to mention.

Shopsmith has a limited grit selection for sharpening. If you got to a place like lee valley they offer a wider selection.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... at=1,43072

They have a thin leather belt and green honing compound.

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You can match the existing angles if that works for you pretty easy. Use a black marker to mark the edge then test the edge against the belt. If the black is coming off all along the edge you are good. Just at the top(tip) or just at the heal you have to adjust to fix that.

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You can running at very low speeds, if you have the powerpro crank it down, I have even done an afternoon of sharpening by hand cranking the strip sander.... yes that slow still works and no chance of over heating anything.

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It doesn't work for every tool. Some tools have some pretty exotic edges put on them and will require special arrangements or extra tools to duplicate.

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The attachment requires the belt to run up, on the older shopsmith this meant mounting where the lathe setup needs to be... Power pro fixes that but you still might be finding yourself having to take the lathe setup down or partially down. Best if you have a special stand or a second shopsmith to use while turning.

So I got to go... late supper.

Ed