Recommended Resources:

AAWSharpeningVideo(availableintheClubsvideolibrary)
AllanBattysWoodturning Notes(availablefromCraftSupplies)
Clubmentors(namesinthenewsletter)
Sharpening Tools:
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Necessities:
Grindingwheel(whitefriablewheel)
Grindingplatform/table
Wheeldresser
Eyeprotection
Niceties:
Diamondfathone
Diamondconehone
Grindingjig
Protractor
Sharpening Procedure (freehand or jig):
1. Adjustgrinderplatformand/orjig.
2. Placeyourtoolonthegrinderplatformorinthegrindingjig.
3. Placethetoolintherequiredgrindingpositionforthattool(andjig).
4. PlaceyourbodyinapositionsothatyoucanstartANDfnishthegrind.
5. Rehearsethegrindingmotionbeforeturningongrindertoinsurethatyourbodyiscorrectly
positioned.
6. Putonsafetyglassesorfaceshield.
7. Turnongrinderandgrind.
8. Honeedgeifdesired.
Grinding Angles for Various Tools:
Roughing gouge

40
90
Skew

Parting tool


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Shallow-futed (spindle) gouge
Scrapers
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Deep-futed (bowl) gouge
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Burrs and Honing Your Tools:
Grindingproducesaburrofcoarsemetalonthetopedgeofthetool.Thisburrcanbeaneffective
cuttingedgeinitsownright.Itcanalsoleadtoinconsistentresultsforcleancutsforsometypesof
woods.
Honingwillremoveburrswhendesired.Honingwillalsorefreshacuttingedgesothatyoudont
havetogobacktothegrindereverytimetheedgegetsworn.
Herearesomegeneralguidelinesconcerningburrsandhoning:
Usingadiamondhonealongthecuttingedgecanusuallyfreshenupalltoolsonceortwicebe-
tweengrindings.
Leaveburrsonallgougesandpartingtools.Theburrwillbequicklyremovedbynormalturning
operationsanywaysodontbotherremovingthem.
Leaveburrsonskews.Again,theburrwillbequicklyremovedbynormalturningoperations.
Becausetheskewmakessuchafnecut,though,somepeoplereallyliketoremovetheburr.(I
personallydont).
Forsofterwoods(mapleandsofter),leavetheburronscrapers.Forharderwoods,likeexotics,
honetheburroffscrapers.
Ifyouwanttousetheburrspecifcallyforshearscraping,honethegrindingwheelburroff,then
usethehonetoraiseanevenburralongthecuttingedge.Thisistypicallydonetoscrapersand
bowlgouges.Notallpeoplebotherdoingthis.
Preparing a new gouge for initial sharpening:
Thefrstquestiontoanswerwhensettingupagougeforgrindingisfarbackyouwanttogrind
thewingsofthefutefortheswept-backstyleofgrind.Thisquestionmustbeansweredforeither
freehandorIfyouonlyusetheplatform,setthenoseangletothedesiredangle(StewartBatty
recommendsabout40degrees)atthefrontofthegouge,withthefutestraightup.Grindthe
gougeuntilthegrindmarksreachfromfutetoouteredgeofthebar.Next,turnthefutetofacethe
wheelandthegougeat90degreestothewheel.Anglethegougesuchthatyougrindoffthewings
withthisgrind.Agoodstartingangleisaround45degrees.Grinduntilthefatareajusttouches
thenosebevel.Atthispoint,youwillhaveafatsurfaceontheentireedgeofthefutealltheway
aroundthecuttingsurface.Itwilllooklikeahorseshoe.
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Freehand grinding a gouge with just a fat platform for support:
Now,placethegougebarfushontheWolverinetable/platform.Fortherestoftheoperation,
youwillmaintainafushcontactwiththeplatform.Supportthetoolinbothhandswithonethumb
pressingonthefutenearthenoseandtheothersupportingthetoolatabouttheferrule.Dont
holdthetoolanyfartherbackonthehandleoryouwilltendtoliftthegougeoffthetable.The
grindingoperationistostartwiththefutestraightup.Swingthehandleinanarcwiththenose
incontinuouscontactwiththewheel.Atthesametimeasyouswingthegouge,youwillrollthe
futeovertowardthedirectionoftheswing.Swingthetoolbacktostraightonthewheelandfute
straightup.Continuetheswingthroughtotheothersideoftheplatformandrotatethefuteinto
theswingonthatside.Ideally,youcanstartatonewingandswingthetoolentirelythroughthe
motiontotheotherwingwithoutinterruption,hesitationorstopping.Thisisdiffculttodobecauseof
thelengthofthegougeandthebodypositionsinvolved.Practicethemotionseveraltimeswithout
actuallygrinding.Bydoingthis,youwillfndthebestgripsandbodypositionstocompletethe
wholemotion.
Nowyouarereadytogrind.Ifyourecallthehorseshoe-shapedfatthatyougroundontopofthe
futeearlier.Considerthissurfacetheshinysurface.Yourgrindingmissionistoswingthegouge
throughtheabovemotionandgrindthebeveluntiltheshinyspotsareallgoneontheentireu-
shapedprofle.Youwillprobablyhavemoregrindingtodoonthewingsthanthenose.Alight
touchonthenosesectionisrecommended.
Wolverine or True-Grind jig set-up and use on Spindle Gouges and Bowl Goug-
es:
Thestepslistedatthebeginningofthehandoutaregenericforfreehandandjigsharpening.For
usingtheWolverinesVari-GrindjigortheTrue-Grind,theprocedureisstraightforward.Please
readeachinstructionmanualforinstallationandset-updetails.Foranyotherfngernailgrindingjig,
theprincipleshereareidentical.Theprocedureisthesameforanyfngernailgrindbowlorspin-
dlegouges.Onlytheanglesmayvary.
Beforesettingupthegrinder,ifyouaresharpeningthetoolforthefrsttime,youneedtogrindthe
wingsbackonthefutesideofthetool.Forbowlgouges,theanglebetweenthisgrindandthebot-
tomofthefuteisabout40.Forspindlegouges,thisangleisabout30.Youcangrindthetopsof
thewingsfatorwithaswept-backarctoleaveaswept-backwingonthefute.
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Step 1:Inserttoolintojigtherecommendeddistance.Fixastopblockonyourgrindingstationto
makethissteprepeatable.
OnewayWolverine: 1-3/4
WoodcutTrueGrind: 2

