Tip #19
Sharpening Woodworking Tools (continued)
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Pg.1-5, Pg. 6-10, Pg 11-15, Pg. 16-20, Pg. 21-25

Grinding Shaper Cutters

Two and three wing shaper cutters may be the most misunderstood cutters in the workshop when it comes to sharpening. It may appear that all the complicated curved wings, on each cutter, must be identically ground and then honed on their curved surfaces. Well this is only partially true and not nearly as difficult as it may sound. These cutters need only be accurately sharpened on the leading flat face.

For shaper cutters this is made easy be using the Shopsmith Sharpening Guide. By precisely grinding the face of each wing of each cutter, the cutting edge is sharpened.

Mount the sharpening guide on the Mark V worktable and position it according to the Owners Manual. Mount the sanding disc and position it 3" away from the worktable.

To mount the shaper cutter to the sharpening guide, first, slip the small rub collar on the 1/2" shaper arbor. Then slide the arbor, from the bottom up, through the hole in the base of the sharpening guide.

Figure 24-42. Hold the cutter wing against the sharpening guide and tighten the nut finger tight.

Slip the cutter over the arbor. Hold the cutter wing firmly against the face of the sharpening guide. Install the tongue washer and nut. Tighten the nut fingertight to hold the cutter in place (Figure 24-42).

Adjust the sharpening guide to the “0” setting. Position the guide on the worktable until the disc will completely cover the face of the cutter when the quill is extended. Lock the sharpening guide securely in place (Figure 24-43).

Figure 24-43. Position the cutter fully in front of the disc and lock the guide in place.

Position the disc no further than 2" away from the face of the cutter and lock the power plant lock. Extend the quill until the disc comes in full contact with the face of the cutter. Slight adjustments of the sharpening guide may be needed at this time to position the cutter face precisely in front of the disc.

Set the depth stop to “0” and lock it in place. When the quill is extended the abrasive will remove a slight amount of metal from the wing.

Be sure that the speed dial is set to “Slow”, then turn on the machine. Allow the abrasive to contact the cutter for only a moment then allow the quill to retract. Continue this until the sparking stops. Turn off the machine.

With the quill retracted, unplug the Mark V, loosen and remove the arbor nut and tongue washer holding the cutter in place. Slide the cutter off the arbor. Rotate the cutter so that the flat of the next wing is facing the disc. Replace the nut and tongue washer. While holding the cutter against the side of the sharpening guide, tighten the arbor nut securely.

Repeat the previous grinding steps without moving either the depth stop, carriage or the power plant. Rotate the cutter as described above to grind the third wing of the cutter. Then hone the face of each wing.

Continue to Honing Shaper Cutters and Router Bits
Back to Grinding Planer and Jointer Knives