Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Expensive but is good the Pro-edge and nicely made, but not as good as the 12" flat sanding disc which came with my lathe, especially for wider blades. Runs a lot cooler too. Sold the Pro edge.
Possible can of worms
- Thread starter Garno
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Another pro edge user and very happy with it.
It's a big lump of money but once bought, you won't regret it.
It's not perfect but it is strong, consistent and easy to use. The freedom to use belts with different abrasives and grits is a positive.
One caveat is that the pro edge jigs can't replicate the "Ellsworth" grind if you get into bowl turning and want to try that. With the long grind jig it will make something close and perfectly usable though.
I'm not aware of any drill sharpening jig for it.
It's a big lump of money but once bought, you won't regret it.
It's not perfect but it is strong, consistent and easy to use. The freedom to use belts with different abrasives and grits is a positive.
One caveat is that the pro edge jigs can't replicate the "Ellsworth" grind if you get into bowl turning and want to try that. With the long grind jig it will make something close and perfectly usable though.
I'm not aware of any drill sharpening jig for it.
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
You can use different belts on any linisher.
The kit I most regret parting with was a Picador belt sander. 3" wide but you could fit the Pro edge belts no prob.
Kendle99
Established Member
Where's the best ( cheapest ) place to buy the pro edge ?
I used a Tormek for years when I was cabinet making, but I fell out with it when I started turning. It was always messy (water everywhere), but was ok for bevel edge chisels, plane blades etc, but I had to put an afternoon aside every so often to sharpen my kit. When I started turning, i found it hopelessly slow when re shaping, but more importantly, I couldn’t quickly restore an edge. The final straw came when I couldn’t replace the stone because the spindle nuts holding the stone had rusted solid. I bit the bullet and bought the Pro edge, and like a lot of the guys on here, have not looked back since. It’s quick and easy to restore an edge, no fuss, no messing. I wouldn’t have a Tormek or similar given me now.
So far from what I have seen this is the cheapest but saying that I am not 100% sure it has all the jigs needed Robert Sorby ProEdge Sharpening System
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Have been hearing the same about Tormek for years. Everybody says slow, messy etc. What's the point of having a slow machine?
For turning a sanding disc on the outboard end does it for me
sneggysteve
Established Member
I have a pro edge and a Tormk , I have commented on several occasion the a Tormek is good for re sharpening a edge you have allready established
The Pro Edge kit you need for woodturning is this one
The ProEdge Plus (ref. PED01A) also referred to as The Pro-Edge Deluxe (ref. PED01A)
Has an extra belt - 240 grit aluminium oxide, so you get 3 in total. lt also includes a number of further accessories of special value to the woodturner - a skew chisel jig, a fingernail gouge profiler and a standard gouge jig. These additional attachments help the woodturner overcome sharpening difficulties with skew chisels, standard and fingernail profile gouges.
I think the main problem with " Water everywhere and Messy " is the trough is over filled by the user , You only need a small amount just to wet the stone not drown it , Also at this time of you you need to be careful that the water does not freeze causing damage to the stone , Re the rusted on nut , Could be lack of mainanance , Some use and forget
Absolutely. It's an advantage of linishers in general just as their running costs are higher (than a grinder) because they gradually consume belts.
I experimented first with putting metal linishing belts on a cheap Delta 4" belt / disc sander before buying the pro edge.
It works and can be adapted to have a 12mm bar to allow use of a pro-edge bowl gouge jig, but after proving the idea to myself I decided to splurge on the PE because it's much better built, smoother and easy to adjust.
A wishlist project for the future is to build myself a knife grinder style machine using 2" wide long belts. It looks feasible and could be made to take the pro edge jigs and more. If that ever comes off, the PE will be sold on.
I was always careful not to overfill the trough, but the stone still acted as a kind of water wheel and water inevitably splashed out. (I used a large roasting tin to stand the machine in to avoid getting water on my bench.)
I’m at a bit of a loss at the suggestion that ‘you need to be careful that the water doesn’t freeze ..damage to the stone.’ You would have to leave the water in the trough for this to happen, and this would represent terrible negligence. I was always careful to clean and dry the machine after use. (A need that is yet another drawback). The problem with the spindle nut is well known with the Tormek grinder (see user forums), and, short of stripping the machine down after each use, is almost inevitable.
