Rikon 80-805 Bench Grinder
The Rikon 80-805 is a low-speed 8" bench grinder. Asmbly's is equipped with diamond wheels for sharpening turning tools.
Guidance for Sharpening Wood Turning Tools
Members may use either wheel on their own tools. However, we request that woodturning shop area tools only be sharpened on the rightmost (fine grit) wheel, as the left is reserved for reshaping tool profiles. Below I will go through how to sharpen different woodturning tools (Pictures coming soon):
Roughing Gouge:
1. Sharpie the bevel of the gouge
2. Put v-base holder on the rightmost wheel (emphasize not to use the left)
3. Adjust the base forward/back to line up the gouge bevel with the wheel
4. Apply light pressure into the wheel with the tool and rotate the wheel up to scratch the tool
5. If the scratch is at the tip, push the base forward slightly. If its at the butt, pull the base back slightly
6. Do this until you get a straight scratch butt-to-tip in one pass (or 50% of the bevel at minimum)
7. Turn on the sharpening wheel
8. Show them how to hold it (hand underneath the gouge, don’t press it down) and how to rotate the gouge side to side, keeping it moving
9. Have them try this themselves
10. Stop the wheel by pressing your thumb into the shiny/smooth side of the wheel
Spindle/Bowl Gouges:
1. Sharpie the bevel of the gouge
2. Put v-base holder on the rightmost wheel (emphasize not to use the left)
3. Affix the gouge to the one-way jig sticking 2” out of the jig (using the stop block to the right of the wheel as a guide)
4. Adjust the one-way jig so that the arm matches the color coding on the tools
5. Proceed with steps 3-10 of rouging gouge sharpening
Scrapers:
1. Sharpie the edge of the scraper
2. Put flat-base holder on the rightmost wheel (emphasize not to use the left)
3. Pin the scraper to the platform with your right thumb (with the rest of your hand below the platform)
4. Adjust the angle of the platform so that the bevel of the scraper sits flat on the wheel
5. Apply light pressure into the wheel with the tool and rotate the wheel up to scratch the tool
6. If the scratch is at the tip, push the base forward slightly. If its at the butt, pull the base back slightly
7. Do this until you get a straight scratch butt-to-tip in one pass (or 50% of the bevel at minimum)
8. Turn on the sharpening wheel
9. Show them how to apply pressure into the wheel and swivel the scraper, sharpening its entire surface, while keeping it flat against the platform
Resources
Maintenance
This tool is owned by Asmbly Makerspace for the use of its members. Please submit a problem report if maintenance is required.
