Need grinder advice
#21
(03-09-2018, 04:38 PM)Admiral Wrote: Excellent advice.  Any grinder will do, the key is the tool rest and wheel dresser, and to take light passes, and quench between passes.  Then take it to the diamonds, or stones, and Bob's your uncle.  No magic to this, when you have to reset bevels the only answer is a grinder, unless you wish to spend a lot of time on stones.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm re-considering getting a cheap grinder and better wheels.  I used to have access to a Tormek (don't any more) - it's a great sharpener, but if you need to turn a 30° bevel into a 25° bevel it can take al long time (especially with A2).  I also used a cheap grinder (with the crappy wheels) in my early years and had a hard time not burning the steel.  So for a long time I've been using coarse sandpaper or coarse diamond stones with a honing jig for re-shaping bevels.  If money weren't a problem I'd probably get a Tormek, but I'm hesitant about the clones due to bad reviews.
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#22
(03-09-2018, 05:22 PM)Bart Hovis Wrote: Thanks for the responses.  I'm re-considering getting a cheap grinder and better wheels.  I used to have access to a Tormek (don't any more) - it's a great sharpener, but if you need to turn a 30° bevel into a 25° bevel it can take al long time (especially with A2).  I also used a cheap grinder (with the crappy wheels) in my early years and had a hard time not burning the steel.  So for a long time I've been using coarse sandpaper or coarse diamond stones with a honing jig for re-shaping bevels.  If money weren't a problem I'd probably get a Tormek, but I'm hesitant about the clones due to bad reviews.

I have a Tormek, and use a "regular" grinder to roughly set he bevel before taking it to the Tormek to save grinding time.
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#23
(03-09-2018, 04:38 PM)Admiral Wrote: Excellent advice.  Any grinder will do, the key is the tool rest and wheel dresser, and to take light passes, and quench between passes.  Then take it to the diamonds, or stones, and Bob's your uncle.  No magic to this, when you have to reset bevels the only answer is a grinder, unless you wish to spend a lot of time on stones.

Thanks,

I go from the 36 grit 3600 RPM grinder straight to the stropping wheel on my hand cranked grinder.

I can regrind a bevel and have it razor sharp in two steps that take just a few minutes depending on the grinding time.

I don't even quench between passes.

I usually grind two tools with the same bevel at once.  Grind one for 2-3 seconds, put down, grab the second tool, grind for 2-3 seconds, and repeat.
Peter

My "day job"
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#24
(03-09-2018, 03:36 PM)JimReed@Tallahassee Wrote: If you go the high speed grinder route, prepare yourself for a steep learning curve with damaged edges in your near future. As said, replace those gray wheels immediately. Get some good wheel dressers and good tool rests. Get some trashed blades and chisels and grind away. Learn the grind-dunk dance. Once you get the hang of it, the high speed grinder is a real timesaver but it may take years to recoup your time investment.

Good luck with your decision. You are going in the right direction because all woodworking starts with a sharp edge.

Jim, when I started with a high speed grinder I listened to the advice that I was given on this forum.

Because of that there was no steep learning curve.  

I've only ever burned one tool.  It was an 1/8" chisel.  I didn't know that the more narrow the tools the more quickly it will heat up because it doesn't have that much metal behind the edge to act as a heat sink.

I grind with one finger very close to the edge of the tool and I can feel the heat building up.

I trust your advice more than almost anyone on this forum but I didn't find any steep learning curve.

I got a good Norton 3X grinding wheel... 6"  (3/4" wide) is best (in my humble opinion)
I got a Veritas rest
I got a T shaped diamond wheel dresser and used it often.
I used very light pressure (were the tool is just barely touching the wheel)

After that and one burned tool there was no learning curve.
Peter

My "day job"
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#25
Well, maybe "steep" was a bad choice of words. And maybe I am a slow learner. I was just trying to point out a difference in time spent vs initial results. There is nothing wrong with high speed grinders. In fact, I have three of them set up now in my grinding room and the Tormek is in the bottom drawer.
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#26
(03-09-2018, 11:00 PM)JimReed@Tallahassee Wrote: Well, maybe "steep" was a bad choice of words. And maybe I am a slow learner. I was just trying to point out a difference in time spent vs initial results. There is nothing wrong with high speed grinders. In fact, I have three of them set up now in my grinding room and the Tormek is in the bottom drawer.

I think your advice is very good.

I know that I learned a lot from it.  

Thank you! 
Yes
Peter

My "day job"
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#27
(03-09-2018, 02:11 PM)Timberwolf Wrote: .....................
I have the smaller Tormek for about four hundred bucks and a Jet copy-cat 10" wet grinder..Also have the Veritas MKII and several belt and bench grinders..My take on it is..If you want to remove a lot of metal, go for a bench grinder..The six inch Delta is a good machine and a good value..So is the Rikon. But make sure you get a white wheel for it...They grind "cooler"...I don't recommend the Harbor Freight due to a couple of bad experiences with their bearings...Keep in mind that a bench grinder is not a "sharpener"...at least, not a "precision" sharpener. They don't leave a "finished edge"...The WS3000 does...but they are "pricey".....The Veritas can do the complete job but there is a steep learning curve with it...I use mine with Diamond coated laps for rough to polished edges..I have 280 to 3,000 grit laps. The diamond lap makes short work of hard steel and carbide edged tools. No steel is too hard for it.
Hi, where might I find the diamond coated laps for the MKII. Sounds like great set up.
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#28
I might get flamed for this... But I'm gonna say it anyway.
You might can buy yourself some time if you just change your microbevel to a higher angle...
If you have a 25 degree primary, and a 30 degree micro.. and the micro is getting too big to sharpen fast anymore, as a quick fix, just change your micro to 33-35* and start over with it... 
I would suggest you won't find any practical difference in your work...
***This is just an idea... a practical quick fix.. not meant to be a "sharpening thread", and not meant to represent "best practice"...
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#29
I have a Porter Cable variable speed grinder I got from one of the big box stores. I'm impressed. It has excellent balance and the variable speed is handy. One other thing you can do on your chisels is what Paul Sellers does. He rounds the bevel over, so that there really isn't a flat part of the bevel. It takes some practice to do that, and there's a risk you might get too high of a bevel if you don't watch what you're doing, but it solves the issue of any secondary bevel growing in size, and it's remarkably easy to keep honed on a strop once you've got the muscle memory down. Sellers is somewhat unconventional is many ways, but his methods work.
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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#30
(03-10-2018, 09:05 AM)Demps Wrote: Hi, where might I find the diamond coated laps for the MKII. Sounds like great set up.
.........................
I bought three of these in different grits..IIRC the ones I got are 240, 800 and 3,000grits.. The 240 is about as coarse I wold go with diamond and the 3,000 puts a very fine edge on...especially fine as the disc wears in a little..I found that they work best when used dry..no lube..wash them with soap and water to remove any loaded swarf, then wipe dry..The plates are electroplated steel and very flat. The center hole is larger than the retainer screw but I just center mine using the "eyeball" method and it works..but a bushing could be made easily if wanted...If you want the lap higher, you could make a round disc out of wood and put it on the MKII platter first. If you sharpen knives like I do, the disc could be made 7" diameter to allow a little lap overhang which makes it easier to sharpen right up to the tang.

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-8-inch-Dia...mond+discs
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