Thread: Record Power WG250 - Wet Stone Sharpener

CBN wheels are no better than anything else but they last longer.
Yes, they are harder than most abrasives.
That means you can be more enthusiastic about wrecking your tools in a hurry with a mistake
in the sharpening process. I reject the notion that one wheel will do it all. Nope.
For the price and the useage, is that really cost effective?

If you are prepared to beat the ever-lovin' crapola out of your tools then sharpen, go for it.
If you have 100 edges per week in your shop, go for it. I sure as Hello would be there.
I might go as coarse as 800 for a banged up gouge.

I'm fairly good at sharpening any shop edges.
I maintain edges for other wood workers.
What are your edges?
What do you expect them to do?
Do you have a record of all the effective total included bevel angle measurements?
Can you sustain those bevel angles through the whole process?
How far? 4k grit? Willing to waste your time with 6K or 8K?

A 10X magnifier will break your heart.
We "think" the edge is sharp but wait until you see how rough that really is.

A diamond knife for electron microscopy is/was $1,500.00 per mm of edge length.
That is sharp. $1,500.00/mm to resharpen. Opthalmic surgeons spend
maybe $1,000/mm for their diamond scalpels. Good for 100 cuts. Diamonds are dirt.

I need "carving sharp." Not the same as wood working sharp.
30 minutes and I have to tune them up.

G'day and Thanks for the input. What I am looking for is the most efficient way of maintaining my Carving & Turning tools. I have no preference to CBN or Stone wheels but indication are they will last longer and therefore are cost effective. What am asking for here is an idea of the quality / value for money of the Record Power equipment. The forums here are full of Tormek but I have not seen anything on Record Power so far. Cheers,

Current issue of AWR has a review of it.

hezza: thanks.
I was taught how to maintain my carving tools, freehand. I guess it's what you get comfortable with.
I maintain a set of 12 Sorby lathe tools for a friend, paying it forward should I ever want to try my hand at turning.
My dim view of power sharpening is that the proces is too aggressive for my speed of thinking.
My sole experience is to use a grinder to begin the process of making one carving tool from another.
So far, they have turned out to be what I need.

As long as the motor runs well and the bearings provide stability for a balanced wheel, how many hours a week will this need? 1750rpm is plenty.

Record may be one of those companies like Narex = good gear but not much of a footprint in the market place so far.
Oh yeah: somebody has to be first.

Just went into the Woodworkers Institute.com (UK) site. There's a lengthy review of the WG250.
Looks to use mostly Tormek bits&pieces. Positive opinion.
Price-wise, I can't comment. 380BPS buys me a lot of freehand gear!

If your after efficient, I would be sticking with the normal bench grinders. I have seen some set up with the normal wheels plus buffing mop extensions so it ends up being 4 wheels on one grinder. I cannot comment on the grit from the wheels contaminating the stropping wheels but it was a dedicated carvers set up.

On the other hand, I dislike it when people say it's one way only! I'm all for setting up your gear the way you like it and if we don't post up the info up we don't know what is a good option or not. I'm putting my money on the tried and true method as it's cheap, quick and you will still get wicked sharp tools. The good quality grinding wheels last a very, very long time. Even the standard Chinese ones that come with new grinders are good.
Make sure you post up what you end up getting. If you do get the cbn wheel it would be great to get your feedback.

Btw, you can maintain your carving equipment with no power tools at all. It comes down to how much time you wish to spend sharpening. The advantage of hand stones and strops is the sharpening equipment will do many different tools and is the best way to take care of expensive equipment. I agree with RV on this one. If money is not an option, both systems work really well together.

Recent reviews of the Record unit comparing against the Tormek are not favourable. The Tormek wins hands down in all areas.

The only advantage the Record has is price. So why buy cheap if it will not do the job properly.

The Wet stone grinders are great for reshaping damaged tools as mentioned earlier strops and water stones are all that is really needed to keep a good edge on your carving tools.

For turning tools there is a lot of options available from your 120g aluminium oxide wheels, CBN wheel and a tormek, Robert Sorby Pro edge, with the options you will get lots of opinions.

Buy the best you can afford and buy wisely, these are generally a one of buy .

If you have the bucks this kills anything out there.

Tradesman DC Bench-Top Variable Speed Tool Grinder - Cuttermaster End Mill Sharpener | Drill Sharpener


Frank.

Cutter master.......now that's just showing off! I still want one though!

Great Plan. 36 grit at 50,000rpm and it's a done deal.
No thanks. (Yeah. We had a blender in the lab that could turn 50K).

I never have more than 3-5 carving edges to do at the end of a day.
They are rarely so banged up that I have to be as crude as 1K grit.
Freehand tune-ups are not difficult, but only if you're willing to learn.
For the last 15-25 centuries, artisans seem to have lived in a
Tormek-free world. I do too. There's some sort of economy here, yes?

[QUOTE=Jim Carroll;1729057]Recent reviews of the Record unit comparing against the Tormek are not favourable. The Tormek wins hands down in all areas.

QUOTE]

Can you please point me in the direction of these reviews. The one I have read was fairly positive.

I always thought you had to be careful when using CBN wheels. The cutter master website claims anything from plastic to hard tool steels won't clog up the wheels... I would have thought a gummy steel or plastic would clog them up in am instant!

[QUOTE=MikeJ;1788108]

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

Recent reviews of the Record unit comparing against the Tormek are not favourable. The Tormek wins hands down in all areas.

QUOTE]

Can you please point me in the direction of these reviews. The one I have read was fairly positive.

Ah!!! Just noticed that Jim sells Tormek stuff.

I guess it comes down to perspective?.. Someone who drives a BMW will poo poo a Holden. Both are decent cars that suit different people.

You usually get what you pay for though!
I think you have to be careful when you read reviews. Sometimes their is an agenda and other times they are targeting a different group all together.

A well written review should help the reader work out for themselves if the item suits their individual needs.

Another perspective is...an armchair opinion is a powerful thing! Everyone has an opinion and just loves to share it! ( yep...me included!) the internet is full of misguided and negative opinions on things...ya just got to put on your bull dust filters and work out what is good for you!