Sorby Spindlemaster

[Darrin]

I aquired one of these about 3 months ago(The tiny one). Not the greatest thing but I still like to use it. How the heck do you sharpen it?? I would assume a slipstone across the top would do it because that flat on top does the cutting? I got mixed results this way.....any suggstions?

 

[Jerry Rhoads]

The small yellow handled diamond stone works the best.
Just a few strokes across the top.
Been using them for quite a while. have not had to mess with the bottom yet.
If I decide that I need to, to keep the profile I will use a disk to sharpen

Jerry

 

[GeorgeH]

Darrin, I don't own one, but I've seen 'em. They look to me to lend themselves to a sharpening method similar to that of a spindle gouge. Look kinda like a spindle gouge, detail gouge or bowl gouge less the flute. But, of course, you'd need to make sure you got the profile of the cutting edge right before starting to remove material. That said, I'd be surprised if you'd need to "sharpen" it as much as you might need to hone its cutting edge as Jerry described.

 

[MichaelMouse]

I aquired one of these about 3 months ago(The tiny one). Not the greatest thing but I still like to use it. How the heck do you sharpen it?? I would assume a slipstone across the top would do it because that flat on top does the cutting? I got mixed results this way.....any suggstions?

The manufacturer says that's the way. If it works, should be all you need do. Of course, someone's always trying something different, http://www.davidreedsmith.com/Articles/SpindleMaster/SpindleMaster.htm and perhaps it will work better for you.

Fluteless fingernail grind or ultimate single-sided curved skew that it is, it probably obeys the basic rules of metal edges and curves away from stress. Means that continued use will roll something akin to a wire edge onto the bottom. You could, maybe even should, hone this away as well.

For those who haven't used the round-nosed scraper that came with their first set of tools in ages, it's a worthwhile regrind. Remember, a rounded nose is more prone to skating than a point, so expect a few runs as you begin your V cuts. I use a straight chisel or beading tool, but you may like this better.

 

[rsser]

Just thinking out loud and extrapolating from Brent Beach's work on plane blades ...

maybe over time the Spindlemaster will develop wear bevels on both the top and the bevel sides. In which case honing the top as recommended will start to give you something like a negative rake scraper and require you to adapt your technique.

To avoid that, the occasional bevel regrind followed by lapping the top might be a good idea.

Just my 2 c worth.

 

[Burt Alcantara]

Go here and click Movie Clips. Near the bottom you'll see 2 videos for the SpidleMaster. As I recall, they were just honed.

http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/

 

[john lucas]

Darrin I made my own many years ago. I thought it might need the bevel to be sharpened every now and then but I've never touched it. I hone the top with fine diamond hones making sure that I keep the hone perfectly flat. That's all it takes.
I have a smaller version that I use for hollowing. That one is used more as a scraper and cuts better with a burr so I grind the bevel to raise a burr. Every now and then I hone the top because it lets me produce a better burr from the grind.

 

[Ron McKinley]

Like others have said, I use a diamond hone across the top. I dropped mine on the concrete floor and naturally it hit point down! I had to re-grind the bevel to remove the knick but since then just a diamond hone across the top...Ron