scooby
Established Member
Axminster are pretty expensive now..There are a few items on my Axminster wish list that I cant buy elsewhere (chuck jaws, lathe stand and extension). After that, I'll be shopping around.
Sorby Pro-Edge
- Thread starter TRITON
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AJB Temple
Finely figured
The table unbolts at the left. I experimented with very thin card shims at first and this worked. I then replaced them with metal shims made from cheap feeler gauge. But the most useful thing is an accessory for the Sorby, bought on line, which is an adjustable square for the table which makes it very easy to get chisels and plane blades dead on square across the cutting edge. I will see if I can find a link. Edit: here Robert Sorby PESQW Proedge Premium Square Guide
sploo
Somewhat extinguished member
My Pro Edge, plus that little square guide, get used as a general metalworking grinder far more than I should probably admit 
RichardG
If at first you don’t succeed have a cup of tea.
I also have the ProEdge and I’ve never managed to get a decent flat grind for chisels or plane blades but for turning tools it’s brilliant. Sorby support was next to useless, pointing to user error which it may well be but I had hoped for more help. See my post on the Sorby support forums.
Struggling to get a good edge with the proedge | Robert Sorby Tools Forum
Struggling to get a good edge with the proedge | Robert Sorby Tools Forum
scooby
Established Member
Its most likely the issue AJB mentioned, the backing plate (platen) isn't exactly square to the tool rest. I noticed mine is like this the first time I ground a plane iron. If I slide the iron across the rest, keeping the same distance from the belt, at certain points it won't be doing much grinding. In other words, it won't grind uniformly.
On turning tools and chisels (up to a 1") its not noticeable. When doing anything wider that needs a straight edge (plane irons), instead of going from side to side in one motion I go back and forth in small amounts until I've worked my way all across the edge.
I can get perfectly straight and square edges but it involves a bit of finessing.
I had the same issue with the table. It turned out the top face was not parallel to the face that mounts to the bracket. I sent pictures of this to Robert Sorby and they sent out a replacement.
I only realised there was a problem after I had squared everything up at 25 degrees and then found planes and chisels weren't grinding square at 30 degrees.
LoftyDave
Established Member
Many thanks.for your replies. @AJB Temple, I have the PESQW and adjusted to get a 90 degree but this was trial and error and I lost quite a lot of iron. I thought that the aluminium backing plate was not well made and could introduce other errors. In principle this should not be the answer. The skew chisel guide can’t be adjusted although this has not been a problem so far, possibly due to it not needing to be exactly 60 degrees.
I will check the squareness and if only slightly out will try the shims suggested by @no idea otherwise I will refer to Robert Sorby as @no idea did and reiterate the need for adjustment as per @RichardG 's reply. I understand that most ProEdge users are wood turners for which It is perfect. The more that make this issue known to Robert Sorby the better as it should be relatively straightforward to fit an adjustment screw even retrospectively for existing ProEdge users.
LoftyDave
Established Member
RichardG
If at first you don’t succeed have a cup of tea.
I‘m not quite sure here, what bit are we checking for square? The PESQW compensates for the red distance not being the same. But the table could also be sloping so that it’s not square to the plateau as shown in blue (as if you were looking straight on) or are we talking about something else?
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
It's only a narrow linisher For a precise flat grind you need a wide sanding surface and a seamless belt - or better still a solid disc with the sandpaper stuck/velcro on.
Pro edge good for narrow tools though, but not quite as good as it's cracked up to be!
AJB Temple
Finely figured
In my case I found the table was both sloping and out of square to the belt. Hence I used the shims as I described above to deal with the slight slope, and the adjustable chisel jig I linked to above to square the edge to the belt. The jig is very helpful for sharpening chisels as this is 90% of what I use the machine for. I regard these as quite trivial fixes but I agree that Sorby need to deal with them properly.
I remain in disagreement with Jacob that a disk is better. It is certainly less safe. One of the main advantages of the belt system, apart from safe and accurate tool support, is it is dead easy to change belts. Most of the time I use a very fine long lived belt that (can't think of the name off hand) that leaves a polished edge in a couple of seconds.
Edit: Trizact was the word I was seeking to remember. Claimed to cut down to 2 microns. £11 for a belt and the one on my machine currently is 2 years old and has been used at least hundreds of times.
(I mainly use this machine because I am lazy. It is super fast for chisels and planes, and dead on accurate using the pre-set angles on the tool. On my Japanese knives I use water stones, partly because I enjoy the process. It is incidentally nonsense that they are difficult to flatten as Jacob, who has never done it, alleges. Two or three rubs with a cheap flattening stone now and again is all it needs. The key is not to score, gouge or dish your stones in the first place.)
I remain in disagreement with Jacob that a disk is better. It is certainly less safe. One of the main advantages of the belt system, apart from safe and accurate tool support, is it is dead easy to change belts. Most of the time I use a very fine long lived belt that (can't think of the name off hand) that leaves a polished edge in a couple of seconds.
