I've been using a slow speed grinder to sharpen chisels and planer
blades. I took it off to a job site and it got stolen. Now I need a
replacement. A friend gave me a 3600RPM grinder that I was thinking
about throwing an aluminum oxide wheel on. Would 3600 be too fast?
Is it work buying the wheel? Anybody use a full speed grinder for
sharpening irons?
On Aug 29, 4:40=A0pm, "Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote:
> IMHO, a 1"-2" x 40" lg =A0vertical belt sander is far more useful for
> sharpening.
If you are used to using a grinder for your particular tasks dayvo and
want to continue to do so, have at it.
But Lew is 110% correct. For cutting implements that require flat
surfaces, a sander is VASTLY superior to a grinder in just about every
way.
When I tangle with a really hard door in a hardware retrofit, it isn't
unusual for me to roll back the edge (or chip an edge) on a hard oak
door. Not to mention an errant nail or screw you find from a previous
repair....
I always resurface and reshape the edge with my sander unless my
chisel looks like Alfred E. Neumann's teeth. Then it is grinder
first, sander second.
Beware though. Grinding on the sander generated MORE heat than the
grinder, but cuts much cleaner. Just sharpen a bit more slowly.
Of course, just my 0.02.
Robert
"dayvo" wrote:
> I've been using a slow speed grinder to sharpen chisels and planer
> blades. I took it off to a job site and it got stolen.
I feel your loss.
> Now I need a
> replacement. A friend gave me a 3600RPM grinder that I was thinking
> about throwing an aluminum oxide wheel on. Would 3600 be too fast?
YES.
IMHO, a 1"-2" x 40" lg vertical belt sander is far more useful for
sharpening.
Lew
First of all, as a contractor I feel your pain about job site theft.
No matter who took your grinder, I hope you find out who it was and
beat him to death with the same grinder.
For a grinder used as a sharpener or reprofiler, I think slower is
better. A less aggressive machine is always a good idea on a cutter
as you can easily burn the metal or take too much off.
Most of the guys in the woodturning group I know use this one,
including me:
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004605/19002/8-Slow-Speed-Grinder.aspx
or same link if the wrap munges:
http://tinyurl.com/nt5hgj
I have two, and one I have had for about 10 years. The wheels are
good, not great, but certainly serviceable. Be aware; they aren't
Norton type wheels. You will need to true them up.
The good news is the oldest grinder still runs like the day I bought
it, and the original wheels last a really long time. Some of the guys
in the club still have the same wheels that came with the grinder
after years of moderate use.
This one is easy on the pocket book, too.
Robert
dayvo <[email protected]> wrote in news:c2e7f40b-26ed-400d-97d3-
[email protected]:
> I've been using a slow speed grinder to sharpen chisels and planer
> blades. I took it off to a job site and it got stolen. Now I need a
> replacement. A friend gave me a 3600RPM grinder that I was thinking
> about throwing an aluminum oxide wheel on. Would 3600 be too fast?
> Is it work buying the wheel? Anybody use a full speed grinder for
> sharpening irons?
>
I think you'll burn the crap out of your irons and chisels at that speed.
They make slow speed grinders for a reason.
Scott
On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:06:36 -0700 (PDT), dayvo <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I've been using a slow speed grinder to sharpen chisels and planer
>blades. I took it off to a job site and it got stolen. Now I need a
>replacement. A friend gave me a 3600RPM grinder that I was thinking
>about throwing an aluminum oxide wheel on. Would 3600 be too fast?
>Is it work buying the wheel? Anybody use a full speed grinder for
>sharpening irons?
You can use 3600 rpm for mower blades and such, but for a gouge or
chisel you can still use it but you need to develop a light touch. I
think Woodcraft has a slow-speed grinder for less than $100. If you
take it on site, paint it bright pink so nobody will think about
stealing it.
;-)
On Aug 31, 9:45=A0am, mac davis <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:21:09 -0500, Larry Blanchard <[email protected]>=
wrote:
> >On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:02:08 -0400, Phisherman wrote:
>
> >> =A0I think
> >> Woodcraft has a slow-speed grinder for less than $100. =A0If you take =
it
> >> on
>
> >The Woodcraft grinder is especially good if you catch it on sale. =A0Not
> >much more than the price of the two wheels that come with it.
>
> >As far as speed, I like the slow speed, but the instructions that come
> >with my Wolverine sharpening jig say high speed is fine. =A0I would thin=
k
> >their experience trumps mine.
>
> I'm Very happy with my Woodcraft grinder.. and like you said, when it was=
on
> sale for $65 with free shipping, I bought it instead of replacement wheel=
s for
> my high speed grinder..
