polishing heels

[WRCOLLINS]

Trying my darnedest to get my gravers sharp for western bright cut. Using a powerhone up to 1200gt. I think I am not understanding how polished the heels need to be and I have seen that some suggest "rolling" the heel. Trying a 45d face and 15d heel. Examining them under a loop...they look sharp, but don't seem to glide as I work.....any help from anyone would be appreciated.
Also have purchased disposable disc in 3000/5000/10000 grit.
Also after polishing the heel to a mirror finish, the graver seems dull.

Just a novice here, so be gentle!

 

[John B.]

How and what are you cutting?
Steel, brass, copper, silver ?
H&C, push or power and what type of power?

 

[WRCOLLINS]

graver max, copper and silver, square flat graver...hope that helps

 

[WRCOLLINS]

Thanks for the reply also!

 

[sam]

Using a cast iron lap and diamond powder (.5 micron), will give you perfectly mirror polished heels and faces. GRS sells both.

 

[Mike Bissell]

I'm sure Diane Scalese has a Western Bright cut DVD available from fega.com or grs.com where she shows and explains the sharpening.

 

[WRCOLLINS]

I have her dvds and have not gotten to disc 2...ill check it out...thanks.

 

[monk]

scopes are good, but a fingernail test is quicker.

 

[WRCOLLINS]

use that test for fishing hooks as well

 

[Sinterklaas]

If your graver is sharp after 1200. But after using the wheels it is dull. Then you are using the wheels wrong. I got the same problem when I started using the diamond polishing wheels from GRS. You need to adjust the way you hold the graver on the wheels. Try to lean a little bit away from the surfaces you want to stay sharp. Also the wheels might not be perfectly flat themselves to begin with. You can flatten them with a coarse diamondwheel.

 

[gcleaker]

Pressure can be problem to. In other words how hard you press your graver down on your wheel, less is best.

 

[WRCOLLINS]

Thank you...adding all these comments together and going to go back to the wheels.

If your graver is sharp after 1200. But after using the wheels it is dull. Then you are using the wheels wrong. I got the same problem when I started using the diamond polishing wheels from GRS. You need to adjust the way you hold the graver on the wheels. Try to lean a little bit away from the surfaces you want to stay sharp. Also the wheels might not be perfectly flat themselves to begin with. You can flatten them with a coarse diamondwheel.

 

[WRCOLLINS]

Thank you all for these suggestions

 

[tim halloran]

use a good lubricant!!!!!!!

 

[lucylu]

I’m just wondering if you find there are any times when your tool glides? I find copper and particularly silver rather ‘sticky’ metals to cut into, so I don’t find they are best for ‘gliding’. Just a thought. Another thought is that your tool is very likely to be sharp, so perhaps any variations in cutting feel is more to do with where you hold your arm as you are working? Sorry if that’s not helpful though x

 

[WRCOLLINS]

Thank you for this...I will try to be conscious of hand arm placement.

 

[jerrywh]

you either need a ceramic or a cast iron lap with diamond compound. A 1200 wheel isn't fine enough to produce a polished heel.

 

[Archie Woodworth]

Use a cast iron lap and diamond dust...quick and easy way to polish the heal....and face if you want a mirror finish. If you only polish the heal you still will have a "sawtooth" cutting...tho it probably, it doesn't matter (I'm guessing) all that much as the heal is probably "smoothing out" any irregularities in surface as it moves along.

 

[mitch]

"and face if you want a mirror finish. If you only polish the heel you still will have a "sawtooth" cutting"

AND you have to polish the rear/trailing edge of the heel facet(s) where they meet the bottom/belly of the graver body. rather than polish a tiny flat length of the belly, i recommend slightly rounding off that 'corner' by holding the belly of the graver flat against the polishing surface (i use a fine ruby stone), then lifting the graver as you draw it back on the stone. if you're using a powerhone, do this delicate operation with it turned off. you may want to strop it with some ultra-fine diamond compound on hard maple or MDF.

otherwise, you'll get the same drag marks from the rear of the heel as you would with an unpolished face.

 

[papart1]

Mitch..........I think you solved my heal drag problem also especially with narrow inlay channels. Thank you sir.