Newbie question! What’s the best way to “put the edge back on” a thin (1/16” x 1-1/4”) parting tool? I have a Tormec system with jigs, or is it better just to burnish the edges with a carborundum stone? So far I have not ground the point down as I have seen mentioned. Should I?
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Sharpening a thin parting tool
- Thread starter Michael Beswick
- Start date
I'm using a 600gt diamond hone to refresh the edge after every two partings. After about a dozen times using the diamond hone, this creates a secondary bevel, and I then go back to the grinder to take down the secondary bevel.
BTW, I'm using a Nick Cook fluted thin parting tool.
-----odie-----
Two light passes on a CBN wheel and repeated when I feel I have to push harder to cut.
Roger Wiegand
Beta Tester
Hone it, then hit the grinder for a half second when that no longer works quickly. No need for any sort of jig for this tool, pretty soon the tool will be the same curve as your grinding wheel.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
On mine I hit both sides very lightly. I sharpen them by hand.
I put mine in the Wolverine arm. I put the back bevel on it and use an angle so I can do the long bevel and the short back bevel at the same setting with the arm. Grind and flip. Super light touch, really quick on the stone. Works great for me.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
One trick with small delicate tools is to turn the grinder off. Then sharpen when it's running quite slow. I have a 3/32 spindle gouge and that's how I grind it.
Do you mean bring the grinder up to speed then switch it off and use the grinder as it spins down? Or do you mean leave the grinder off and turn the wheels by hand?
Thanks for the advice
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Grind as its slowing down
I went back in the archives and read your posts when you were considering this fluted parting tool. It seems a neat idea but at £82 here in the UK I shall have to stick to my standard one!
Howdy across the pond, Michael!
No question that a standard parting tool will do the job. Have you considered grinding "spurs" on the edge of your parting tool?
In the beginning, the concept of a fluted parting tool was first brought to my attention with an early Richard Raffan video. In that video, he explained how he created "spurs" on the parting tool to make a cleaner parting cut. That general concept probably was the incubator for the fluted parting tool that came later.
I adopted the "spur" concept for a time, but now I'm spoiled by the Nick Cook fluted parting tool. It's really the same concept, but the spurs are created by the flute, instead of grinding them separately...
-----odie-----
Odie,
Thank you. I have to say I'm envious of all the species you have -many in your back yard. Here in UK about 25 miles from London, it's suburban commuterland, so I have to buy stock to turn. Friends offer felled trees but as a hobbyist with a small 8x6 workshop I don't have the facilities to recut logs!
I could grind spurs on my standard 3mm diamond parting tool, but I think I'll try to find a second hand one to experiment on. Both the 3mm and the 1/16 thinny work pretty well in their own way. The Sorby Fluted one is £62 not £82 but still a lot!
Thank you. I have to say I'm envious of all the species you have -many in your back yard. Here in UK about 25 miles from London, it's suburban commuterland, so I have to buy stock to turn. Friends offer felled trees but as a hobbyist with a small 8x6 workshop I don't have the facilities to recut logs!
I could grind spurs on my standard 3mm diamond parting tool, but I think I'll try to find a second hand one to experiment on. Both the 3mm and the 1/16 thinny work pretty well in their own way. The Sorby Fluted one is £62 not £82 but still a lot!