Some grinding and buffing wheel tips for sharpening profiled blades freehand.

[JDarvall]

For Paul in the UK. Couldn't post the details to his site though for some reason. So here they are.

Just some more ideas to ponder on a way to sharpen profile blades off grinder and buffing wheels.

Just took a few photos of my wheels and wrote on them as I went through them. I haven't organised them very well I think.. Still should be able to get something from them. I started to rave a bit.

Feel its sharpening that stops people from using moulding and plough planes. Which is a shame, because a well sharpened and set plane is a pleasure to use. And your cutting shapes as well !....lot more fun than a boring old bench plane.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d74/apricotripper/1-1.jpg

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more next post....

[JDarvall]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d74/apricotripper/18.jpg

theres more of this #### here ...

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=19928&highlight=sharpen+moulding+planes

Thats when I used tool rests. Found since its easier to do without them. Its not as important as it may seem to grind a blade at exactly 25 degrees for instance. Something between 25 and 35 is usually fine. And you can easily learn to guage that freehand.

[Lignum]

Tripper great stuff:D I especialy like the idea of the grinder cut off disk. Im going to add that idea to mine... Thanks:D

[Waldo]

G'day Jake,

Another beaut thread, but that's why it's so interesting to read your stuff.

I have a soft spot for old rebate planes etc., and you've shown that it's not that hard to sharpen the profiles with grinder and bufing wheels.

Shhh, I havn't told SWMBO that I've got to buy anothe b/grinder for with hard felt buffing wheels to keep my lathe chisels in good shape. Just got to figure out where to put it. I won't be buying and Abbott & Ashby for it though, she'd flip at another $190, I'll just get a mid range one.

Top stuff Jake.

Damnit, how am I meant to sleep with you putting ideas in my head?

[JDarvall]

Pleasure guys. :)

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Jake,

I posted a reply on the UK site but thought I'd better post one here too.

I'm really grateful to you for going to so much trouble to post all this information about how you hone your shaped blades. It's great stuff:cool: Just printed it all off and now going to have a good read.

Thanks again Jake;)

Paul Chapman

[JDarvall]

no problem Paul.

Hope I was clear enough. I sometimes look back latter at what I've written and rush frantically for the edit button. :D ... some of it just doesn't make sense.

have a good week Paul :)

[ozwinner]

You darksiders....?:D

You still need the electron....whamahahahahahaha. http://www.ubeaut.biz/laughdevil.gif

Al :p

[ian]

Jake
informative and entertaining as usual

thanks

ian

[Paul Chapman]

no problem Paul.

Hope I was clear enough. I sometimes look back latter at what I've written and rush frantically for the edit button. :D ... some of it just doesn't make sense.

have a good week Paul :)

Well it made perfect sense to me, Jake, so perhaps I'm as mad as you :D
Seriously, it was excellent stuff - thanks again:)

Paul

[schaf]

certainly worth a green one or two.
Well done.
Terry

[conwood]

good work trip,
Where do you get the extension thingos for grinders? I want to add something next to my felt wheel.

cheers,
conwood

[JDarvall]

Them thingos.......I got me thingo from bunnings I think. If I remember right, there mean't to fit a 5/8" thread...and there's left and right handed ones...Big engraved 'L' or 'R' in the side of it somewhere.

Sold with those other tapered attachments for buffing wheels,,,,,I mean the same company made them, but you don't see them displayed as much as the tapered attachments.

If anyones interested in mounting those thin disks, some might have a problem with the bushing.......I had to make my own thin bushing off the lathe, turning thinner those plastic sleeves that come with grinding wheels, to fit the disks....... If someones interested I'll put more effort into explaining it.....get a picture and all that.

:)

[woden]

Thought I'd revive this fascinating old thread to ask what's really an OT question. Apricotripper, does a coarse al. oxide white wheel cut anywhere near as fast or as cool as those cut-off disks? Thing is I've been messing around a bit in trying to figure out whether I could safely use a dry grinder to shape bevels... anyway, I put my drill in a vice and attached a 1/4" wide cut-off disk from an angle grinder and tried to grind a rubbish chisel.

Anyway, it worked really well with fast cutting and little heat build up. Left me not half as much scared of dry grinding as I was - I was nearly tempted to try a 'good' chisel. Oh yeah, I set the revs on the drill to roughly that of a slow speed grinder - about 1400 - so that might also explain why it all went so cool.

Was my little experiment in any way an indication of how a grinder with a coarse white wheels might run - or would the cutting be much slower and hotter? It's just that I felt the speed the cut-off disk worked at was great but don't want to get a grinder only to find that the process with the white wheel is slow and time consuming. I wonder why they don't produce 1" wide cut-off disks specifically for grinding tools - maybe they don't last long or something.

Apricotripper, have you tried one of those new fangled blue ceramic grindstones that Norton has brought out?

