Tell us Dan, how do you reshape the angle of a of a chisel? The man has limited equipment and is just getting started. It is highly unlikely he is going to spend the money for a slow speed water cooled sharpening system. Used properly a bench grinder serves many functions, one of those being to reshape an angle on a chisel. A lot of people have to make do, and get by with what they have and can use the most cost effectively.
Scott , I would agree on using preformed wood as a strop on gouges etc. I use a fairly thin leather on top of my Plexiglas. It holds the polishing compound well and works well for me on flat chisels. Once the ability to really sharpen chisels is acquired, wood cuts cleanly and grounding is much reduced. Many do not know how easily and controlably a really sharp chisel will slice through wood.
Ron
I virtually always use a rough stone to start or maybe my diamond lap I bought for gravers. It really works great for angles on small straights like 1/4" or smaller. OR whatever *I* think is appropriate for the tool. I have some blocks of wood that I use with abrasives too.
(In this case "virtually" means almost all the time).
"Properly used".
So tell me Ron have you ever overheated an edge with a grinder or belt sander?
I realize that the electric world has spoiled everyone. But I hesitate to screw up a chisel that I will then have to fix. It may end up taking longer than using a coarse stone to do the shaping in the first place.
The average person with an electric grinder or belt sander and a wood chisel will result in a chisel that is a lot shorter or one that needs re-heat treat.
*So I recommended Gusler's video so the neophyte can learn to sharpen tools without screwing them up or buying a lot of electrical equipment.*
Since its IMPOSSIBLE to teach someone to sharpen a chisel in the confines of a post here.
Just trying to save people problems.
So IMO (sorry I forgot to add that little proviso people seem to forget that everything here is OPINION, advice, for the most part) the new guy with a wood chisel and a grinder is better off forgetting the grinder except in the most extreme cases. So telling a guy who apparently is new to the process that a bench grinder is useless is actually pretty good advice. To the uninitiated it IS USELESS or very close to it.
If he buys quality tools he won't need the bench grinder much if at all for wood tools.
Gouges are all hand work for me.
A belt sander with sharp belt is better. But then you gotta be careful with this too or the edge will be annealed to the point it can't be properly sharpened.
I COULD NOT CARE LESS how you sharpen the tools you have. Its YOUR CHOICE. Just like everyone else here.
I have been known to use both grinders and sanders, but I am not a neophyte either and I still will overheat an edge more often than I like, especially if its a small tool. I grind HS steel stuff all the time then polish. But wood tools generally are not HSS so I treat them with a little more respect, my high priced wood tools don't get put on a sander or grinder period.
People can read the posts on any subject here and pick and choose for the techniques and opinions they might use or agree with.
You don't like my opinion?
DON'T READ THE POSTS or ignore them.
Most of the time I am not going to put IMO in there even though its mostly opinion.
Shop work is a *personal* thing and everyone figures the way that works best for them.
Dan
