On Tue, 09 Sep 2014 21:13:15 -0700, mike wrote:

On 9/9/2014 7:17 PM, wrote:
On Monday, September 8, 2014 8:06:54 AM UTC, mike wrote:



With the lathe, I'm not so much cutting metal as I'm rubbing it off. ;-)

Been experimenting with sharpening bits by hand, but I no longer have the

manual dexterity to get it straight.





It's not logical, but I've spent $10 and a week to save a dollar...

and enjoyed every minute of it.



Thanks,

mike

When you say sharpening bits by hand, I am assuming you mean holding the bit by hand and sharpen using a bench grinder. It really is not that hard to do. I would recommend that you spend a little time practicing. Getting so you can do it is worth the effort.

If you let us know where you are someone might take a little time and show you how they do it. I sharpen drill bit by hand but do not do it as most people do it. I start at the heel and progress to the cutting edge.

Dan

Thanks for the input, but that ain't gonna happen.
Knowing how is not my biggest problem.
Manual dexterity has never been my strength. At 66, my hands don't always
go where my brain tells 'em to go.
Trying to cut a compound angle in three dimensions isn't working for me.
I can't hold the bit still enough to grind a flat surface at any angle.
I need to build some simple guides/fixtures to constrain movement
relative to the grinding wheel. Of course, a better grinder would help...

Perhaps jig up a cross-slide drill press vise and use it to steady
your hands. Mount it (or the grinder itself?) to a board and use yet
another screw to change Z.
http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Slide-Dr.../dp/B001FGAJTA

--
Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and
wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.
-- Henry George