Our Chairman Richie welcomed and introduced 4 new members now taking the club to 50 members for the year. He also encouraged all members to enter into the monthly competition and how we would take photographs of the winners in the two classes for inclusion on the web site and Facebook page.
42 members attended the meeting
This month’s demonstrator was Mike Wilson an AWGB tutor with 15 years of turning under his smock. Mike is also a club member.
 Mikes Sharpening Station |
The evening was not about making shavings but how to make sure you can get good shavings in other words Sharpening and Grinding.
To start Mike explained the various systems on the market and how he had tried different ones.
Also how he had been influenced by Glen Lucas in Ireland and also James Barry who he believes is the master of the black art of sharpening.
Concentrating on the Sorby Pro Edge how it works, how to set it up and passing round all the many grades of grit belts so members could see and feel the difference. Including a 3-year-old diamond belt that had been used most days of the week and had been washed at least 6 times and compared it to a new one and it was surprising how very little there was between the two.
The diamond belt is great for sharpening but not re shaping or grinding.
A 60 grit belt is best for profiling before sharpening on finer belts.
 The Pro Edge sharpening system by Robert Sorby |  Axminster slow grind system with CBN wheels |
Working on the Pro Edge using various Sorby jigs he explained how once you are happy with the shape and angle then to keep that consistency and an easy way not to take off too much steel is to colour the tip with a sharpie-coloured pen when the colour has gone, “bingo” it’s done.
The second machine was an Axminster slow speed grinder fitted with 2 CBN wheels an 80 grit and a 180.
The advantage of the CBN over other grinding wheels is there is no need to redress or replace the wheels and less heat generated. The jigs used in conjunction are the “One Way” ,together with colour coding for the various tools based on the Glen Lucas system, which is available from www.glenlucaswoodturning .com.
Working with skew chisels, bowl and spindle gouges showing how to get the best out of them, a tip on the bowl gouge was to take off the back where the centre of the grind meets the shaft enabling the user to get a full sweep when turning the inside of a bowl.
Using a credit card size 300 and 600 grit diamond card with Lapping fluid he explained how to sharpen flat replaceable square and round scrapers. Also, the use of a diamond file for honing as Mike always has one on hand by his lathe.
Some members brought some of their tools and he showed and helped them to get the grind they wanted. A couple of members had the Simon Hope large round scraper which you need to use on an electric drill to ensure it stays round and the two angles are perfect, the importance of ensuring the direction of travel in holding the jig in the drill is vital otherwise it unscrews, this was demonstrated perfectly!
What surprised Mike was the number of questions from both experienced and newer members together with the interaction during the demonstration.
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