Honing

[Rick_B]

Well - I'm continuing on my quest to become an adequate sharpener.  I gotten through flattening the backs on a series of 8 "practice" chisels - I started with sandpaper then to the side of the tormek wheel.  Turns out I think I did more harm than good with the sandpaper.  Future flattening will will done completely on the Tormek.  BTW - my goal is to get to sharpening chisels and plane blades completely on the Tormek without using any sencodary stones.

Now for my question - I ground the bevels on a few of the chisels using the rough and fine stone grading and then honed them using the same jig.  I'm not quite satisfied with the results.  a couple of questions
1.  When using the standard edge jig for honing - it doesn't seem like you can use the angle setting gauge without changing the diameter.  I used the "magic marker" technique to set the jig for honing.  Is that the best method or should I use the angle setting jig with a different diameter or do I have it completely wrong  .  I know Jeff recommends freehand but I am not ready for that - I would rather use a more repeatable process like the jig.

2.  Assuming proper stone grading and grinding - how long should it take to hone the bevel?  I'm finding that after honing for a minute or so I still have very visible scratches.  On the third chisel I just kept honing and I finally got rid of most of the scratches but it took a long time.  Is this typical or does it indicate another problem like poor grading going to the fine stone or not enough time grinding?  I've always been a little uncomfortable with the grading - knowing when you are done is always a question.  Is there a visible gauge that could be used to indicsate that the scratch pattern is correct for fine grading?

Thanks for any suggestions and help!

[berto]

according to Jeff's demo video you can use the jig but need to changed the diameter of the angle master to 220mm. check the demo.http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/demo.php?vidID=3&speed=bb Also once you have the angle right put some pressure on the honing wheel the leather is quite forgiving and use the Tormek compound it cuts faster than others that I have used.

It takes me about 10 to 15 min to do a complete sharpening for a 3/4 inch chisel. I hope this answers your questions.

side note: when I am done I can see my self in the chisel and there are very very little scratches. Also are you doing a Micro bevel?

[Jeff Farris]

Rick,

My guess is that your lack of satisfaction in honing comes from one step before.  I'm guessing that you didn't get your stone properly graded.  There is no "visual" guide, but their is a tactile guide.  The stone should feel like wet glass when you have the stone graded correctly.

[Rick_B]

Jeff - I think you are probably right.  After some closer observations I noticed that the stone wheel seemed to have a dip in it around the circumference.  I got out the truing tool and verified that at the starting setting the there was about 1/4 (maybe less) of the wheel circumference that the truing tool was not touching.  It took me 5 passes at 1/16 turn of the adjustment each to get a consistent cut across and around the wheel.  That helped but I still think I am not getting the grading right for the fine side of the stone.  I've noticed that the grading stone is getting a groove in it and I'm wondering if that is giving me inconsistent grading results? 

[Jeff Farris]

Don't worry about wear on the fine side of the stone grader.  In fact, once it has the curve of the grindstone cut into its surface, it will work much faster.  I use the grader on the ends, rather than the middle.  The wear is inevitable, but if it is in the middle, you'll get half as much life out of the grader as if you work on the two ends. Keep your side to side movement to a minimum, and use firm pressure into the stone. 

[Rick_B]

berto - thanks for the update - that information on the leather wheel is probably somewhere in the manual and I just missed it.  regarding micro bevels - no I am not using that technique.

[Rick_B]

Jeff - well I think I'm making progress and I am convinced that I am not going far enough with the fine stonet the wheel is getting.  However, now I have noticed that the wheel is getting crowned.  I think this is occurring when I do the fine grading - but not sure.  My grading stone is really getting misformed on the fine side now.  Any suggestions?

[Jeff Farris]

As mentioned above, don't use a wide side to side scrubbing motion.  I move side to side no more than 1/8". 

[Rick_B]

So now that the grading tool has a crown it - do I need to buy a new one or if I regrade with no side to side motion and pressure on the crown wil it level out?  or is there another way to get it usable?

BTw - thansk for your patience with all of these rookie questions

[Rick_B]

I think I got it fixed.  I used a water stone flattening stone on the grader and got it mostly flat.  Then I trued the wheel again and tried the fine grading using the narrow end with very little side to side movemnt - graded OK and stayed flat.

My 8th practice chisel went pretty well.  Mostly scratch free after honing.  Each time I thought I was done with fine grinding - I went back and did more.  It still coulkd have have stood a little more I think.

[Herman Trivilino]

I think you're obsessing about the scratches.  Getting that mirror finish is possible, and it's good showmanship when selling the product, but the fact is, you don't need it!  Those chisels are as sharp as they can be, and they're a joy to use when they're sharp.  The same is true of plane irons.

I have a couple of old planes that my Dad had in his garage.  It was obvious that the irons hadn't been properly sharpened for a very long time.  I got them sharpened, and it's the first time I've ever used a truly sharp plane.  They work like magic.

So do the chisels.  You should be enjoying them.  They're not going to work any better just because you got the scratches out.

[Ken S]

I found this topic, and realized that it contains a lot of valuable information, and needs to be resuscitated.

I was also pleased to find Rick B., an active member since 2006. Rick, you are a refreshing rebuttal to the argument that members join only to ask one question and then disappear. (You have been a member for three years more than me.)

Incidently, in later posts you asked about sharpening metal lathe bits. That area is evolving and should be accelerated by the new side grinding diamond wheels and multi base. Pay attention to the posts of Rick K. He is a machinist, and I believe will be a leader in the movement to include sharpening metal lathe bits with the Tormek.

Keep posting!

Ken