Hi, All.

Got a new lathe, HSS tools, a recommended book, and no experience with
a lathe. I sharpened the gouges on a low speed grinder to same approx
angle as they came from the factory, then buffed on a cloth wheel.
They seemed sharp at first, but dulled quickly as compared to planes
and chisels, or so it seemed.

Do I need to resharpen that often??? Or can I just buff before each
use, then the grinder every once in a while?

Also, do I set the tool rest at the height such that the cutting edge
of the tool is at the centerline of the wood? So much to learn!

Thanks for any help.....

rich wrote:
Hi, All.

Got a new lathe, HSS tools, a recommended book, and no experience with
a lathe. I sharpened the gouges on a low speed grinder to same approx
angle as they came from the factory, then buffed on a cloth wheel.
They seemed sharp at first, but dulled quickly as compared to planes
and chisels, or so it seemed.

Do I need to resharpen that often??? Or can I just buff before each
use, then the grinder every once in a while?

Yup. With a chisel or plane you may take off tens of feet of wood a
minute. A lathe tool may take off hundreds or thousands. Don't think
in terms of time when sharping, think of lineal feet of wood cut. A 14"
bowl has a circumference just shy of 44". At 600 rpm you're cutting
2,200' per minute. When's the last time you planed that much wood w/o
sharpening?

Most experienced turners probably hit the sharpener every few minutes.
John Jordan recommends sharpening before you're acutely aware you need
to. If you're noticing significant dulling you've waited too long.

I haven't tried buffing my tools between grinding. That may work well,
but you'll have to be very careful not to round over the cutting edge.


Also, do I set the tool rest at the height such that the cutting edge
of the tool is at the centerline of the wood? So much to learn!

Yes, that's a good spot to set it in general. It's not rocket science -
doesn't have to be exact...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
In a recent poll, seven out of ten hard drives preferred Linux.

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:25:58 -0800, rich wrote:

Hi, All.

Got a new lathe, HSS tools, a recommended book, and no experience with a
lathe. I sharpened the gouges on a low speed grinder to same approx
angle as they came from the factory, then buffed on a cloth wheel. They
seemed sharp at first, but dulled quickly as compared to planes and
chisels, or so it seemed.

Do I need to resharpen that often??? Or can I just buff before each
use, then the grinder every once in a while?

Also, do I set the tool rest at the height such that the cutting edge of
the tool is at the centerline of the wood? So much to learn!

Thanks for any help.....

The answer to the first question is a qualified yes. You sharpen as
often as the tool needs it - like any other cutting tool. That could be
once or twice a bowl, or spindle project, or several times during the
project. It all depends on the wood you are turning. My daughter turned
a nice bowl (her first real bowl) out of Dalmation wood. The wood cut
very nicely as long as the gouge was sharp. That meant she had to
sharpen about every 10 minutes.

As for the tool height, yes, cutting edge at center line.

Then practice, practice, practice.


As they say, "Woodworkers/woodturners have the most interesting
firewood. :-)

Deb

Without even thinking about it, you will adjust the height of the tool
handle to place the cutting edge where you want it--generally at the height
of the spindle axis. If this results in the handle being at an
uncomfortable height. then adjust the tool rest accordingly.

Hello Rich,

You have received some good answers, but no one mentioned that the
grind on a new tool is not necessarily the right grind for the job. My
experience is that most of the new tools are, first not sharp, and
second do not have a proper grind for the job at hand. I do not
recommend buffing the tool because it is so easy to round over the
edge so that it will not cut well or the edge will be thin and will
then be gone the minute the tool hits the wood. If you want to touch
up your tool so that you do not have to return to the grinder so
often, I recommend you purchase a diamond hone, one about the size of
a credit card. I believe that Woodcraft and Craft Supplies USA both
sell these, Since the tool bevel will be slightly concave from the
grinding wheel, you hone only the cutting edge and the back of the
bevel. When you see that your hone has cleaned up the concave part of
the bevel, it is time to regrind.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

On Feb 23, 9:25 am, rich wrote:
Hi, All.

