The Woodturner's Edge

The Woodturner's Edge: Sharp Tools Give Greater Enjoyment
By Darrell Feltmate

Recently I was giving a woodturning demonstration at our Provincial Exhibition in Truro, Nova Scotia. As I turned, over and over I was asked questions like: “What kind of wood are you turning?”

Ans: Dry maple. “How are you getting those shavings? Those tools must be sharp, aren’t they?

Since I was treating most of the demonstration as a teaching opportunity, I was often holding the tool in one hand and pointing with the other as the shavings rolled onto the floor. I would not recommend this to a novice and not often to an experienced turner but I know when this is and is not safe. One of the conditions for safety is to have a very sharp tool.

Some of the people who were asking the question on sharpening had been turning for over twenty years and still had problems sharpening a tool. One gentleman who was considering taking up the hobby asked if I sent out the tools to be sharpened in the manner of a table saw blade. I replied to the effect that it would take too long to have them sharpened out of shop, too expensive and too frequent. Often in the course of rough turning a twelve inch bowl, I sharpen a gouge five or six times. If there is sand and grit imbedded in the bark it may be fifteen to twenty times. There is just not time to both turn and to have someone else sharpen.