Low Speed, Wet Grinding, Blade Sharpener

[hemmjo]

Thanks for the suggestions, they are good ones and I did consider them.

It works, good start, I'd suggest you use a suitable coolant, I use Rocol ULTRACUT 370 Plus, if splash is a concern, rather than plain water, it's good for winter protection on a motorcycle just like Scott-Oiler FS365 too.

I did investigate “real” grinding coolants and decided against them for this little bit of grinding I do. The first thing I always check is the Material Safety Data Sheet. My lathe is in my basement and my wife is very sensitive to fumes and smells.

A quart of water and a drop of dish washing detergent is all I needed to grind the 4 blades. Then remove the attachment, clean and re-lube the lathe.

[..SNIP. Interesting process, Hemmjo. I've always just used my 4" vertical belt sander to sharpen our chipper blades, dipping them in water when needed. Unlike planer knives, ultra precision isn't required, we're just chipping wood. To each his own, as they say, but that's worked great on my chipper, and it's an old Woods 5000 3-point hitch model, still using its original blades.

I seriously considered using a belt sander. But I don't have one. So it was easier for me to build this.

When I make things on the lathe, even if the part does not require it, I typically make a drawing and do my best to “hit” the dimensions. Just for practice for when I really NEED to be precise. It does not take that much extra time. Just like taking batting practce, running routes, throwing and catching passes, etc before a game.

This worked out so well I have begun to imagine using it, with a different holder, to shape HSS lathe tools. Etc.

My chipper is also a Woods 5000 on my old Ford 860. These are two other things I built to for the chipper;

Chip Separator for tractor mount Chipper Shredder

Front mounted barrel attachment for tractor