Got a new lathe, HSS tools, a recommended book, and no experience with
a lathe. I sharpened the gouges on a low speed grinder to same approx
angle as they came from the factory, then buffed on a cloth wheel.
They seemed sharp at first, but dulled quickly as compared to planes
and chisels, or so it seemed.

Do I need to resharpen that often??? Or can I just buff before each
use, then the grinder every once in a while?

Also, do I set the tool rest at the height such that the cutting edge
of the tool is at the centerline of the wood? So much to learn!

Thanks for any help.....

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:21:33 -0600, Delbert Freeman wrote:

As for the tool height, yes, cutting edge at center line.

I have one exception to that, and it may well just be a personal
preference. I've found I get a lot better results with a skew chisel if
I set the tool rest high for a planing cut so I'm cutting almost at the
top of the piece.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

Seems like I found the place where the turners live! This is
different than running a router or table saw!

I think I've been using dull tools. Never realized the length of
wood cut vs a plane or chisel. I have one of those little diamond
credit cards and will put it to use!

Thanks for all the great ideas!

I don't know where you are, but if you can find one, get involved with
a turning club. It has been my biggest learning experience in my 14
years of turning. There is a web site for the American Assn. of
Woodturners, and they list clubs and contact numbers. Sharpening is
fairly simple, and you will eventually learn when you need to sharpen
by feeling how the tool is cutting. I don't hone my tools, and go
straight from the grinder (80 grit or 150 grit wheel) to the wood. A
skew chisel can work better when honed, but not really much difference
on a gouge. Honing with a card file can touch it up, but not maintain
an edge.

robo hippy


On Feb 23, 5:38*pm, Dave Balderstone
wrote:
In article , Larry Blanchard

wrote:
On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:21:33 -0600, Delbert Freeman wrote:

As for the tool height, yes, cutting edge at center line.

I have one exception to that, and it may well just be a personal
preference. *I've found I get a lot better results with a skew chisel if
I set the tool rest high for a planing cut so I'm cutting almost at the
top of the piece.

Me too...

I looked at the AAWoodturners website, and they have some good
stuff. But in Montana there are few chapters. The closest involves a
100 mile trip. So I'm going to try a local guy, but he is a snowbird,
so it may be a while. May also try the HS Shop teacher, as I sub for
him now and then.

Again, thanks for all the good info.....

On Feb 24, 5:42*pm, rich wrote:
I looked at the *AAWoodturners website, and they have some good
stuff. *But in Montana there are few chapters. *The closest involves a
100 mile trip. *So I'm going to try a local guy, but he is a snowbird,
so it may be a while. *May also try the HS Shop teacher, as I sub for
him now and then.

Again, thanks for all the good info.....

Sorry but cannot see anything here about the tools in question, ie HSS
that means nothing these days, you need a make, a well known
manufacturer, HSS means nothing, a bad so called HSS tool will blunt
immediately you will grind forever, as they say "Pay the money and get
the best" I have some cheap gouges "HSS so called" crap blunt straight
away but ok for dodgy bits of wood,
So I would say get a top quality gouges, grind only, dont hone, and
forget a gouge for every operation, buy a good roughing 3/4 inch gouge
that will do 60% of your work.
The other 30% is a 1/2 inch bowl gouge and the last 10% a 1/2 inch
spindle gouge. These will turn you a bowl to a goblet.
Buy the best and they wont blunt and they make turning fun.
So 3 good quality gouges and you are going.
As for the height of the tool rest only one way to learn use your
roughing out gouge and practice, get a dig in you are too high or your
elbow is too high.. Take the cutting edge of the gouge and adjust the
tool rest so it makes the gouge barely slide over the wood. Raise your
elbow and cut on the wood. There is a definite on tool rest height but
me i am small it dont work fo me. No doubt if you are 7 foot tall it
wont work. Woodturning is all about experiment and practice.
Good luck
Col

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:21:33 -0600, Delbert Freeman
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:25:58 -0800, rich wrote:

Hi, All.

