Sharpening wheel

[Mcdust]

Good morning, does anyone here have any experience with these stones?
I know nothing about them but have been looking for something that will put an edge on my axes etc.
I’m assuming there are different varieties of stone?
Seller has told me that it’s not perfectly round as in it’s probably not intended for high speed.
It is pedal operated.
Ideally I’d like to be able to sharpen mower blades, chisels whatever with it but maybe these just were not intended for this purpose?
It’s about 2 hrs from me and he says 80 dollars
Worth it? What problems do I need to watch out for?
Thanks

Save your gas and buy a low speed (1725 rpm) 8" bench grinder. you will want a different stone for fine grinding like delicate chisel and plane edges. I have a white one which runs cool, recommended and sold by Todd Tool and Abrasive. you may be able to get the grinder from Harbor Fright. Good luck

 

[Fred in BC]

What McDust said for rough stuff like splitting mauls and first pass for sharpening chisels, knives, planer blades.
A big diameter wheel (8 or 10 inch) can give you a hollow ground edge, with a little practice. Hollow ground makes it easier to hand sharpen to a really fine edge
Stationary belt sander works well, 220 grit belt will get things pretty sharp. You can burn the sharp edge if you're not careful. Keep a bucket of water handy, and dip the blade often.
Haven't tried a flap disc, but I like them for other stuff.

For chisels and knives, after the wheel, lay a sheet of good quality wet and dry sand paper on a sheet of glass, or other really flat surface, start with 220 grit, then 400 grit. Wet the paper with water or oil.
A sheet of the good, black wet and dry paper will last a long time if you sand wet.

For a sharp edge, you need to strop the edge after you sharpen with abrasives. Old leather purses are a good source of stropping leather.

If you want to get into sharpening, a cheap jeweler's loup is a good investment. You can see the sharp edge, and the burr that the strop removes.

If you get your chisel sharp enough to shave hair off your arm, you will be amazed at how much more accurate your wood work can become.

 

[redmt]

Just to add my .04 worth,,, I have a 20" with electric motor and a 6-1 reduction on it. It pretty cool conversation piece. I also have a 1935 Yates American. It's on a massive cast iron stand and trough. The stone alone weighs 780#.

 

[Jstpssng]

And now there are much better ways to keep weeds under control

You've got that right! I have about half of a dozen implements using various methods, and every one of them is powered by something other than my back.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

You can round the old pedal wheels, with a diamond stone, or a wheel dresser. They are very soft. All you need to do is clamp on a cross piece to hold a tool stable.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I think you'll find that it'll do a nice job on an axe, but it'll take some doing to develop a feel for it. I had my grandfather's tucked in the corner of my garage, but finally got tired of it just taking up space and gave it to a guy who likes to tinker making swords. Don't know if he's still using it or if the novelty has worn off for him as well.

 

[BryceSteiner]

I was using a bench grinder but I gave that up for flap disk on the cordless angle grinder - I can sharpen the brush hog blades without ever removing them. Mower blades I just put in the vice and the angle grinder sharpens and polishes them beautifully without the problems with the grinder.

 

[MarblemountLane]

I have my grandfather’s (born 1899, died 1997) pedal grind stone. He had a funnel modified for a slow water drip on the stone. Frankly, this is pretty much just an heirloom now. It is stored under cover. The primary reason you see so many of these old sandstone wheels with big flat spots is … rain. Over time, rain will erode the upper surface.

Most of my axe work is done on my Grizzly G1015 2x72 belt machine. It was a lot less money than a Burr King “square wheel” grinder, and I’m not a knife maker. I have bench grinders, and even round carborundum pocket stones if I want to sharpen by hand in the field. Also, I have sharpened many an axe or machete with a file.

If you want a low speed grinder, they are available. The old pedal grind stone is just for the fun of “doing it the way Grandpa did.”

 

[veedub]

I have one one these without a treadle it’s got a hand crank. I’ve always wanted to fab up a pedal for it but haven’t yet. Got it for free on the side of the road once. Great find. My 10 year old cranks it for me if I want to use it. Does a decent job on axes and whatnot. Someone suggested converting it to electric, sounds like you are trying to get away from that but from what I have read you need to be extremely careful if you want to run one of these with a motor, it needs to be geared down to pedal speeds otherwise the centrifugal force can blow them apart to pretty devastating results.

 

[Slomo928]

Good morning, does anyone here have any experience with these stones?
I know nothing about them but have been looking for something that will put an edge on my axes etc.
I’m assuming there are different varieties of stone?
Seller has told me that it’s not perfectly round as in it’s probably not intended for high speed.
It is pedal operated.
Ideally I’d like to be able to sharpen mower blades, chisels whatever with it but maybe these just were not intended for this purpose?
It’s about 2 hrs from me and he says 80 dollars
Worth it? What problems do I need to watch out for?
Thanks

Not sure why the default is to mechanical sharpening. Grinders have a high probability of overheating the edge and possibly effecting temper. Unless your ax is really dull, a good two grit oil stone will sharpen it better than any grinder. If it’s really dull, start with a mid coarseness ******* file to bring the edge down before using the oil stone. If you want a razor edge finish with an Arkansas white stone (only lubricate that with water). Sure, it takes a few minutes, but the results far exceed a grinder with no over heating.