On 18 May 2006 14:04:46 -0700, "keith" wrote:

hi to all,
i am still new to the art of woodturning and i am still investing in
high quality tools as i have always been told to buy the best i can
afford. i have been having probloms sharpening my tools as i dont want
to ruin a good tool with a bench grinder as i get the gitters when i
start to sharpen them.even at the best of times i think that they could
be sharper and neater looking. so i started to sharpen them on a good
oil stone this does the job but i dont know if they are as sharp as
they could be or good for the tool. any help on the subject would
apprecated. many thanks and safe turning!!

Hi Keith,

First, take a deep breath. It's not a bad idea to buy good tools, but
you can't be afraid to use them. It sounds like you think that one
awkward slip will render your best gouge useless, and that isn't true.

My chisels are middle-to-low quality- I got a free set from Delta when
I bought my midi lathe, and they've been good enough for me. They're
not HSS, they're Chromium-Tungsten-Molybendium (I forget what the
trade term for that metal is) and I sharpen them on a regular
one-speed bench grinder on the wheels that it came with. Sure, I
burned the tips once or twice when I first got them, and even managed
to get the spindle gouge to look more like a needle than it aught to
have at one point- but with a month or two of daily practice while
turning got me to a point where I could sharpen without thinking twice
about it, and I'm sure you'll be able to do it as well.

Those tools I learned on lost about 1/4" of metal- almost nothing in
the grand scheme of things, and I did some terrible things to them
with my first attempts to sharpen them. And as a bonus, I now am able
to quickly fix nicked chisels and plane irons on any old regular
grinder as well. It's been a skill well worth aquiring.

Just keep your passes on the wheel light and brief- you're touching an
edge up, not grinding a bolt off an engine or something. If you find
you're burning a lot, get the wheels running, then shut off the power
and do your grinding while the wheels slow down- it's a good training
technique, actually.

Good Luck!