Any News from Reno on the Sharpening Fixture?

[Tim Wells]

JIM, Where DID you get that avatar. The resemblance is spot on Even captures the crazed look in your eyes.....

You noticed that too did ya?
I think Don Cowles son made them. I think I'll have him make me one with airplane wings stickin' out of my head...

I'll have a bunch of pictures to post of Reno once the jetlag wears off.

 

[Dave London]

Tim
Is that a Stearman in the avatar

 

[Sam]

Looks great, but would it work for those of us w/o laps, still sharpening on the ol' stone?

While this fixture appears to be designed to be used with a rotary power hone, I see no reason why you couldn't sweep it across a whetstone to sharpen a face and heel. It would probably be difficult to do heavy grinding without power though. I say probably because I've not used this fixture and am just making an educated guess. Back in the day I used a fixture quite effectively on whetstones, which eventually wore grooves in my stones.

 

[webad2006]

Thanks for the reply Sam. I believe right now as a novice, a properly sharpened graver would do more for me than a graver sharpened fast. I think I'll invest in a fixture first, and worry about power hones later.

 

[Mike Cirelli]

webad2006
Let me make one suggestion get the power hone even if you only use the 600 grit wheel. I bought one before I started engraving 20 years or so ago, it still works fine and never regretted it. I used it for sharpening my setting gravers. You just can't get the consistency and accuracy when sharpening by hand especially a beginner. Although there is a lot of info on the web about sharpening, one do your self a favor is get Sam's sharpening video. For 50 bucks (one meal out), you watch it a few times and you'll be amazed how sharp your gravers will be. You'll find yourself going back just too watch Sam engrave at the end even after you learn to sharpen. It's so much quicker than trying to figure this and that out by yourself. Then all you have to do is learn to engrave. Now there is where the challenge begins.
Good Luck
Mike

 

[JourneymanBuilder]

I would have to agree about Sam's video, once I watched it everything made sense. I was also able to understand the many different ways that a graver could be sharpend. Great instructional video.
You do not have to purchase it outright, it can be rented from this place http://smartflix.com/ $9 for a week.
Hope this helps
Tom

 

[Tim Wells]

Tim
Is that a Stearman in the avatar

Yes, it is a 1941 Boeing stearman. It has a 300HP Lycoming R680 and a Hamilton Standard 2B20 prop. I've only ground looped it once.

 

[Dave London]

Thanks Tim
A guy I was in the AF with used one for crop dusting. I was a jet mech but got to work on a lot of radials.

 

[Glenn]

One word of caution: While sitting on John B's table, part of his new sharpening device fell off the table. John was visibly shaken.
Dropping this tool could be very damaging to the precision.

 

[Peter E]

Paul Hamler put some information on the fixture on the Lindsay forum. It looks drastically refined from the other pictures posted earlier.

Based on what I read, I don't see it as a big advantage over the GRS Dual Angle if you sharpen with the graver installed in a GRS Quick Change collet however, as it does not have a through hole from the back?

Hopefully that is not the case.

Peter

 

[Ray Cover]

Paul's fixture does accept GRS quick change collets and with the way the templates work it is much faster than the dual angle. Especiall when you are sharpening in batches like I do.

Ray

 

[John B.]

Hi Glenn.
That part of the fixture getting dropped really shook me up for a short time, for sure.
The first fixture that Paul gave me had got bent in shipping and Paul had just replaced it.
Luckly, the thing that hit the floor was just the base plate and it landed just right with no damage.
Shook me up though!
This machine looks to be a real winner to me, Paul did a great job of design and fabrication.
Best to all, John B.

 

[jacques herbst]

dropped

precision instruments should never be dropped or thrown around,that does not make them bad instruments.we need new developments in the engraving world, competition creates progress and you and me are the true benificeries. just my two cents.

 

[Crazy Horse]

For the man who needs to chase with a hammer and chisel or with a somewhat unconventional tool or a liner, I can see a problem not having a through hole. Why was this aspect overlooked?

At $250 it should have been able to accomidate all engraving tools, not just small collets. Perhaps there will be a "Fix" in the future for another $100.

 

[Ray Cover]

I dont' guess I understand what the deal is with the hole. I sharpen liners squares flats stippling punches, heck I even grind my own rotary burs in it. WHen I said it will hold the collets I did not mean that is all it would hold. Just that it would hold those as well as other stuff.

 

[Peter E]

Ray,
I guess my question in regard to the GRS quick change collets is: does the fixture allow locating the collet in the tool at the exact angle each time? Currently, in using the GRS Dual angle fixture, I leave my graver in the collet and insert it from the back locating the graver utilizing the "V" on the Dual Angle fixture and the location of the collet is irrevelant.

I am sure the new fixture is a fine tool.

Peter

 

[hamlertools]

hamlertool sharpening fixture

The fixture can locate the quick change fixture the same place everytime if you request that no charge option when ordering . Only about 1% of the orders have requested that option,thus it is not included if the customer doesn't want it. The primary purpose of the fixture was to enable the user,regardless of skill level, to quickly and accurately grind the Lindsay patented point geometry . If you do not use or have a need for this point geometry the other advantages of the fixture may not justify having one. As stated in the post on Lindsays site you are not locked in to the Lindsay point geometry in order th take advantage of the templates. Special templates can be provided just like the three Lindsay point templates that are computer manufactored and provide acuracy to three decimal points, try that without a template. The GRS fixture will not serve as a graver nor be used to shoot ducks with and more importantly you cannot use it as a banjo. But my fixture will not do any of these either, point is when designing a tool there are trade offs. As Sam says different strokes for different folks, what ever you are used to, if it works for you maybe you don't need to change.

 

[Ray Cover]

Peter,

I just tried a QC collet. I had on laying around so I put it in to see.

The piece with the V groove in it comes out and a QC does fit the hole. But I can't find any way to indicate it in the same each time. Paul needs to put a little indicator pin in the face of the hole for that purpose I guess.

I use a Lindsay Palm Control so I have not had to use the QCs until you ask. The collet fits quite nicely but there does need to be some way to indicate it in.

Ray

 

[Tim Wells]

Make a small center punch mark on the tool and line the little index notch in the QC up with it every time. Put your graver in the QC with the notch lined up with the same side of the graver consistently, whichever that happens to be and you're in business.

 

[allan621]

When I started engraving I used to sharpen tools like the engraver teaching me, rubbing it back and forth across an India stone. After being driven crazy by that I moved onto the maddening crocker sharpening jig which worked but not that well.

Then the GRS power hone came out ( and I still have one of the original ones that still works great and two more besides) with that crazy scissors like spring loaded sharpening fixture that worked great for basic square tools but not so great for anything else, but it was still a big improvement.

The dual angle sharpening fixture was major and truly brought sanity into sharpening, unless you dropped it. I now have the GRS fixture with the realignment feature that I use to sharpen anything, including my curved 22-10 liner.

And now comes the Hammler sharpener with standard templates and the option for custom made templates. It may not be able to easily sharpen any tool yet, but maybe in time, if the demand is there, it eventually will.

You know, if you stop and think where we were thirty years ago when I started engraving, to what we have available now in the range of tools , its kind of amazing.

Allan