Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Joe Pack

>Jennifer, I bought the $10 set of hss small tools (gouge, parting tool and skew) at Harbor Freight and they work just fine! Obviously, they are not for hogging stuff out, but, especially for $10, I get a LOT of use out of them. The gouge takes and holds an edge as well as my expensive, larger stuff.

As for sharpening, I just barely touch the gouge to the wheel using my wolverine setup and it works just like its longer brother. Just a light touch and it is good to go.

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Jennifer@Indy.USA

>Hi Joe, and thanks....

I have that same set from HF....mainly just use the parting tool. What I'd like is a 1/8" gouge and the same in a skew. I don't see them any place sold individualy though?

Jen

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Jorge Castaneda

>Jen,

I made a miniature skew out of straight hex shank, grinding a flat section on it and then the skew on the tip, it is about 1/8" and tkes a few minutes to make.

2 cents

Jorge

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Don Evans

>Jen:

Another option is to do what I did. Make an eight inch diameter plywood disc. Attach to motor or in my case I use a mandrel and run it on lathe.

To one side I glued 40 micro film and to the other side I put 9 micro film.

I made sure the disc was sanded flat, use wood filler if necessary.

Sharpen on the 40 then hone with the 9 micro.

You'll have razor blade sharp tools and they are easy to free hand with these small tools.

As far as the tools themselves go, I don't really think they are very valuable. I've pretty much stopped using them. The problem is the shafts cause chatter much too easy. In addition to that, I haven't run into anything, even miniature turnings that larger tools will not handle.

One tool I use a lot that isn't mention on this site is a spear point tool. Between it and my 5 x 9 bedan there isn't much detail work that cannot be accomplished, even on 1/32 inch turning.

Don

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Lan Brady

>Jennifer,

I use my same grinder to sharpen small tools. I set up everyting, get the grinder up to speed and cut it off. As it slows down, I sharpen the small tools. I have not burned one up yet!

Lan

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Leo Van Der Loo

>Hi Jennifer

Jen I would use the wolverine type of jig for sharpening the gouge, by using a jig you get a repeat of your grinding bevel and shape, thereby reducing the amount you grind away and you are also better able to use a very light touch, since that is all you have to concentrate on.

Have fun and take care

Leo V

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

RonZ

>Hi Jen,

Sharpening:

I use EZE Lap diamond paddles and rod. You'll have to learn to draw the paddles across the bevel with a steady hand but judging from your works that shouldn't be a problem. I usually hone all my tools with a diamond paddle before I'll take it to a sharpening stone. This especially holds true for the mini tools. In the old days when they had carbon tools, they would only grind once a day in a furniture factory. How is this possible you ask? The honed the tool all day. So certainly this holds true with our modern day HSS.

Tools

Sorby makes the best mini tools as far as I have tried. I think many other manufacturers don't put much time and effort in producing mini tools. The list of Sorby mini tools I have and find useful are 1/4 & 1/8" spindle gouge, 1/16" fluted parting tool, 1/4" bedan, and the 1/8 & 1/4" round skew. The 1/8" gouge is the thickest you'll find as most other snap in half or bend as they are usually too long and you can't get in close with your tool rest. I find the 1/8" round skew a must have tools. I didn't list a regular 1/16" parting tool as any Chris Stott type parting tool is the best for mini to larger items.I saved the 5/16" roughing gouge for last. I thought this tool would be a joke but it is amazing. I can round off stock really fast and for pens it is indespensible. I can finish 90% of a pen in less than a minute and finish up with a skew.

With all the above said, you can make your own. They have available square and round metal cutting bars that are about 2-3" long and have about 5-10% cobalt content. You can grind these to tools and the short length is perfect for mini tools, just make your own handles. The round bar can be ground as a round skew and if you have metal cutting disks, you can grind a flute and then grind an edge for the perfect gouge.

Good luck and have fun.

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

John Lucas

>Jennifer

I fond of Bonnie Klein mini tools. They work really well. I also just bought the HF mini tool kit. It was just too cheap to pass up. I was surprised at the quality. I've probably made at least a dozen mini tools. When I say mini, I mean 1/4" is a big gouge. I just made a set from 3/16 drill bit shanks.

I do one of 3 things to sharpen depending on the too and how small it really is. Using the 8" grinder with the power off is what I go to for tools in larger sizes, 1/8" to 1/4". I turn the motor on, turn it off and let the wheel spin down.

If I'm going to be working a lot on miniature stuff I have a wooden disc with sandpaper attached that fits in my chuck. I'll just slow the lathe down and use this. going toward the middle of the disc gives much slower surface speed for sharpening really small tools and out toward the edge gives faster surface speed for sharpening bigger tools.

my favorite for really tiny tools it my dremel. I put it in a vise and use a flat grind stone. Then I can sharpen in the middle or the edge of the stone depending on the tool and how fast I want to remove metal. Takes a maginifier to do this accurately but I usually have one on when turning miniatures anyway. My eyes just aren't as good as when I was young.

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

John Weber - GO BUCKS!

>Jen,

After seeing your sharpening on my bowl gouge, I think you would you would grind a mini down in seconds, just kidding :-).

See ya - John

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools *LINK*

Andrew Hilton

>As long as you're not reshaping the tool, just a quick hone does wonders. You can either use a slipstone, diamong paddle or a powered hone like is described in the articles section ("Sanding Disk") of the website linked below.

Freehand sharpening isn't difficult with the right equipment, proper technique, and some practice .... hmmmm sounds a bit like turning, eh?


My Website

Re: Sharpenig mini/micro Turning Tools

Jennifer@Indy.USA

>Thanks everyone...I'm kind of on the fence about these.....I might just take the suggestions to try making them. It's the flute in the gouge that might give me trouble....but I suppose I'd rather waste money on a $2.00 piece of drill rod rather than a pricey tool. If I get adventurous with it, I'll post a pic or two.

Thanks for the input.

Jennifer

Smallest I have is 1/4", but..

Joe Pack

>Jennifer, the smallest I have seen is 1/4", but I must admit that a slip and a heavy hand on my grinder essentially made it 1/8" for a few days. I kept it that way on purpose for cutting some tiny lines in pens, but rounded it back out the next time I sharpened it.