Turning Chisel advice please

[rob12770]

Hi Rob,

[*ok ta, i do know how to sharpen tools, i just dont have a grinder yet, at least, i have a fair idea..all in good time, to suggest that one should know how to sharpen before he starts to turn, i would guess, almost never happens, ]

I think the point is, learning to sharpen is part and parcel of learning to turn. You won`t be able to safely and efficiently be produce anything on the lathe without having the means to do it and a little bit of sharpening practice under your belt. Your turning will improve along with your sharpening and vice versa.

Ian

absolutely Ian, but one step at a time.. i had to buy a lathe and chisels first, just waiting on grinder now 8)

 

[rob12770]

ok guys so i got the grinder and have sharpened some chisels, ok, but the faithfull set of chisels as pointed out earlier have no spindle gouge in the set .. as a beginner i find it really hard to work with what i have, even the cheapo clark set were easier when sharp as they were thinner, i think i need to buy some spindle gouges, im thinking robert sorby 3/8 and 1/2 inch is this the correct choice as these faithfull chisels dont have all i need :?
thanks guys Rob

 

[CHJ]

Have you read the discussion on basic tool list in the Help Sticky ?

 

[rob12770]

Have you read the discussion on basic tool list in the Help Sticky ?

got that thanks, it says 3/8” Spindle Gouge and 3/8” Bowl Gouge (standard grind)
so il get those, many thanks 8)
like most people i dont ussually read the stickys on forums, daft really :mrgreen:

 

[rob12770]

by the way on sharpenning one of my gouges, i burnt it, is it knakered ?
cheers

 

[nev]

hi rob, welcome.
regarding the Keith Rowley book, whilst i would recommend buying a copy (or suggesting an early crimbo pressie?), as it covers not only the basics of tool control and sharpening (hammer) , but also has instructions on how to make your own simple sharpening jig,( which is what i use,- til i win the lotto anyhow), a certain on-line store (and large south american river) enables you to 'look inside' the book, so you may be able to pick up some useful info without parting with your hard earned.
...but i think once you have a read through it, you'll probably end up buying a copy anyway
cheers

 

[jumps]

by the way on sharpenning one of my gouges, i burnt it, is it knakered ?
cheers

in this guide Tormek suggest that the overheated edge will significantly struggle to hold it's edge

http://www.tormek.com/en/accessories/bg ... 100_en.pdf

the good news is that you will eventually grind through it - obviously with great care.

 

[rob12770]

by the way on sharpenning one of my gouges, i burnt it, is it knakered ?
cheers

in this guide Tormek suggest that the overheated edge will significantly struggle to hold it's edge

http://www.tormek.com/en/accessories/bg ... 100_en.pdf

the good news is that you will eventually grind through it - obviously with great care.

acctually, having no spindle gouges to speak of, i tried to grind a roughing gouge into a fingernail shape (daft i know)
so then it to it to the grinder again and ground it flat, then i re-ground the original roughing gouge shape..but it is a tad burnt..still seems to work though.

 

[rob12770]

hi rob, welcome.
regarding the Keith Rowley book, whilst i would recommend buying a copy (or suggesting an early crimbo pressie?), as it covers not only the basics of tool control and sharpening (hammer) , but also has instructions on how to make your own simple sharpening jig,( which is what i use,- til i win the lotto anyhow), a certain on-line store (and large south american river) enables you to 'look inside' the book, so you may be able to pick up some useful info without parting with your hard earned.
...but i think once you have a read through it, you'll probably end up buying a copy anyway
cheers

i never got that book, but i did get some woodturning dvds and a sharpening dvd.
i did make a small wooden jig of sorts, it seems to work ok, but will no doubt invest in some expensive toy from sorby soon enough

 

[miles_hot]

Hi Rob

You probably don't want to hear this but the Faithfull set does not seem to be an ideal starter set.

According to the spec I've seen it has no spindle or bowl gouge and has 3 roughing gouges, although looking at the picture what they call the 8mm roughing gouge looks more like a spindle gouge to me.

The diamond point "scraper" and parting tool can be used to roll beads, as can the skew but the latter can bite until you have had plenty of practice with it. What you describe as the skew moving up and down on its own is typical of it not being used properly and you catch a point which ends up in a nice spiral over your wood!

A fingernail profile is favoured by many for both spindle and bowl gouges but it's all a matter of personal preference and depends what you turn and how you use the tools.
I would say that for a beginner the fingernail profile is better as it is more forgiving and less prone to catches.

Have a look on youtube for Bob Hamilton's (bobham5) excellent videos on using the various tools. Search within his uploads for skew for a series of skew practice demos, well worth watching.

Best of luck

thanks yes the 8mm is a spindle gouge, to be honest i am not very happy with the faithfull chisels, they arrived with 1 not straight in the handle and another with varnish all over the brass ferrule and the "faithfull" lettering not printed properly, but rather than return to amazon, i phoned faithfull and a chap named malcom said he was sorry and that he had never had a complaint about the chisels before and the would send out 2 new chisels, that was 2 days ago, but they are not here yet..
i cannot return them as i have used them now, so i guesss i will have to just buy extra gouges if need be..

on the plus side i dont seem to get the horrendous catches i was getting with the clark set, almost broke my wrist :evil:

i am also looking into getting or building a sharpening jig, this might be daft but could i not "utilise" this http://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAPER-DRIL...8US0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1300553323&sr=1-2 drill sharpener for sharpening gouges ?
it looks simiar in nature to a woodturning sharpanar jig, it has an angle set and a foot to rotate , and maybe even a slot for the chisel to fit.. just a thought..

You might want to consider sending them back to amazon and having a word with Toolpost who sell sets which is what I started with and I can confirm that any mistakes are down to me and not the tool
Miles

 

[miles_hot]

ok ta, i do know how to sharpen tools, i just dont have a grinder yet, at least, i have a fair idea..all in good time, to suggest that one should know how to sharpen before he starts to turn, i would guess, almost never happens, after all, we all got to start somewhere ..
i am sure that book is great and all, but i would have thought that the fact that forums like this and all the youtube videos etc exist, would mean that you one would not have to buy books etc.. hmm

also, the Bits & Pieces site, great stuff Chas (hammer)

Interestingly sometimes tool manufactures don't bother to put any sort of decent profile on tools (figuring people will only change them anyway) which is just lazy but there you go. I would probably not assume that tools are cutting sharp when they come out of the packet (having said that I usually try them out as soon as I get home as I'm an impatient beggar).

Books not important - sacrilege; what else would you look at on the bog? Also there are some stunning books out there which saves an awful lot of surfing through rubbish

Miles