sharpening machine advice

[selly]

Looking at getting a sharpening machine but what?
:?

I want to be able to keep my existing blades razor sharp. I want to be able to buy old chisels and turning gear thats a bit worse for wear and get them tickety boo as well. I also want to be able to sharpen secatuer blades, billhook and shear blades as well as other things i use on my farm.

Also if I bought a machine would I need to finish off blades by hand or do they do the job?

Any advice? I read of worksharp and tigers and tormeks etc. but not sure which I need and I don't wanna go crazy on jigs.

 

[RogerS]

There's a conflict of interest in your post! Not wanting jigs and wanting to sharpen chisels AND billhooks seem to contradict each other. I'd separate the two requirements as the precision and sharpness for chisels is light years away from a billhook.

Getting back to sharpening chisels, you're going to get lots of different views I'm afraid as we all have our preferences.

Key question you need to ask yourself is 'Do I want a load of messy water swilling about in my workshop?" - a loaded question if ever there was one. If, like me, the answer is No then that rules out quite a few like Tormek et al.

Leaving dry methods like Scary Sharp or the - to my mind - excellent Worksharp.

 

[matthewwh]

Hi Selly,

"if I bought a machine would I need to finish off blades by hand or do they do the job?"

Therein lies the crux of the matter!

Sharpening can be split into grinding and honing, honing involves a small number of very accurately positioned strokes (be it freehand or guided) on a sequence of carefully selected fine abrasives. The total distance that steel needs to travel over abrasive is centimetres, so mechanised honing makes as much sense as an indoor family car.

Grinding definitely is something that can benefit from being mechanised. You want to remove material fast and minimise friction so that the job stays cool, coarse grits cut faster without generating as much heat heat so anything that feels smoother than 120 grit sandpaper will probably give you more problems than it solves.

A normal 6" bench grinder works if you keep the workpiece moving and dip it in water every few seconds -sounds impractical but it's actually not that bad. Classic Hand Tools sell the blue Norton wheels which stay cooler and allow you to work for longer - Philly uses them and I'm sure a good few others do too. I use a grinder based linisher which is the same machine but with a belt rather than a wheel, the belt is too thin to hold heat and is much longer than the circumference of a wheel so any given point has more time to cool - it also runs slower than a grinding wheel. I believe scheppach do a reasonable one for about £40

 

[MickCheese]

I have the Worksharp 3000 and it's very good. I don't deny I could get the same level of sharpness (is that a word?) using my plate and wet and dry that I bought from Workshop Heaven but the Worksharp is foolproof.

Rutlands are still selling it at £199 but if their 10% and free delivery is still on then now is the time to buy.

I have been very impressed. My advice is to practice on a scrap chisel first though and check the angle of attack every so often, mine did move a little making my blades a little skew until I realised.

Mick

 

[RogerS]

I second that, Mick. Until I got the Worksharp, sharpening my chisels was a pain and I never did it as often as I should. Now having ground all my chisels (how exactly did I end up with so many?), I just keep a dedicated disc with the same fine grit on both sides. I just periodically hone the back which usually puts the edge back on. If I need to tweak the bevel then it's easy enough to slide it up the holder and give it a quick once over. So so easy.

 

[misterfish]

Of course, the Tormek and its clones have a water cooled grindstone so you don't overheat the steel but it is not as quick as a normal grinder. Also the Tormek type machines have a second leather honing wheel.

I got an old Tormek years ago - it was cheap. I find it useful for most sharpening, but it can be a bit messy. It lives on a plastic tray and needs to be dried after use.

I also have an old Eclipse guide for use on a sharpening stone - although a bit more effort it works well and is simple technology.

The more advanced systems often take a while to set up, but once done will sharpen quickly. I'm currently having a sharpening session of all my chisels and turning tools (along with a number I acquired). I've had sessions on the last two days and have still got my turning gouges and a number of hand planes to do. All in all many hours work. But, using a sharp cutting tool is a pleasure and worth it.

As for cost of jigs - I tend to keep my eyes open for local ads and Ebay and have managed a few bargains.

Misterfish

 

[OPJ]

Another vote for the WorkSharp 3000 model, here (I don't see any point in going for the 2000 model, when you get a lot more for only a 'little' extra cash).

There used to be a time where I believe that, for whatever mains-powered grinder you might have in your workshop, you would always "need" one or two stones for honing while working away on-site... Not any more! The WorkSharp is compact and lightweight enough to be carried along with all your other tools (provided you have a 230v electrical supply, of course! :wink. It's fast, repeatable and couldn't be easier. No mess, either. 8)

There aren't currently any jigs available for this system that'll allow you to sharpen blades for secateurs, etc. So, you would still have to do them freehand... If you have a look on YouTube though, I'm sure there's a video for the WS 2000 where the demonstrator is clearly sharpening of blades like this - no jig and it looks dead easy.