Begginer sharpening

[CosmicNacho]

Hi,

I know this probably gets covered a lot and I've tried looking for answers but can't quite get it so here goes.

After getting into turning and being a little overwhelmed by the masses of avenues i can go down I probably overlooked the whole sharpening issue.

So I decided to bite the bullet and buy a record power 8" bench grinder. We have a grinder set up for other things so it's difficult to use as I can adjust the angles.

So here I am, I know it's not the best but I'd say it's definitely middle of the road and at this stage all I can afford.

I just wondered what everyone's thoughts were on the jigs available to sharpen the chisels, I'm not into spending a fortune and I've seen videos of how to make your own our of timber, working in a joiners shop this is an option. I've also seen some decent homemade steel ones on eBay, one of which includes the main jig, a fingernail profile jig and a nice big 3" tool rest. Coming in at £55 I feel this is good.

In an ideal world I'd have bought a sorby pro edge but... You know how it is.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

If you can get hold of a copy of the DVD by Michael O'Donnell called Wood turning Green wood it has an excellent tutorial on simple sharpening with a grinder. Many of the techniques are simple freehanded using a regular platform type rest. He covers bowl and spindle gouges, roughing gouge, skews, scrapers and parting tools. Its very well worth a watch as its aimed at the beginner and it documents all the bevel angles in diagrammatic form as well as showing the procedure on the grinder itself.

Oh and....welcome to the forum by the way

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

When I first started, I made a timber jig similar to Alex's setup which served me really well for the first year or so. I know loads of people will say learn to grind freehand and all, but I feel you need a consistent grind when beginning and there's no shame in using a jig.
I currently use a copy of Cap'n Eddie's blackhawk jig which allows more flexibility.
I still class myself as a beginner, and feel that getting a consistently good edge on my tools is more important than facing yet another steep learning curve.
As the saying goes, horses for courses.

 

[Mark Hancock]

Surprised Chas hasn't posted here but check out his home made fingernail jigs

http://quest42.co.uk/woodwork/GrindingJig/grindingjig1.html

http://quest42.co.uk/woodwork/grinding_jig/grindingjig2.html

A number of my students have made these and for a few quid work great.

 

[Dalboy]

Another one that I found a long while ago is this sharpening system. Well worth a look at

 

[nicguthrie]

Heya CosmicNacho (love the name by the way)

I know the hole you're in well, when I started the whole sharpening thing brought me to a total stop - I didn't have the knowledge of what a good shape was, so freehand was virtually impossible and I didn't have any jigs. On top of all this I'm often short on time and energy so try not to use what I do have on making basic stuff like that myself if they're available at a reasonable price.

I bought a different sharpener from you, and got the Tormek jigs, they're not too cheap, but commonly thought of as about the best jig set you can get - there's a simple way to make a brace/stand thing for them on a grinder too. I can certainly vouch for the Tormek SVD-185 Gouge and Turning Cutter Jig being very versatile and easy to use, there's a guide with it on how to use it. You can change the profile just by changing the parameters of how you have it set up, from very steep (close to a U) to very "long" fingernail.

However, if you do have time and energy and a spirit of adventure, I'd give another upvote to Cap'n Eddie's BlackHawk design, the guy's great, gives step by step guides on making and using it. I hope he recovers from his heart trouble ASAP. http://youtu.be/_a2MxChZijQ

All the best, and enjoy your turning!

Nic.

 

[CosmicNacho]

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies, its just the kind of stuff i wanted to be able to see!

Im going to explore all the suggestions in detail and make my mind up!

Thanks again!

Oh thanks nicguthrie, I actually got my username as a random suggestion about 10 years ago when i set up an account on my psp i think it was n ive been using it ever since ha!

 

[delaney001]

.

 

[delaney001]

When I first started, I made a timber jig similar to which served me really well for the first year or so. I know loads of people will say learn to grind freehand and all, but I feel you need a consistent grind when beginning and there's no shame in using a jig.
I currently use a copy of Cap'n Eddie's blackhawk jig which allows more flexibility.
I still class myself as a beginner, and feel that getting a consistently good edge on my tools is more important than facing yet another steep learning curve.
As the saying goes, horses for courses.

How does the captain eddy jig work for you? I was thinking about making one to go with a 6" wheel and belt grinder. Like the OP I'd love to able go the sorby route... But that won't be happening anytime soon.

Interested to hear anyone's thoughts on captain eddys jig really

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

It works great for me. I bought mild steel square tube stock from B&Q for a few quid. They do sizes which slip inside one another nicely. I used a bit of steel angle plate for the "cradle" at the end. It's a bit big, but does the job. One bit I did wrong was the fingernail jig, where I have the bolt in the top, so it sits in the flute. This restricts the length of gouge it accepts. Much better to have the bolt in the bottom.

My grinder is a cheap Silverline one, which serves me well enough. I just have to be careful with the grinding in case the steel gets too hot.

I have to work on a very tight budget, usually zero, so all my tools and machinery tend to come from the lower end of the price spectrum. My entire setup was under £30 and yes, before anyone asks, the grinder does have guards for the wheels. They are off in the photo because I decided to swap sides on the wheels because of the location of the machine.

 

[delaney001]

It works great for me. I bought mild steel square tube stock from B&Q for a few quid. They do sizes which slip inside one another nicely. I used a bit of steel angle plate for the "cradle" at the end. It's a bit big, but does the job. One bit I did wrong was the fingernail jig, where I have the bolt in the top, so it sits in the flute. This restricts the length of gouge it accepts. Much better to have the bolt in the bottom.

My grinder is a cheap Silverline one, which serves me well enough. I just have to be careful with the grinding in case the steel gets too hot.

I have to work on a very tight budget, usually zero, so all my tools and machinery tend to come from the lower end of the price spectrum. My entire setup was under £30 and yes, before anyone asks, the grinder does have guards for the wheels. They are off in the photo because I decided to swap sides on the wheels because of the location of the machine.

Thanks very much for the reply. That looks a lovely set up and exactly what I was hoping for. A lot of places I've searched so far seem to be slightly dismissive of anything less than a Sorby or Tormek. Nice to see there are some alternatives, even if they are only beginner alternatives.
Two quick questions:
On the fingernail jig, what did you make to hold the end point of the long curved bar. I think captain eddy uses something like a bar with a nut on the end of it, bolted upright into the jig/table. The nut then acts as a kind of a cradle to sit the end of the bar into, and from there it arcs around. (hope I've explained that right).

The part you said you would do differently now, is that the wingnut that gets tigthned down into the flute of the chisel? You would put the wingnut underneath if doing it again, am I right in saying that?