I simply cannot imagine having the patience to waiting for HSS turning tools to sharpen on a slow-speed wet-grinder like the tormek!
Have always sharpened turning tools using a belt-linisher with a fine belt, (effectively a massively overgrown pro-edge), and re-shaped damaged profiles with a 8" or 12" pedestal grinder... never bothered with jigs etc. but I already had the knack for off-hand grinding tools with those machines by the time I started turning.
The one thing I would say is that whatever you buy, the rigidity of the work-rest which supports your tool (or jig) during grinding is critical, everything else is secondary to that. If you can't get stable support for the edge, nice and close to the wheel/belt, then you'll always have issues getting a good edge.
The Sorby Pro-Edge comes up very favourably in that regard, even compared to more expensive options.
Have always sharpened turning tools using a belt-linisher with a fine belt, (effectively a massively overgrown pro-edge), and re-shaped damaged profiles with a 8" or 12" pedestal grinder... never bothered with jigs etc. but I already had the knack for off-hand grinding tools with those machines by the time I started turning.
The one thing I would say is that whatever you buy, the rigidity of the work-rest which supports your tool (or jig) during grinding is critical, everything else is secondary to that. If you can't get stable support for the edge, nice and close to the wheel/belt, then you'll always have issues getting a good edge.
The Sorby Pro-Edge comes up very favourably in that regard, even compared to more expensive options.
Hi,
Many years ago I had a Denford 16" Sharpedge honing machine this had oil feed. It was incredibly slow and the oil was messy so I sold it on.
I've had industrial grinders but now I have a 6" Wolf double ended bench grinder fully restored by me; I also have two home made belt machines one a 4" I use for general purpose and a 2" I use as a belt grinder for my tools; I've also many years ago tried Japanese water stones finding these to be a waste of money they soon wearing out of true and having to be used with water didn't help. I've got a number of Trend diamond bench stones and also an Arkansas bench oil stone.
I bought a good selection of belt types to fit the 2" grinder including ceramic and trizact; I searched for hours trying to locate a leather honing belt and finally bought a leather belt specially made for me in Texas USA of all places; I don't like using the leather honing belt thinking it rounds the cutting edge over. I've made a fingernail grinding jig.
Homemade fingernail grinding jig.
Tools as ground straight off the 2" belt grinder.
Tools having been honed on the 2" leather belt.
Finials turned with tools straight from the 2" belt grinder.
I also do metal spimming on my Graduate; here the tools definitely need a mirror finish.
Mirror finish on a spinning tool tip.
My home made 2" belt tool grinder.
My fully restored Wolf 6" grinder and homemade 4" general purpose belt sander.
I can't recommend the high priced dedicated tool grinders being discussed never having tried or used one. For roughing or profiling a tool I use a 60G belt and a 120G belt for finishing. One thing I have noticed is tools taken straight from the 120G belt and used are far better than the tools brought to a mirror finish using the leather honing belt; honing seems to make the tool skid over the surface whereas a directly belt ground tool has serious bite; I've no problems at all turning even the thinest of finials; my tools must be sharp enough otherwise the finial's would soon break.
I'd concentrate on learning woodturning using basic sharpening kit than jumping straight in with highly expensive kit; there are many YouTube videos covering tool sharpening without breaking the bank; a novice tends to grind away lots of tool steel when starting out but a basic bench grinder with a clean grinding wheel will soon grind an edge on a tool and if desired a card type inexpensive diamond hone would put a finer edge on the tool.
We are all different and I accept this I'm just showing what works for me; my bench grinder and two belt machines were possibly under £100 for all three but I have good workshop facilities; of course sharp tools are needed but money is usually needed for accessories like chucks; my Sorby Patriot chuck cost around £200 but if I tried to buy the full set of jaws for this chuck I'd need a mortgage; I think its more a case of priorities when starting out.
I'll always encourage any would be turner to get stuck in and have a go because turning both wood and metal is addictive with no known cure. Good luck whatever you decide to buy it's entirely your choice.
Kind regards, Colin.
Many years ago I had a Denford 16" Sharpedge honing machine this had oil feed. It was incredibly slow and the oil was messy so I sold it on.
