Affording good sharpening stones

[arnman]

Timberwolf,
Thanks for posting the link to the laps.  I will have to check those out!

[Robin Dobbie]

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Knife making is why I built it..I enjoy carving and working with exotic woods and metals and needed small, a slo-speed machine and there wasn't much to choose from in that regard.

Those guys look like they're up to something!

Is that motor hooked up to a VFD? Looks direct drive.

I always wondered if "0.005 across the surface" was a typo on their part.  That seems like a fairly big gap under a straight edge on a relatively small surface.  I can easily see light under a straightedge that is too big for my 0.0015 inch feeler gage.

Yeah you're right, that's actually one less zero than I would think it should be. Maybe they're just covering their tooter.

[Timberwolf]

Those guys look like they're up to something!

Is that motor hooked up to a VFD? Looks direct drive.


Yeah you're right, that's actually one less zero than I would think it should be. Maybe they're just covering their tooter.

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Is that motor hooked up to a VFD? Looks direct drive.

No VFD...belt runs about 1,000FPM..Motor speed is 1725RPM. Drive wheel is about 1 3/4" or /2" diameter IIRC.

[arnman]

Those guys look like they're up to something!

Is that motor hooked up to a VFD? Looks direct drive.


Yeah you're right, that's actually one less zero than I would think it should be. Maybe they're just covering their tooter.

Sorry Robin, I meant to say the gap is too small for my feeler gage.  But it looks like you knew what I meant!

I went back and edited my post.

[Robin Dobbie]

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Is that motor hooked up to a VFD? Looks direct drive.

No VFD...belt runs about 1,000FPM..Motor speed is 1725RPM. Drive wheel is about 1 3/4" or /2" diameter IIRC.

So, slow speed is just relative to like a 13-15k RPM angle grinder? To me, that's still screaming compared to water stones, tormek-style, or even the 580 RPM worksharp 3000. Accoring to an overly-enthusiastic carpenter review of the work sharp, they recommend a 1-2 second burst before letting the workpiece cool. I thought that was the name of the game with 1725 or 3250 RPM grinders. Then again, I think the previous Work Sharp was indeed 1700-something RPM, but I'm too lazy to look at their manual. 

Sorry Robin, I meant to say the gap is too small for my feeler gage.  But it looks like you knew what I meant!

I went back and edited my post.

.005 is too small for a .0015 gauge? I wasn't confused but now I am. Regardless, if woodworkers can flatten the soles of the planes with a piece, or several pieces of sandpaper on a $5 floor tile such that they can't get under it with a .0015 gauge, you'd think Veritas could promise a little better than that in a factory setting.

I was looking at things that had nothing to do with woodworking on the sharpening supplies site and noticed some giant machines with discs/plates that are meant for sharpening clipper blades en masse. A 16" plate is advertised as being able to sharpen 1000 blades per side. Scaled down to the size of typical lapping plates, that's not a lot, in my mind. I suppose they're more geared for speed, as the loose grit they're supplied with is 220 I think. But still.

[Timberwolf]

So, slow speed is just relative to like a 13-15k RPM angle grinder? To me, that's still screaming compared to water stones, tormek-style, or even the 580 RPM worksharp 3000. Accoring to an overly-enthusiastic carpenter review of the work sharp, they recommend a 1-2 second burst before letting the workpiece cool. I thought that was the name of the game with 1725 or 3250 RPM grinders. Then again, I think the previous Work Sharp was indeed 1700-something RPM, but I'm too lazy to look at their manual. 


.005 is too small for a .0015 gauge? I wasn't confused but now I am. Regardless, if woodworkers can flatten the soles of the planes with a piece, or several pieces of sandpaper on a $5 floor tile such that they can't get under it with a .0015 gauge, you'd think Veritas could promise a little better than that in a factory setting.

I was looking at things that had nothing to do with woodworking on the sharpening supplies site and noticed some giant machines with discs/plates that are meant for sharpening clipper blades en masse. A 16" plate is advertised as being able to sharpen 1000 blades per side. Scaled down to the size of typical lapping plates, that's not a lot, in my mind. I suppose they're more geared for speed, as the loose grit they're supplied with is 220 I think. But still.

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that's still screaming compared to water stones, tormek-style, or even the 580 RPM worksharp 3000.

Yes it is when compared to the "ultra" slow speed units, but about a third of the speed most belt grinders run at. But even the machines you mentioned are faster than honing on waterstones or other stationary hones..But with belts you can take steel from raw stock to a straight razor and then use it to make the handles. You can get sharp edges on a hone, but IMO you can't get that same edge nearly as FAST..Speed is the beauty of it...A side benefit is the fact that, as fast as it is, you have to try really hard to get the steel so hot that the temper is lost.

I was at a woodcarving show last fall and they had three Viel { Lee Valley } belt grinders set up to sharpen carving knives for the crowd who couldn't sharpen their own...Three bucks each for less than two minutes stropping.

[Robin Dobbie]

$3 per tool. Holy smokes. But that's nothing compared to waiting to have someone else sharpen your tools. I would pay to have someone flatten the bottoms of my chisels, though.

Last night I thought I'd flatten the bottom of my 1" chisel. The whole unnecessary length. It's embarrassing how long it took. ...and to not even accomplish it. It takes so much force to get even 220 grit diamond to do anything across several square inches. It's just not feasible, in my experience, to do it purely by hand. I got it 96% there, but the little bit that's remaining would take even MORE effort considering how much more steel is in contact. Plus I realized a small portion has pitting from where I lent my chisel to someone and they left wet glue on it. That someone is me, but still...





The bevel isn't a big deal, but at some point the stuff on the bottom is going to be a problem.

Too many pages now, but have you seen the 8 and 10" diamond discs? Seems like they have the same arbor size as the 6" ones.

[Timberwolf]

$3 per tool. Holy smokes. But that's nothing compared to waiting to have someone else sharpen your tools. I would pay to have someone flatten the bottoms of my chisels, though.

Last night I thought I'd flatten the bottom of my 1" chisel. The whole unnecessary length. It's embarrassing how long it took. ...and to not even accomplish it. It takes so much force to get even 220 grit diamond to do anything across several square inches. It's just not feasible, in my experience, to do it purely by hand. I got it 96% there, but the little bit that's remaining would take even MORE effort considering how much more steel is in contact. Plus I realized a small portion has pitting from where I lent my chisel to someone and they left wet glue on it. That someone is me, but still...





The bevel isn't a big deal, but at some point the stuff on the bottom is going to be a problem.

Too many pages now, but have you seen the 8 and 10" diamond discs? Seems like they have the same arbor size as the 6" ones.

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I have had a Veritas MKII for several years..long before I bought a WorkSharp and I have a couple of 8" diamond laps for it also..The 8" laps are bored 1/2" while the shaft on the MKII is 1/4" so I just "center" the laps up over the shaft and tighten down the locking knob...You can get them to run pretty well centered so they work fine but you could also make an adapter to accommodate the different size shaft.

[Robin Dobbie]

Maybe I woke up too early, but I'm confused about what you're referring to regarding the Veritas MKII and arbor size. I thought that was a honing guide for long flat stones.

[Greg Jones]

Maybe I woke up too early, but I'm confused about what you're referring to regarding the Veritas MKII and arbor size. I thought that was a honing guide for long flat stones.

They have a powered Mk.II sharpening system also.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/too...ing-system