>
> The biggest sharpening breakthrough for me was realizing the difference b=
etween
> grinding and sharpening.. My tools last a lot longer now.. lol
>
Sharpening chisels and planer blades is a whole different department
than sharping/touching up turning tools. I say slow speed ,white A/O
wheel for chisels and plane blades , touching up turning tools, high
speed/gray wheel is fine.
OTOH I do remember our wood shop teacher using the 6" belt sander to
touch up turning tools.
Thanks, Tony
On Aug 30, 10:21 am, Larry Blanchard <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:02:08 -0400, Phisherman wrote:
> The Woodcraft grinder is especially good if you catch it on sale. Not
> much more than the price of the two wheels that come with it.
See my link above.
> As far as speed, I like the slow speed, but the instructions that come
> with my Wolverine sharpening jig say high speed is fine. I would think
> their experience trumps mine.
I like the slow speed as well. Not when I am sharpening lawn mower
blade or doing real metal removal. But for those tasks I like those
old coarse gray wheels, too.
I think once you find your "sweet spot" with your technique, all
manner of devices and configurations can be used. I have a guy in my
woodturning club that uses all carbon steel tools, sharpens in a high
speed 6" grinder with gray wheels some where in the 40 grit area.
They seem to look cut fine. For me, I can't even get the profile I
want with a 6" wheel, much less get one sharpened the way I want.
Then there are those turners that simply won't use a fine wheel at
all. Their opinion is that the extra time needed to remove metal
needed by the finer grits makes it harder to control edge faceting and
generates more heat.
I had the pleasure of meeting an enjoying demo by the inimitable
George Hatfield at our woodturning club, and he sharpens on a 40 grit
blue Norton wheel. I *think* Mike Mahoney does the same thing as well
as John Jordan. That is a very well practiced hand. Much more so
than mine.
For me, 36grit, 40grit etc.is just too aggressive for finer
sharpening. If I used a jig, it might be fine but I free hand
everything, including my bowl gouges.
Robert
On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:02:08 -0400, Phisherman wrote:
> I think
> Woodcraft has a slow-speed grinder for less than $100. If you take it
> on
The Woodcraft grinder is especially good if you catch it on sale. Not
much more than the price of the two wheels that come with it.
As far as speed, I like the slow speed, but the instructions that come
with my Wolverine sharpening jig say high speed is fine. I would think
their experience trumps mine.
--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw
[email protected] wrote:
...
> Most of the guys in the woodturning group I know use this one,
> including me:
>
> http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004605/19002/8-Slow-Speed-Grinder.aspx
...
Okay, anybody any experience w/ any one or more of the Tormek knock-offs?
--
Larry Blanchard wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:02:08 -0400, Phisherman wrote:
>
>> I think
>> Woodcraft has a slow-speed grinder for less than $100. If you take
>> it on
>
> The Woodcraft grinder is especially good if you catch it on sale. Not
> much more than the price of the two wheels that come with it.
>
> As far as speed, I like the slow speed, but the instructions that come
> with my Wolverine sharpening jig say high speed is fine. I would
> think their experience trumps mine.
FWIW, the Harbor Fright Tormek clone works quite well--it's not as
convenient as a Tormek and the blade needs a few strokes on a stone
afterward to get a surgical edge, but for 80 bucks it's a bargain, and using
a wet stone it presents no risk at all of burning.
On Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:21:09 -0500, Larry Blanchard <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:02:08 -0400, Phisherman wrote:
>
>> I think
>> Woodcraft has a slow-speed grinder for less than $100. If you take it
>> on
>
>The Woodcraft grinder is especially good if you catch it on sale. Not
>much more than the price of the two wheels that come with it.
>
>As far as speed, I like the slow speed, but the instructions that come
>with my Wolverine sharpening jig say high speed is fine. I would think
>their experience trumps mine.
I'm Very happy with my Woodcraft grinder.. and like you said, when it was on
sale for $65 with free shipping, I bought it instead of replacement wheels for
my high speed grinder..
The biggest sharpening breakthrough for me was realizing the difference between
grinding and sharpening.. My tools last a lot longer now.. lol
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
A slow grinder is forgiving, but 3600 RPM grinders have been
around forever and have sharpened lots of tools and bits.
--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
[email protected]
"dayvo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:c2e7f40b-26ed-400d-97d3-47f2b848910a@d34g2000vbm.googlegroups.com...
> I've been using a slow speed grinder to sharpen chisels and
> planer
> blades. I took it off to a job site and it got stolen. Now I
> need a
> replacement. A friend gave me a 3600RPM grinder that I was
> thinking
> about throwing an aluminum oxide wheel on. Would 3600 be too
> fast?
> Is it work buying the wheel? Anybody use a full speed grinder
> for
> sharpening irons?