Sharpening wheel

[rednekker]

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

many people use an angle grinder to sharpen blades.

 

[Jallcorn]

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

We had a smaller one growing up in central Texas. Had a hand crank. I’ve had best luck using an angle grinder with a flap disc. I can get an axe almost razor sharp. A good file works well too, draw filing method.

 

[Gord Baker]

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

Leave it be. A disc on a small right angled grinder will do the job better and much quicker.

 

[texaswren]

You're listing different things to sharpen, all of which require very different techniques for sharpening. I'd never allow any of my wood chisels near a grinder of ANY type. I only sharpen those on diamond stones, with a Veritas tool for establishing the angle. Mower blades are crude and subject to major abuse, so I sharpen them with a hand-held grinder (the blades on my big mower weigh fifteen pounds each, so it's easier to move the grinder than hold the blade). Compared to most sharpening jobs, I have to remove a LOT of metal sometimes, and life is short. I'll start with a grinding wheel to establish the edge and do crude balance and finish with a flap disk. For axes and hatchets, I've had reasonable success with my belt sander, but if there are serious nicks, I might clean it up with the bench grinder and a fine wheel to start with. I'll often finish with a diamond stone. Air tools with sanding disks are also handy, and run cooler. Always keep water handy for any power sharpening job and feel the temperature often.

Always true and dress your wheels, otherwise you're just trying to sharpen things by banging on them with a rock. It's also very useful having a good corner on a grinding tool, which you can only establish with dressing. Having a good tool rest you can adjust to the angle of the stone face is also extremely handy. The wheel grinder is best for sharpening drill bits, lathe tools and cleaning up METAL chisels ONLY (and punches), but it's a lot easier when they're electric, because it's a real test of skills do any precision grinding when your whole body is having to move to keep the stone going—unless you've got a kid to serve as the motor.

 

[Joedirtyshirt]

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

One of my favorite memories with my Pop, his had pedals and pulley for electric motor added onto the hand crank, he preferred to have us grandkids crank wheel/stone he said it made his scythe sharper we would crank and take turns at the wheel when he was done he pulled out his stone to make it super sharp, then we went out to the clover patch and made a few passes and gathered up enough to feed the rabbits and pigs , I bought my uncle’s scythes last month now I have to find a stone to make like the one I used when I was a kid before my grandkids get to big to relive that memory

 

[1M05]

I have the same thing only they have made several improvements over the years.

 

[MongoCT]

Good morning, does anyone here have any experience with these stones?

Worth it? What problems do I need to watch out for?
Thanks

You mentioned wanting a non electric option, so I say grab it.
I used one for years growing up. Mainly for basic cutting edges that needed simple sharpening. Axe, mower blades, sometimes the scythe, etc.
It wont give a great technical sharpened edge like you might want for a wood chisel or hand plane, but that pedal powered wheel, they can be nice to use.
When you inspect, rotate the stone 90 degrees and see if it holds or rotates back for imbalance. There's usually decent friction in the hub so an alternative is to spin the wheel fast and see if the stand stays fairly steady or if it starts shaking due to imbalance. As has been mentioned, check the stone for cracks. You can lightly ping the stone all over with a metal tool and see if it resonates equally or if you get pings here and a thud there.

 

[aircommuter]

I have this grinder in my shop, two different grits might work on an axe but a knife would likely never be seen again.
All joking aside my dad picked one of those pedal grinders as a yard art piece. I tried it and you don’t really need worry about being out of round since at those speed whatever you are sharpening has time to follow the stone. I use a Work Sharp belt unit and it does a good job. For wood shop chisels I hand finish them on a diamond flat piece.

 

[RiversideFarm]

Bench grinders can take the temper out of the steel. Pedal may sound like fun but would get old fast. You can easily add a pulley and electric motor. Repurpose a belt guard for water, putting it on the bottm of the wheel.

My grandpa cut an old tire in half and attached it below the stone. He put water in the tire so the stone got rewet every time it made a revolution.

 

[AnotherBueller]

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

I'll buy it. Doesn't spin fast enough to burn the edge on anything you want to sharpen. They're not hard to pump/crank. The old ones had a oil drip can as well.