Edit: Trizact was the word I was seeking to remember. Claimed to cut down to 2 microns. £11 for a belt and the one on my machine currently is 2 years old and has been used at least hundreds of times.
(I mainly use this machine because I am lazy. It is super fast for chisels and planes, and dead on accurate using the pre-set angles on the tool. On my Japanese knives I use water stones, partly because I enjoy the process. It is incidentally nonsense that they are difficult to flatten as Jacob, who has never done it, alleges. Two or three rubs with a cheap flattening stone now and again is all it needs. The key is not to score, gouge or dish your stones in the first place.)
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Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Can't think how a disc could be dangerous. Might scuff your nails a bit if you get too close I suppose.
Tool rest is not accurate, as you and other posters on here keep pointing out.
Velcro disc on and off in seconds, though in fact I just leave it until worn out and do everything else on oil stones.
Basically a solid and wide surface with the sand paper fixed is going to be much more accurate than a narrow loose belt with a seam - they don't half rattle round!
The disc also has woodwork uses and is surprisingly precise.
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transatlantic
Boom!
The Sorby is great, but does have some annoying things that could be improved.
- A quick release for the table. Unscrewing the bolt on the side gets old really fast! (I change from the table to the fingernail gouge quite a bit)
- The handle of turning tools hit the motor. Fortunately some of my tools have the removable handle. But not all of them
- When grinding acute angles on a skew, the handle also butts into the motor. The fix for this is a table shim. But still annoying.
- A reverse. For the price, I would expect this. I'm making an assumption that this would be really easy to add.
- The angle adjustment of the belt should be toolless
- A quick release for the table. Unscrewing the bolt on the side gets old really fast! (I change from the table to the fingernail gouge quite a bit)
- The handle of turning tools hit the motor. Fortunately some of my tools have the removable handle. But not all of them
- When grinding acute angles on a skew, the handle also butts into the motor. The fix for this is a table shim. But still annoying.
- A reverse. For the price, I would expect this. I'm making an assumption that this would be really easy to add.
- The angle adjustment of the belt should be toolless
transatlantic
Boom!
Velcro adds cushioning, so can also introduce error. Depends how picky you are I guess.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
No error in terms of woodwork tools and normal vision without magnification or microscope!
But a loose belt is going to be less precise anyway.
RichardG
If at first you don’t succeed have a cup of tea.
I also find taking the belt guard off/on a bit of a pain but luckily do’t have to do this so often. I’ve been tempted to cut off the table nib on the rhs as I never seem to use it but I know as soon as I do I’ll realise why it’s there. I’ve also been tempted to slot the guard so it can be taken off without removing the fastening nuts.
Lons
Established Member
I leave the guard off Richard, I know it's off and am confident enough to know I'm not going to stick my fingers in there, no incidents or problems in 6 years. The table nib would prevent the belt coming off the side though I'n not aware of that ever happening and I know a lot of people who have the pro-edge
Alpha-Dave
Established Member
Something that hasn’t been covered yet is actually the adaptability of the relatively simple system for adding your own jigs and fixtures.
For example, Nick Westermann sells a couple of add ons that make grinding his carving tools easy, and another for sharpening axes.
Axe jig:
https://www.hewnandhone.co.uk/product/axe-grinding-jig/
I have made a drill-bit sharpening jig for my proedge that is brilliant. This video inspired me, but I made up the angles and dimensions based on othe drill bit sharpening sources and measurements off the proedge:
My version made with some aluminium donated by Deadeye:
Test fitting before skimming the top:
Fitting up on the CNC:
Obviously this is made using the tools and machines that I have access to, but it could easily be made out of wood, or out of aluminium or steel with a file and screws. In this case of sharpening, repeatability is far more important than accuracy: drill bit charts show a 5 degree range for the same material, but the 2x flutes must be identical.
For example, Nick Westermann sells a couple of add ons that make grinding his carving tools easy, and another for sharpening axes.
Axe jig:
https://www.hewnandhone.co.uk/product/axe-grinding-jig/
I have made a drill-bit sharpening jig for my proedge that is brilliant. This video inspired me, but I made up the angles and dimensions based on othe drill bit sharpening sources and measurements off the proedge:
My version made with some aluminium donated by Deadeye:
Test fitting before skimming the top:
Fitting up on the CNC:
Obviously this is made using the tools and machines that I have access to, but it could easily be made out of wood, or out of aluminium or steel with a file and screws. In this case of sharpening, repeatability is far more important than accuracy: drill bit charts show a 5 degree range for the same material, but the 2x flutes must be identical.
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Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Or just do it free hand and save all the bother.
Lons
Established Member
So is that less accurate than the DIY rest you might have on your DIY disk contraption or more likely you don't have one at all and just wing it so your comment isn't relevant.
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