[JDarvall]

I like your enthusiasm. I'll try and keep up with it. :;

Thought I'd revive this fascinating old thread to ask what's really an OT question. Apricotripper, does a coarse al. oxide white wheel cut anywhere near as fast or as cool as those cut-off disks? Thing is I've been messing around a bit in trying to figure out whether I could safely use a dry grinder to shape bevels...
Its hard to say whats quicker. It doesn't matter really. I wouldn't put much focus on it. How well you do it, and how fast it takes is all dependent on how much you practise.

Having said that....yes, the cutoff disks seem to run cooler, but thats mostly because its grinding at less an area...and the air can get to I suppose.

As for safety. Well, think about what happens when its unsafe....the only thing that can go wrong in this sense, is when your actually using the cutoff disk to cutoff....if you take it in deep enough to the blade (or whatever) it can grab the whole piece and throw it out of your hands....

So, organise your technique so that your hands won't been drawn into the disk or stone, should this happen.



anyway, I put my drill in a vice and attached a 1/4" wide cut-off disk from an angle grinder and tried to grind a rubbish chisel.

Anyway, it worked really well with fast cutting and little heat build up. Left me not half as much scared of dry grinding as I was - I was nearly tempted to try a 'good' chisel. Oh yeah, I set the revs on the drill to roughly that of a slow speed grinder - about 1400 - so that might also explain why it all went so cool.

Was my little experiment in any way an indication of how a grinder with a coarse white wheels might run - or would the cutting be much slower and hotter? It's just that I felt the speed the cut-off disk worked at was great but don't want to get a grinder only to find that the process with the white wheel is slow and time consuming. I wonder why they don't produce 1" wide cut-off disks specifically for grinding tools - maybe they don't last long or something.

Apricotripper, have you tried one of those new fangled blue ceramic grindstones that Norton has brought out?

ummmm....I really think your overcomplicating it all a bit. Could be wrong. You don't have to think about is as much. ....try and keep it simple.

- avoid the blade overheating.....monitor that with a finger right close up to the blade.....the thinner the edge gets the more likely it will burn....so lighten up your finger pressure as it gets thinner

- keep sweeping the blade from side to side or else you'll get an uneven grind over the width of your blade.

- Its all about maintaining the profile of the blade whilst grinding the bevel to a point.

- for the white wheels.....when you notice the blades heat up quicker than usual.....time to think about dressing it.....like switching to a new piece of sandpaper......big improvement after dressing.

No....I've never used a blue stone. Never had a need to. Guessing it wouldn't bring much of an improvement to anything....but I really don't know.

There's lots of ways of sharpening Woden. People argue about it all the time. Including myself. :U

[woden]

Yeah, I'm probably putting too much thought into this - racking my brains a bit. Just wanna get a system that is fast and not to difficult to repeat, otherwise I'll put the whole thing off and my woodwork will suffer.

On the safety thing, I wasn't so much as thinking about me but the 'safety' of the blades so to speak - I've got my priorities right, haven't I. :D No, my concern was whether I'd screw up with the dry grinder and burn the edges of my blades - it's those lovelies I'm concerned about, if I end up with a chisel up my nose then I probably shouldn't be woodworking at all.

Yeah, it looks like practise and technique are an important part of this. I suppose when you've ground as many blades as you have you can do it freehand and in the blink of an eye. For me it'll be clumsier and slower.


People argue about it all the time. Including myself.
But has anyone started arguing with themselves, like me? I tell you this whole sharpening business has my head spinning... :)

[JDarvall]

But has anyone started arguing with themselves, like me? I tell you this whole sharpening business has my head spinning... :)
:D I know. Thats one of the problems with these forums. Your gonna hear a lot of opinions at once. And everyones an expert.

From your point of view, I'd imagine, it be hard to understand the true significance of points brought up by members of this forum, including myself. How important something really is.

Unfortunetly, I don't think there's really any easy way around it. Your just gonna have to bite the bullet, accept the possibility of buying the wrong thing.......Give it a go....and uno just learn from your mistakes.

Thats the only way I've learned....... really need the hands on experience woden. Practise. You'll find you can solve your own problems. Not, that I don't mind talking about this stuff. Don't hold back though asking questions. I'll try my best to answer them. If I don't know, I'll tell you straight.

Still reakon finding a woodworker nearby to get some tips from would be invaluable for you. Getting harder and harder though I guess. The skills are dying out.

[jmk89]

I agree with Jake, woden.
This is a case where you have to do to learn.
The French say it very well - their equivalent of "Practice makes perfect" is "C'est en forgeant on devient forgeron" (roughly, by making horseshoes youu become a blacksmith).
And apply the principle set out in my signature line while remembering that the person who never made a mistake didn't ever make anything at all.

Cliche fest over

Cheers

Jeremy