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sharpening conundrum

Joined
Mar 6, 2020
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Forgive me for opening Pandora's box but I've been searching the forum for an hour and still don't know how to proceed. I bought a new skew gouge but it is 1 inch wide and my bench grinder wheel is only 1 inch wide and I'm having a very difficult time sharpening it properly. I couldn't find where Norton sells wheels that are wider. I have the wolverine jig with the skew attachment and it still doesn't work as well as I would like and I'm such a newbie that I stink at free hand sharpening (I ended up leaving multiple facets that had to be ground down later). So my question is do I buy CBN wheels for my grinder since they seem to be wider or spend even more money and get a Tormek to go with my grinder? I otherwise like my Jet slow speed grinder and wolverine system and it works great for my bowl gouges. If you have other suggestions I'm open to them as well. Thanks in advance!
 
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Well, lots of 'it depends' things here. I have never used a jig for sharpening my skews, and I don't use a skew very often... So, I prefer a platform to sharpen them with. Also, I generally prefer one that is not straight, as in not a straight line all the way from the point/tip to the heel. I like a slight arc in them. So, if you use a platform, the most difficult part is setting the correct angle. You can go a number of times with just touching up the edge with a diamond hone, I have the 2 1/2 inch by 8 inch DMT stones that stay at my grinder. Even with the 1000 grit one, I like to take it to the leather wheel on my Tormek. Of course, there are many other ways to sharpen them...

robo hippy
 
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I just use the platform jig part of the Wolverine system. I set the table to the right angle, then laying the skew on its side, move the edge back and forth against the grinding wheel. Its not that hard to do, once you've done it a couple of times. On a new skew, I frequently will have to change the grind angle. I find factory angles to be too steep, so I regrind it to create a longer bevel. The Thompson skew is one of the few that, IMO, comes with a decent angle already.
I also hone my skews, but that's another topic.
 

john lucas

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The Oneway jig works fine but you donhave.to control.the grind. It easy tock the tool. It doesnt matter what width the grinding wheel.is because you should be sliding the tool across the wheel. Grind one side until you raise a burr on the tip. Then flip it over and grind the other side until you raise a burr. Your done unless you want tompolish iff the burr with a diamond hone. If you grind on a tool.rest which is what I prefer it is the same technique. I have a video. On youtube type in john60lucas/skew sharpening.
 
Joined
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I recommend John Lucas's suggestion. I attended one of his demos on sharpening. He is very creative. He has a DIY guide that is used with a platform for sharpening a skew. I found a piece of metal and couldn't figure out what it was for. Bingo! His skew guide!
 

hockenbery

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@Bob Sheppard and @john lucas methods at the grinder followed by honing.

I hone to remove the burr because I want to cut in either direction. Leaving a burr the tool only cuts well in one direction and not so well in the other direction. Honing also sharpens the edge and I can hone dozens of time between grinding.
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
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Spartanburg, Tennessee
What they said on honing your skew once you get a good edge. I too like the radiused edge like the one I have on my big uber-skew, though I have and use a 3/4" straight-edged skew. I finish mine off with a 600-grit diamond slip-stone, then an Arkansas slip-stone, followed by a few back strokes on a 5-micron diamond sprayed linen fire-hose strop laid on a granite counter-top. Over-kill? Probably, but it cuts like butter and leaves a beautiful finish if I do my part. And it's pretty easy to bring back if I don't let it get too far gone. Though I too am new to turning, I have a long history with honing knives and straight razors, and the basic principles are the same, which has helped greatly.

I think that if you invest in one of the wider CBN wheels, you will be pleased. They are rapidly making the old-style wheels obsolete. I have a 1"-wide 180 grit, which leaves a great edge, and am eventually going to pair it with a 600-grit. If you do your research , you can get CBN wheels all the way up to 1.5 inch, but they ain't cheap!
 

Dennis J Gooding

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Like Robo, I like a slight curved edge on my skews. I too use a platform to produce the desired sharpening angle. To sharpen, i hold the skew on the rest with my left hand and use it as a pivot and swing the handle around with my right hand. This automatically produces a curved edge. The tightness of the curve is determined by how far down on the blade I let the skew pivot.
 
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Agreed. I use my skew in both directions, too. Also, honing the skew gives a cleaner cut over straight from the grinding wheel. At least, I think it does.. Plus a quick touch up with a stone is faster than going back to the grinder to refresh an edge.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2019
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The dreaded skew - I dont use mine a lot, but I use it more since changing to the Alan Lacer curved edge. He has an excellent video on utube for sharpening using a flat platform at the correct angle (~20 deg). A skew is pretty easy to sharpen, straight or curved edge, just using a platform. The above links are very good as well. I also hone with diamond, and use the leather strop wheel on my Grizzly wet sharpener.
 

Roger Wiegand

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Yet another vote for a Lacer style curved edge and honing t a seriously sharp edge (I use the Wolverine platform for sharpening, no jug)

The skew has become by far my most-used tool for spindle work since learning how to use it.
 

Dennis J Gooding

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Interesting attribution. Twenty some years ago, the curved edge was widely referred to as the "Richard Raffan" grind.
 

Roger Wiegand

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I don't think they are quite the same. At least when I took Richard's class he was using a fairly round, continuous curve, Alan's flattens quite a bit at the long point, so the last quarter inch or so on 1-3/8" skew is nearly (not quite) perpendicular to the edge. I find it makes it easier when rolling a small bead with the long point and also when making paring cuts to clean up end grain.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
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I too am a proponent of the curved blade. I do have a question to stimulate the conversation. I originally used the Wolverine system and its skew arm attachment. This places the bevel at an angle to the wheel and results in the grinder marks at an angle to the skew shaft. For awhile, I simply used the Wolverine long arm (without the attachment), rolling the skew as it sharpens to get the curved edge. This approach leaves the grinder marks parallel to the skew shaft. I'm not sure I have noticed any significant difference in cutting or finish. Any comments about why one approach would be superior to the other?
 

Roger Wiegand

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I always hone my edges on a skew so the direction of the grinder tracks make no difference, they're gone. I can't imagine that it matters of they remain, but your life with a skew will be better with a sharper edge.

Having gotten used to what seem to me to be the advantages of the compound curve advocated by Alan Lacer I wouldn't want to be constrained to the shape produced by a jig. The skew is about the second easiest tool to sharpen freehand on a platform, after a parting tool. Just like sharpening scrapers.
 

john lucas

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I can't imagine the direction of the grinder marks would have any impact since it's just the saw tooth edge that does the cutting. Even when you hone you have a saw tooth edge it's just smaller. Unless you move the skew really fast you will get several revolutions of to pass that saw tooth and so you will get microscopically overlapping threads throughout the cut.
The speed you push the tool through the work has just as much affect on the smoothness of the cut and probably more than how much you polish the blade. I intend to try and do a test on that one of these days. I used to grind my skew on a fairly course wheel and found that if I slow down the feed rate of the tool I get an almost burnished cut. Now that I sharpen on a 350 grit wheel and hone with a 600 grit hone and stop the tool It cuts easier and definitely less tearout on wood that prone to tearout but I'm not sure the final surface is any better. We will see when I have time to play again.
 
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