By Steven Russell Overview Lets face it… Woodturners love to turn wood, not stand in front of the grinder sharpening tools. However, to enjoy our true passion we must learn to master each aspect of the sharpening process. One important area that is often overlooked by woodturners, is grinder wheel maintenance. Your grinding wheel must be periodically maintained for optimal performance. This means that when necessary, the wheel should be cleaned and trued so that it can deliver the performance you demand. A wheel that is not running true, or one that is clogged with metal residue, will only serve to increase your frustration with the overall sharpening process. Good Wheel Maintenance Next to finishing, sharpening is the second most popular area of concern with most woodturners. Fortunately, keeping your grinder wheel in tip-top shape is easy and requires very little effort. If you are using some type of jig sharpening system, you probably already have a jig included with your system to keep the wheel clean and true. If you have a diamond jig for this, youre all set, simply refer to your sharpening jig instructions for maintaining the wheel. If you are freehand sharpening, or you have not purchased a diamond dressing jig (they can be expensive on some systems), then you still have options. There are several styles of diamond dressers available in various price ranges. Most feature a “T” type of head that contains diamond chips embedded into the metal face. I have used these dressers for years in my studio and they work very well. I also have several single diamond point dressers in my studio, that work in conjunction with one of the jig sharpening systems I use. Dressing sticks and star dressing wheels are also available, which are much less expensive than diamond dressers. No matter which style of dresser that you prefer, the key to good wheel maintenance is to clean and true the wheel frequently. The Need To Clean As you use your dry grinder to sharpen your tools, most, but not all of the metal that has been removed blows away with the abrasive dust. A tiny amount of the metal dust from your tool is deposited on the face of the grinding wheels. This typically shows up as black streaks, or smears on the round face of the wheel. If this metal residue builds up excessively on the surface of the wheel, it will compromise your ability to efficiently sharpen your tools. When you use a clogged wheel and you try to sharpen your tool, the metal from your tool grinds against the metal particles that are clogging the wheel surface. This creates lots of excessive heat – but it will not sharpen your tool effectively. To efficiently sharpen your tools, the face of the grinder wheel must be kept clean, flat and running true. Using Diamond Dressers Most turners prefer a diamond dresser for keeping the grinder wheel flat, true, and clean. I prefer to use the “T” style diamond dressers freehand, to clean the face of the wheel when necessary. I only use single point dressers occasionally, when the wheel needs its flat face restored. In a normal day of production turning, I might clean the face of my grinding wheel 10 15 times over an eighteen-hour day of turning. That may sound like a lot of cleaning, but grinding wheels perform best when they are kept clean. If you clean and resurface your wheel frequently, you will learn to take off the minimal amount necessary to complete the maintenance. Get in the habit of frequently cleaning your grinder wheel and truing it when necessary. If you’re a hobby turner with good quality grinding wheels mounted on your grinder, you can rest assured that your wheels will last for several years, even with repeated cleaning and truing. Knowing When to Clean your Wheel If the face of the wheel is starting to show lots of black streaks, clean it. If any dips, groves or angles show up in the face of the wheel, then true the face of the wheel as needed. Working with a wheel that is not flat, or one that has a lot of metal dust clogging the surface will increase your overall sharpening time and produce a less than ideal cutting edge. A quick and easy to tell when you need to clean the surface of your wheel, is to observe the spark trail when grinding on a freshly cleaned wheel. You will notice that it is quite full, bright and long when the stone is clean. As you re-sharpen your tools, the spark trail will get smaller, shorter and less bright. Thats your key to stop and clean the wheel. This is a bit subjective, as is looking at the black color on the face of the wheel, but if you make a point to observe these conditions you will quickly learn when to stop and clean your wheel for maximum efficiency. When your wheel is kept clean, flat and running true, you can concentrate on becoming a better woodturner, instead of battling your grinder. About The Author Steven Russell is a professional artist, demonstrator and writer. His studio, Eurowood Werks specializes in hand turned bowls, platters and hollow forms with unique visual and tactile treatments. Steve’s website, Woodturning Videos Plus, http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com offers educational DVD videos and eBooks for woodturners of all skill levels. To learn more about woodturning, visit his resource library at http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/education-articles.html which offers tips and tricks to master the art of woodturning. In addition to his studio work, Steve frequently writes educational articles for international woodturning magazines, which are published in more than 75 countries around the world. As a highly sought after demonstrator, he has performed more than 1,760 woodturning demonstrations throughout the United States in the last eleven years. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Russell http://EzineArticles.com/?Dry-Grinder-Wheels—Essential-Maintenance-Tips-For-Woodturners&id=458540
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