Sharpening Forstner Bits

[JBaz]

I recently joined a wood turning club which owns quite a few Forstner bits, all of which are blunt.

I hate blunt tools, so I'd like to "do my bit" and sharpen them.

I have have visited the "Hobbyists Oracle" (YouTube) and some say to sharpen what I'll call the face cutting edge (at 90 degrees to the shaft) and other say to remove metal from the angled face. In either case it is important to make sure the two cutting edges are equal or only one does any work. Consequently I would like to use jig.

Any suggestions?

 

[Phill05]

I have only ever sharpened on the angled face.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I sharpen the teeth as well, in the same manner as a saw blade.

The angled flats clear the waste, but the teeth cut the hole.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[johnnyb]

some of these are chinese and don't hold a great edge. I usually do the angled face with a cheap diamond Swiss file. they do cut ok when sharpened but soon go blunt. the price of better German or Japanese ones can be stunning.

 

[Lefley]

some of these are chinese and don't hold a great edge. I usually do the angled face with a cheap diamond Swiss file. they do cut ok when sharpened but soon go blunt. the price of better German or Japanese ones can be stunning.

Yes the German ones can be very expensive. I just bought 4 carbide ones for making pepper mills. Razor sharp, but over $500 Canadian for 4.