Step 2:Temporarilysetthepivotingarmofthejiginapproximatelya45positiontothehandleof
thegouge.
Step 3:Putthejigintheslidingbarholder.Loosenthebar.Rotatethetoolsothatthesidewing
ofthefuteisagainstthegrindingwheel.Thiswillbewiththefutepointingtotheleftorright.
Slidethebarinorouttoachievethedesiredwinggrindangle.Lockthebarinposition.
Step 4:Rotatethetoolsothatthefuteisstraightup.Loosenthepivotingarmofthejigandsetthe
noseangletothedesiredgrindingangle.Lockthepivotingarminplace.
Step 5:RepeatStep3andStep4iterativelyuntilthesideangleandthenoseanglearelockedin
place.Youwilllikelyhavetomakeverysmalladjustmentsinboththepivotarmandthesliding
bar,buttheywillbeverysmall.
Step 6:Scribethepivotarmlocationonthejigandtheslidingbarlocationonthebarforrepeatabil-
ity.Ascratchawlwillworkforthis.
Step 7:Practiceswingingthetoolthroughitscompletearcbeforeturningonthegrinder.Make
sureyourbodyitoutofthewayoftheswing.
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Note #1:Whenyourgrindingwheelwearsdown,theangleswillgraduallydrift.Youmaywanttogo
backthroughthissetupaftertakingoff3/8to1/2ofdiameter.
Note #2:Fordifferentgrinds,repeatthesesteps,butchangethesideandnoseanglestodesired
angles.
Note #3:Whengrindingagouge,onehandshouldbenearthefuteoronthejig.Theotherhand
shouldbeneartheferrule.Ifyouholdthetoolfurtherdownonthehandle,youwillrisklever-
ingthetoolupandchangingtheangleofthenosegrind.
Grinding wheels:
Itisrecommendedthatyouselectafairlysoftwheel.SelectawheelthatiscodedfromHtoK.
Onewaywheels,forexampleareJ.Thesewheelsarefrequentlywhite,pinkorblue.
Therearelotsofrecommendationsonwhatgrityoushouldchoose.JohnJordansaysthathis
grinderhastwogrits:60and60.Agoodchoiceforapairofwheelswouldbeapproximately60and
80grit.Oneway,forexample,has54and80.Nortonhas60and80.
Keepthewheelcleananddressed.Cleanwheelsmeanthatyouarecuttingthesteelandnot
rubbingthesteeltocauseittooverheat.Ofcourse,tohavecleanwheels,youwillneedadiamond
dresseranywilladvisewhitealuminumoxidewheelsbecausetheybreakdownmoreeasilywhich
meanstheyruncooler.Thefactofthematteris,eventhoseclunkygraywheelswillworkIFYOU
KEEPTHEMCLEAN.
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Grinding Wheel Ring Test:
Beforeinstallinganewwheelonyourgrinder,youshouldperformtheringtest.Todothis,support
thewheelonadowel,orpencilthroughthemountinghole.Yourfngerwillworktoo.Thentapthe
wheelinfourplacesatthe1:30,4:30,7:30and10:30positions(45degreeseachsideofvertical
throughthehub,bothbelowandabovethecenterline),about1infromtheedgeofthewheel.
Thenrotatethewheel45degreesandrepeatthetestagainforatotalofeighttaps.Toperformthe
ringtest,wheelsshouldbetappedgentlywithalightnonmetallicimplement,suchasthehandleofa
screwdriverforlightwheels,orawoodenmalletforheavierwheels.
Asoundandundamagedwheelwillgiveacleartone.Ifcracked,therewillbeadeadsoundandnot
aclearringandthewheelshallnotbeused.

Wheelsmustbedryandfreeofsawdustwhenapplyingtheringtest,otherwisethesoundmaybe
deadened.
Foradditionalinformationonthistopicoranyothergrindingwheelsafetyinformation,pleasereview
ANSI(ANSIB7.1),OSHAandliteratureprovidedbythegrindingwheelandmachinemanufacturer.
YoumayalsocontacttheSaintGobainProductSafetyDepartmentatTel.(508)795-2690orFax.
(508)795-5120foradditionalproductsafetyinformation.
Thisinformationwasfoundatthefollowingwebsite:
http://www.nortonabrasives.com/industrial/safety/ringtest.asp
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