Turning tool question

Last time I tried to use a lathe was over 40 years ago. Decided to get back into it so I bought a little mini lathe from Rockler . I still had the tools from years ago.

My puzzlement - as a woodworker I use the scary sharp method to keep my wood chisels razor sharp. Reading various articles on lathe tool sharpening, I get the impression that you just do a coarse grind and have at the wood. So no honing or stropping etc? My grinder stone is 150 grit - now for a wood chisel this would be awful.

What am I missing here?

Vic

Reply to
Vic Baron
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Not if you're only roughcutting to shape, then finishing up with really sharp tools. Some people think sandpaper is the only way to a nice finish on a turned piece.

The fact that those authors you cite know nothing about writing, carving/cutting wood, or sharpening tools. Keep Scaryin', Vic.

P.S: Either that or the authors don't mention that they use a much finer wheel on their grinders.

-- Worry is a misuse of imagination. -- Dan Zadra

Reply to
Larry Jaques

OK, that makes more sense! I figure if you're cutting something, you will always get a better result if your tools are sharp. Even a scraper is sharp, in a way.

Reply to
Vic Baron

It depends. If you are turning some types of wood--pecan bowls, for instance--the edge will be dull in less than 10 minutes. So why spend

10 minutes scary sharpening, honing, stropping, polishing and checking nose hairs when it will make no difference 8 minutes later? If you enjoy sharpening, that's fine. If you'd rather make shavings give it a shot on a wheel or belt sander and back to the lathe.

There are always exceptions. Finish turning or turning tiny objects, may require a nicer edge.

Reply to
Gerald Ross

OK, now that makes sense also. So it really boils down to an individual thing depending on what is being turned, wood type etc.

I can live with that - learn and adjust as I go. Right now I'm just practicing on some oak and redwood cutoffs I had lying around. Seemed like the softer wood liked it sharper than the oak.

Thanx!

Vic

Reply to
Vic Baron

There's a lot of personal preference involved in turning - what I like is to use a carbide tool like EasyRougher or its ilk to do most of the wood removal - no sharpening required. Then a nice sharp conventional tool to finish with.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

There's Scary and then there's Scary. One needn't go all the way up through the grits and honing to keep a fairly sharp edge on the tool. And touching it up before it gets too dull lowers the time spent sharpening, too. Half a dozen strokes across a 600 grit diamond hone works wonders as well, and takes significantly less than ten minutes.

Ayup.

-- Worry is a misuse of imagination. -- Dan Zadra

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Sandpaper sharpening, or stropping, or finely honing of HAND tools makes sense. They travel very slowly with minimal force behind the blade. Your arms are the force. The rate of travel is like 1 foot for 3 seconds with a handplane. Even slower with a chisel. So they have to be razor sharp to cut. Mirror polish.

Machine cutting tools do not have to be that sharp for a couple reasons. One is they have 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 3 horsepower electric motors turning either the cutting tool or the workpiece. Lathe turns the workpiece while a planer, jointer, tablesaw, shaper turns the cutting tool and you feed the workpiece into it. These electric motors have more power than you do. So they don't need razor sharp cutting tools. Have you ever touched your table saw blade's teeth? The teeth are not razor sharp yet a table saw will easily cut through wood very cleanly. And the other reason is speed. The cutting tool or workpiece is turning at 1000, 2000, 3000, or more rpm. At these speeds the wood can literally be ground away smooth.

Most turners will sharpen their turning tools with either/or a 60 and

120 grit grinding wheel. 6 or 8 inch diameter. Friable wheel to cut cooler. Use the 60 grit for shaping the tool. Use the 120 for resharpening.

Reply to
russellseaton1

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