I've had industrial grinders but now I have a 6" Wolf double ended bench grinder fully restored by me; I also have two home made belt machines one a 4" I use for general purpose and a 2" I use as a belt grinder for my tools; I've also many years ago tried Japanese water stones finding these to be a waste of money they soon wearing out of true and having to be used with water didn't help. I've got a number of Trend diamond bench stones and also an Arkansas bench oil stone.
I bought a good selection of belt types to fit the 2" grinder including ceramic and trizact; I searched for hours trying to locate a leather honing belt and finally bought a leather belt specially made for me in Texas USA of all places; I don't like using the leather honing belt thinking it rounds the cutting edge over. I've made a fingernail grinding jig.
Homemade fingernail grinding jig.
Tools as ground straight off the 2" belt grinder.
Tools having been honed on the 2" leather belt.
Finials turned with tools straight from the 2" belt grinder.
I also do metal spimming on my Graduate; here the tools definitely need a mirror finish.
Mirror finish on a spinning tool tip.
My home made 2" belt tool grinder.
My fully restored Wolf 6" grinder and homemade 4" general purpose belt sander.
I can't recommend the high priced dedicated tool grinders being discussed never having tried or used one. For roughing or profiling a tool I use a 60G belt and a 120G belt for finishing. One thing I have noticed is tools taken straight from the 120G belt and used are far better than the tools brought to a mirror finish using the leather honing belt; honing seems to make the tool skid over the surface whereas a directly belt ground tool has serious bite; I've no problems at all turning even the thinest of finials; my tools must be sharp enough otherwise the finial's would soon break.
I'd concentrate on learning woodturning using basic sharpening kit than jumping straight in with highly expensive kit; there are many YouTube videos covering tool sharpening without breaking the bank; a novice tends to grind away lots of tool steel when starting out but a basic bench grinder with a clean grinding wheel will soon grind an edge on a tool and if desired a card type inexpensive diamond hone would put a finer edge on the tool.
We are all different and I accept this I'm just showing what works for me; my bench grinder and two belt machines were possibly under £100 for all three but I have good workshop facilities; of course sharp tools are needed but money is usually needed for accessories like chucks; my Sorby Patriot chuck cost around £200 but if I tried to buy the full set of jaws for this chuck I'd need a mortgage; I think its more a case of priorities when starting out.
I'll always encourage any would be turner to get stuck in and have a go because turning both wood and metal is addictive with no known cure. Good luck whatever you decide to buy it's entirely your choice.
Kind regards, Colin.
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Impressed!
There's also the option of a flat ply + velcro'd sandpaper disc on your outboard end. Works really well.
There's also the option of a flat ply + velcro'd sandpaper disc on your outboard end. Works really well.
I have a six inch Creusen grinder with white wheels and two Sorby 447 jigs. I grind chisels and plane irons on MDF discs on the lathe with abrasive paper stuck on them. (I also have a strong plywood box with a formica top that fixes down on the bed bars as a sanding table at centre height - no adjustment, but perfectly square (good for pen blanks)).
I don't know any turner that hones tools and I know a pro turner and several very good turners who don't get on with ProEdges because they don't like the dead flat grind. There's no way I could justify the cost for what advantage one would give me over and above what I've already got.
I don't know any turner that hones tools and I know a pro turner and several very good turners who don't get on with ProEdges because they don't like the dead flat grind. There's no way I could justify the cost for what advantage one would give me over and above what I've already got.
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Ditto the mdf or ply discs. Velcro a big help!
I polish plane blades gouges chisels on a disc with Autosol. Slow speed and spread it on thin or it gets flung off. Takes seconds to polish them up and it turns a sharp plane blade into an uber smoother. Big noticeable difference. Polish leading edge of cap iron too.
If you profile the edge of the disc it'll polish inside gouges too.
If I was looking again and money was no object i'd forgo the sorby for the new axminster purely for variable belt speed which is a no brainer for non turning tool steel. Like most though I buy a lot of stuff second hand because :Money. So maybe in a few years I will trade in the second hand sorby for a second hand axminster one. Probably not mind. Gary, if you can find an affordable sorby do not hesitate.