Got a new lathe, HSS tools, a recommended book, and no experience with a
lathe. I sharpened the gouges on a low speed grinder to same approx
angle as they came from the factory, then buffed on a cloth wheel. They
seemed sharp at first, but dulled quickly as compared to planes and
chisels, or so it seemed.

Do I need to resharpen that often??? Or can I just buff before each
use, then the grinder every once in a while?

Also, do I set the tool rest at the height such that the cutting edge of
the tool is at the centerline of the wood? So much to learn!

Thanks for any help.....

The answer to the first question is a qualified yes. You sharpen as
often as the tool needs it - like any other cutting tool. That could be
once or twice a bowl, or spindle project, or several times during the
project. It all depends on the wood you are turning. My daughter turned
a nice bowl (her first real bowl) out of Dalmation wood. The wood cut
very nicely as long as the gouge was sharp. That meant she had to
sharpen about every 10 minutes.

As for the tool height, yes, cutting edge at center line.

NOTE: cutting edge of tool at center line, not tool REST at center line..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:37:49 -0800 (PST), rich wrote:

Seems like I found the place where the turners live! This is
different than running a router or table saw!

I think I've been using dull tools. Never realized the length of
wood cut vs a plane or chisel. I have one of those little diamond
credit cards and will put it to use!

Thanks for all the great ideas!

If you learn to listen to the tool on the wood, you'll hear the difference when
your tool isn't as sharp as it started.. To me that's the key, don't let it get
"dull", when it's not SHARP anymore, sharpen it..

The credit card things are ok for skews and things, but I use a round, tapered
diamond hone constantly.. Gets right in the flute of a bowl gouge or the
fingernail grind on a roughing gouge..

I sharpen a gouge and use it right off the grinder un till it sounds like it's
asking for sharpening, then use the hone on the flute and go back to turning.. I
do this 2 or 3 times before it's time to go back to the grinder..
What I'm honing off is the burr.. use a gouge for a minute or two and then check
for a burr by lightly running a rag down the flute, from handle to edge..
If the rag snags at all, I home the flute..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

col writes:

Sorry but cannot see anything here about the tools in question, ie HSS
that means nothing these days, you need a make, a well known
manufacturer,


You don;t understand. The Harbor Freight HSS chisels are recommended
so you learn how to use the grinder!

Don't practice on the good chisels...

To the OP - you will need a grinder, some people use a belt
grinder. Others a slow-speed Woodcraft grinding wheel. Be prepare dto
practice, and to wish for more expensive tools.

But I got by for several years using normal steel, a used grinder,
and a $90 AMT lathe. You have lots to learn.

Joining a club or one on one help is best. But failing in that there are
many great videos out there on basic turning skills or ones that will help
with specific project areas. There are general turning, bowl turning and
spindle turning videos. Also more advanced videos on specific projects.
Even if you get one on one training the videos are great to watch over and
over and learn specific things you may not have picked up at first. There
are some great books out there as well on bowl turning, spindle turning,
green wood turning etc.

Spend time learning to sharpen and it will make everything else easier.

Have fun and stick with it.

"rich" wrote in message
...
Hi, All.

Got a new lathe, HSS tools, a recommended book, and no experience with
a lathe. I sharpened the gouges on a low speed grinder to same approx
angle as they came from the factory, then buffed on a cloth wheel.
They seemed sharp at first, but dulled quickly as compared to planes
and chisels, or so it seemed.

Do I need to resharpen that often??? Or can I just buff before each
use, then the grinder every once in a while?

Also, do I set the tool rest at the height such that the cutting edge
of the tool is at the centerline of the wood? So much to learn!

Thanks for any help.....