Wood carving chisel sharpening

[harvey b davison]

Hi, what sharpening systems do people use for sharpening their rounded carving and lathe gouge chisels.

I'm inexperienced with lathe and carving chisels / gouges when it comes to sharpening them.

So, what is the best system to go for.

Cheers

H.

[billpierce]

Probably there is something posher. But i use a decent wetstone with 2 grits ( one either side) then a fine one with round and v bevels on for the knocking the burr off the inside of the chisel. Then a flexcut leather with gold crumbly stuff for finishing ( this also has various shaped bits for the inside of the chisels.

Doing it by hand is slow, but harder to make a massive error!

[agrimog]

the ultimate sharpening system is a tormek wet grinder..........but you might as well cut off an arm to pay forit, fortunatley, axminster power tools now have a "copy" os the same at a fraction of the price, and all the tormek jigs fit it!!!!, you will be able to sharpen all your lathe tools, carving chisels, knives, axes, and basically anyting with an edge, and hone it as well, I waited 4 years for the copy to hit the market and was not dissapointed with it

 

[doobin]

The Axminster copy is probably a good bet. I'm not au fait with the intricacies of setting up and using jigs, etc, but the best investment I made in my drill bit sharpening was a CBN wheel. CBN is like a diamond wheel, only it doesn't gall up when used with steel tools. It cuts incredibly clean and cool. About £100 a wheel but well worth it.

[se7enthdevil]

On 18/08/2019 at 13:30, harvey b davison said:

 

Hi, what sharpening systems do people use for sharpening their rounded carving and lathe gouge chisels.

I'm inexperienced with lathe and carving chisels / gouges when it comes to sharpening them.

So, what is the best system to go for.

Cheers

H.

 

i've no system just my eyes and plenty of experience in grinding.

 

i have an 8" record grinder and do it all freehand.

[stuckinthemud]

I found I liked my gouges and chisels ground to a totally non-standard angle, I am not very tall and my bench is not a standard height, if you are a standard height and have a bench that is a standard height, then standard angles will work for you, so go with a system.  I go freehand.  A light vertically shining on the stone is essential as you should be using the shadow under the cutting edge to guide you.  You will feel the bevel engage with the stone, then gently smooth off the metal until the shadow under the blade disappears. A ruby stone and a rubber-disk in a bench grinder loaded with chrome autopolish is the best  system, but the best sharpener by far is an ordinary belt sander with a slip stone to maintain the edge 

[difflock]

On 18/08/2019 at 14:02, billpierce said:

Probably there is something posher. But i use a decent wetstone with 2 grits ( one either side) then a fine one with round and v bevels on for the knocking the burr off the inside of the chisel. Then a flexcut leather with gold crumbly stuff for finishing ( this also has various shaped bits for the inside of the chisels.

Doing it by hand is slow, but harder to make a massive error!

I bought myself a Trend DC 300/1000 grit "whet stone", I use WD40 as lube,

I am pleased with the edge I can get on chisels and plane blades,

BUT I am curious as to the benefits of "stropping"

So

What is your flexcut leather and gold crumbly stuff Bill.

regards

marcus

P.S

For "grinding", I flip my Perles belt grinder onto her back in the vice, it does not burn the edge while allowing for rapid stock removal.

And Mk 1 eyeball all the way.

OOPS!

Having watched RobCosman on Youtube, I am needing to refine my plane blade sharpening,   .  .  . just a little!

Edited August 30, 2019 by difflock

[Woodworks]

Much as Steve. Bench grinder and MK1 eyeball. Something like this would take some of the guesswork out of using a grinder though. Hone with a slipstone 

Gouge Chisel Sharpening Jig: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

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Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. Shop Gouge Chisel Sharpening Jig.

 

From what I have seen the Tormek is painfully slow.

[Squaredy]

If you have an Axminster store in your area you can go there and have a demo of Tormek and other systems.  Their staff are only too willing to show this sort of thing in my experience.

[harvey b davison]

Some interesting replies there chaps, much appreciated.