Shopsmith Forums

I have the disc sander with the sharpening guide tool for sharpening the chisels. Does the strip sander set up method offer any advantage(s)? Is there a benefit of having both? (I did try posting to the SSuser Group with no response. I am hoping this group may be a bit more helpful)

By the way I am a beginner in wood turning and most of my chisels are Shopsmith

Alan
Woodinville, WA

Alan: You will get a multitude of opinions on sharpening on this forum and it is a very personal issue. No one person has the best method and there is no right or wrong way, only what is best for you so listen to the suggestions you read here and develope your own techniques.

I started out using the disc sander for my needs but never felt completely comfortable with it and if you want a shaving edge, you are a bit limited by the inability to apply the microscopic grits necessary for extreme edges with commercially available 12 inch disc. There are ways around this however as shown on one of Nick's sharpening video's.

I still use the disc sander on occasion, however, I have settled down on the strip sander with the sharpening attachment to provide a shaving edge, if desired, on most of my tools even finger nail grind gouges. It is easy to purchase belts all the way from 40 to 1500 grits and even leather belts for the finest shaving polished edge. Spot on duplication of cutting angles is easily achieved with a Wixey or similar gauge. Turning of small and miniature objects is my love and I mostly use a small lathe, not the SS, so I often leave the strip sander set up and ready to go.

I find it unnecessary to have a shaving edge on lathe tools except for very small delicate objects and even at that, you loose that edge rapidly in turning anyway so I often also use a slow speed grinder with the Wolverine System.

Some members have purchased the relatively new Work Sharp system and swear by it. I tried one at Woodcraft and really like it especially for hand chisels and plane irons. You might try contacting Dusty for an unbiased opinion on this instrument. Most likely, he will chime in here anyway.

As with any method of sharpening, continued use, experience, and pratice are key words for success.

Ashbury

Alan:
I have just gone through sharpening all of my bench chisels, using the 12 in. disk on the Shop Smith. was able to keep reletively same blade bevels, not exactly, but close. I was using the disc paper that I bought several years ago, I believe that it is 180 grit. It did not give a cutting edge that would shave with, but after a few monutes, on an unknown oil stone, it would shave your arm.

I understand that there are finer grits of paper that would give the same results. I tried glueing a sheet of 400 on an unused disc, but need more instructions about achieving that magic micro-bevil that they say you would try for. I would like to try the strip sander, if I had one, but feel that I have enough equipment now that I have not mastered.

Best of luck in your sharpening experience. Keep us posted.

Clement

My son, son-in-law, and I have sharpened lathe chisels using both the strip sander ( with sharpening attachment) and an 8" bench grinder with the Wolverine sharpening guide. The bench grinder of course gives you a hollow grind. Wolverine has a vari-grind attachment which is highly useful for gouges.

For my bench chisels, for the initial sharpening of the chisels, I use a series of glass plates with wet/dry paper attached with 3M 77 adhesive. A normal proceedure would be to start with grid 150 or 180, then progress thru, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, and then 1200. By the time you have polished the bevel with 1200 you can see your reflection on the surface. A final careful swipe on the back removes the wire edge. Wait a minute! Here........I've almost forgotten that I first flatten the back 1/2" of the chisel using the same progression of wet/dry papers. You can't get a good edge on a chisel that doesn't have a flattened back. When I'm finished I can shave hairs on the back of my hand. Once the chisels have been sharpened I can touch up the edges using water stones. I have 1200, 4000, 6000, and 8000 stones. (note: not the same rating system as used on wet/dry paper)

For both the wet/dry paper and the water stone methods, I use the Veritas MKII sharpening guide. I also use this tool for sharpening my hand plane blades.

I use the strip sander and the sharpening guide - not the strip sander sharpening attachment. I did not like the idea of having to mount the strip sander on the right hand side of the headstock to be able to use the strip sander sharpening attachment. So, I built a small jig to hold the sharpening guide on the small table of the strip sander.

My advice would be to try sharpening using different methods and find which one you are the most comfortable with and then stick with it. Just remember to keep your tools sharp. Like what was stated earlier, there are various ways to sharpen and everyone has their personal preference. I prefer using the strip sander with the sharpening guide.

BPR

But how sharp must the tool be to get good results? I am about to start turning for the first time. Really, always wanted to but kept putting it off. When I went to the Traveling Academy after purchasing my SS, the class showed how to sharpen the turning chisel on the sanding disc, using 150 grit and the sharpening guide. We were told that was all that was needed for turning.
Granted, when I sharpen a hand tool or knife I look for a razor edge, finishing with a 6000 stone and a leather strop. But what about a turning chisel?
Watching for your answers. Gary

From what I have been told in several classes I took at Woodcraft and as well as a couple of the TA's, you do not need to sharpen the turning chisels as sharp as you would a bench chisel or a plane blade. Generally what you get after running it on either a grinding wheel or the sanding disk is fine for turning. I have always used mine after doing that and never had any problems. Just my opinion and past experience.

Gary- You asked "But how sharp must the tool be to get good results?"

I think there are too many variables to answer that question easily. It will depend upon whether you making a roughing cut or finishing cut, the wood species, how wet (green) the wood is, whether you're cutting or scraping, etc. If you're trying to remove a lot of wood quickly, the chisel doesn't need to be as sharp as if you're doing your final finishing cut to minimize sanding.

With practice, the wood itself will tell you if your chisel is sharp enough. If you're getting dust instead of shavings, or if you're having to use a lot of pressure on the chisel, or if you're getting a lot of torn grain, the chisel needs to be sharpened. The sound and feel of the cut are also clues- if the tool is sharp and you're getting nice shavings, the chisel almost feeds itself into the wood and the sound is unmistakable (but hard to describe).

If you're just getting started, I'd advise you to sharpen frequently. Getting a sharp, repeatable edge may require as much practice as turning itself. I wish I would have learned that a couple of years ago!

The local Woodcraft people told us that if the chisel is sharp enough to take a fine shaving off your thumbnail, it's sharp enough for turning. Seems to work for me!

Gary