Beginners chisel sharpening help

[Lons]

Stick them in a drawer for 20 years, then chuck them away a week before you find a use for them. You know, in the usual way.

If he does chuck them away I've got half a dozen been in a cupboard for at least that long :roll:

 

[ED65]

I will instead be relieving my dad of his “spare” grinder that I found out about over dinner tonight. From the sounds of it I’m not expecting much more than a basic unit along the lines of the guild one but it sounds like that should be more than enough for what I need right now.

Should do you fine. The most bog-standard grinders can do the job well if the wheel fitted is coarse enough.

Just a reminder on the order of operation: square the edge first, then do the bevel, then do as much to the flat as you feel the need to (no point in doing this first and wasting time on steel that will subsequently be removed) and then complete the job by honing.

Oh and keep a container of water off to one side, I prefer a shallow dish to the more customary jar or tin as it's harder to knock over with a clumsy moment! If you grind in the right manner, as above, the edge isn't thin for very long at all so there's little risk of blueing a corner, but the end of a chisel or plane iron can still get far too hot to hold comfortably even for those with asbestos fingers. You might read you shouldn't dunk hot tool steel into water as it risks creating microfractures that make the steel brittle and some reputable books include this snippet, but there appears to be little in it and you can safely ignore it.

 

[ED65]

If people were doing this and they knew what they were about might they recommend two different types of mop and different compound grades or two identical mops and a different compound on each. Brass/ bronze and O1 tool steel are all I really mess about with if that helps.

There are definitely textbook dos and don'ts WRT this but I think it comes down to individual preferences and your own standards really. You can do a very creditable job on all kinds of steels and ali and brass using just the one mop (some machinists will shudder at this I'm sure but it is done and does work) which suggests to me that two mops of the same type with coarser compound on one and fine on the other should work well for you.

Last question is there an alternate use for the old discs before I stick them in a drawer for 20 years?

It's always worth having a spare wheel or two in case you need one and you can't wait for a delivery or there are not local sources or you can't wait for a delivery. Just be absolutely sure if they have been banging about in a drawer for some years to do a ring test of them before you put them back into service, even if for a single job!

The various bits of training I did (school and elsewhere) all banned use of the grinder. Even for serious remedial work of badly damaged edges -

And equally there are various courses past and present than explicitly recommend the use of the grinder.

...in inexperienced hands it's the quickest way to make them even worse and waste a lot of steel. Also they tend to look a mess - "nibbled by rats" :lol:

Freehanding, certainly. I think the secret is not to try to do it freehand. The right rest or one of the simple clampy things (homemade if necessary) to be used against a fixed rest do wonders here. Using either the tyro can get a perfect result literally the first time they step up to the grinder without any difficulty.

 

[D_W]

I'm not convinced that dipping is good for a tool, but will admit that's superstition. I think it's best for steel if all of its life after hardening is slow changes in temperature.

I have, for a long time, ground without water at the grinder, even when regrinding vintage irons (softer steel generally develops more heat - not soft as in the edge, but soft laminated layer).

The way I check temperature is to take the tool and drag it across my palm. I don't like, as with many of you, i'm sure, to stick my fingertips on a tool on a sharpening stone and burn them, so the palm is a less sensitive area that can first check the tool and then cool it some if it's not absurdly hot.

The hotter the tool is, the faster you drag it across your palm. As you confirm it's not that hot, you can drag it more slowly (this is repetitive, not one drag). I have never burned myself beyond slight discomfort - and I did this with a brown al-ox wheel - the key to preventing heat is always keeping the wheel fresh and developing the touch.

As to the comment about power above - 150 watts will grind a tool bevel without issue. It is anemic in general (because it's cheaper to make anemic), but the power level won't be a problem unless you're doing something other than maintaining bevels on tools.

 

[MikeG.]

I hold the blade with my fingertips close to the edge on the stone, and when they get uncomfortably hot, it's time to dip the blade or put it aside and work on another one.

 

[Bm101]

If people were doing this and they knew what they were about might they recommend two different types of mop and different compound grades or two identical mops and a different compound on each. Brass/ bronze and O1 tool steel are all I really mess about with if that helps.

There are definitely textbook dos and don'ts WRT this but I think it comes down to individual preferences and your own standards really. You can do a very creditable job on all kinds of steels and ali and brass using just the one mop (some machinists will shudder at this I'm sure but it is done and does work) which suggests to me that two mops of the same type with coarser compound on one and fine on the other should work well for you.

Cheers ED. That was mostly my thoughts. Had a look at a few websites and there's so many wheel varieties available. Will have a look into it. I've two wheels to use so might as well utilise both. Something I need to learn a bit about before purchasing I think.
Will probably end up getting two bog standard wheels and different compounds.
Thanks again.
Chris


Sunday Morning Edit: Had a look on https://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/polishing-mops as it was recommended by ChaoticBob in another thread. (Thanks Bob!) I actually ended up getting the first four mops shown on that page and the relative compounds (smallest amount available) for each. Since delivery cost is approximate to the price of a mop it seemed daft not to. In practice I'll probably just use first two wheels most of the time but will be nice to have the option to go to a super fine polish when needed for the odd bit.
£20 all in and delivered for my wheel size, takes me from a redundant bit of kit to a buffing machine. That'll do.

Thread back on track. Again.