Small chisel sharpening project

qquake2k · Jul 29, 2015

I haven't been building any rockets lately, but I have been turning some pens. Sharp chisels are a must, especially when turning acrylics. There are many different ways to sharpen lathe chisels, but I like the simplest methods the best. Penn State Industries has their Chisel Mate sharpening system, which I like, and it's really not very expensive. But the disc is too big for my lathe. I had a homemade disc on my old lathe, and it worked very well. But it would have been too small for my current lathe, and besides, I let it go with the old lathe when I sold it.

qquake2k · Jul 29, 2015

My original idea was to get an aluminum disc, and in fact, I posted on here about where to source one. But my old one was made out of Masonite, and never gave me any problems, so I decided to use plywood. I cut two 5-1/4" circles out of 3/8" plywood, the same plywood I use for fins and centering rings. I cut 1" center holes in them to fit on the 1"-8 spindle on my lathe, then turned them true.

qquake2k · Jul 29, 2015

My initial plan was to use PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) sanding discs, but I can't find any finer than 120 grit. That might be okay, but I wanted something finer. I found some 240 grit hook & loop (Velcro) discs, so I decided to make two, one for PSA and one for Velcro. I sanded the faces of the plywood discs, then put sanding sealer and clear coat on them, so that everything would adhere better. I got a piece of rubber sheet, that I will be attaching to one disc with contact cement, for use with the PSA discs. I got adhesive Velcro for the other disc, to use with hook & loop discs. I cut the center holes in the sanding discs with an arch punch.

qquake2k · Jul 29, 2015

Here are some of the pens I've made recently. The blue and green fountain pen is for my good friend Olga. The green and black pen is for my son, who is currently in the corrections officer academy. The others are mine!

qquake2k · Jul 29, 2015

I punched the center hole in the rubber sheet, then spread contact cement on it and the plywood disc. After the cement dried, I put the disc on the lathe to help align the rubber. That cement grabs instantly! Then I trimmed the rubber, stuck on the sanding disc, and trimmed it too. I think it'll work! I just have to find a 1"-8 narrow jam nut, to replace the giant nut I have. Now, to complete the Velcro version.

Gary Byrum · Jul 29, 2015

That looks pretty smart. I wonder if you could sharpen gouges with it also.

rharshberger · Jul 29, 2015

Gary Byrum said:
That looks pretty smart. I wonder if you could sharpen gouges with it also.

Gary, I think he is using it to sharpen turning "chisels", which includes gouges, skews, parting tools etc.

Qquake2 you could also attach the abrasive discs to the plywood disc with a non-permanent spray adhesive, or removable type double sided carpet tape. I use wet/dry automotive sandpapers up to 2000 grit to sharpen my wood working tools all the time (which even with good tools you get to do fairly frequently as you probably know).

For most of my sharpening I use a granite surface plate sprayed with water to "stick" the sandpaper to the surface, it works great for straight edges, but your idea would make sharpening roughing, bowl and spindle gouges much easier.

qquake2k · Jul 30, 2015

I got the Velcro attached to the second disc, and trimmed. It's going to work well, I think. The plywood should hold up at least as well as the Masonite, probably better.

qquake2k · Jul 30, 2015

Gary Byrum said:
That looks pretty smart. I wonder if you could sharpen gouges with it also.

Yes, I mostly use gouges.

qquake2k · Jul 30, 2015

rharshberger said:
Gary, I think he is using it to sharpen turning "chisels", which includes gouges, skews, parting tools etc.

Qquake2 you could also attach the abrasive discs to the plywood disc with a non-permanent spray adhesive, or removable type double sided carpet tape. I use wet/dry automotive sandpapers up to 2000 grit to sharpen my wood working tools all the time (which even with good tools you get to do fairly frequently as you probably know).

For most of my sharpening I use a granite surface plate sprayed with water to "stick" the sandpaper to the surface, it works great for straight edges, but your idea would make sharpening roughing, bowl and spindle gouges much easier.

I never thought about two-sided tape or spray adhesive. Both good ideas. But it's too late, once again I took the harder way out. You are correct, I have about two dozen different chisels. But I use forged spindle gouges almost exclusively, with the occasional fingernail bowl gouge. I do use a parting tool, but only on pens that require a tenon. I never did learn to use a skew properly, and so only use them for scraping. It takes skill to use skews, and I've seen turners use them to amazing effect. But that's one skill that eludes me.

qquake2k · Jul 30, 2015

Much better.

o1d_dude · Jul 31, 2015

Nice work on the pens, Jim.

Glad to hear you're staying busy if not building rockets.

Good news to hear that Joe is in the academy. Hopefully it works out for him. Good pay and benefits package.

Sorry to read your health status in your sig and hope your situation improves. Going through some things of my own.

qquake2k · Aug 2, 2015

It works great!

qquake2k · Aug 9, 2015

The 150 grit discs work much better than the 240. I can even sand pen tubes with it.

qquake2k · Aug 9, 2015

Sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you fail.

Small chisel sharpening project

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