Acute (a cute?) tool sharpening system

'ppreciate this build thread, John: I just had the kit delivered about a week ago and your notes are proving very useful.

I don't know what your feelings are but I think that the spotting of the holes is perhaps more of a hindrance than a help in some cases - particularly if you have access to a mill with (or without) a DRO.

For instance, the clamp block that goes on the edge of the table that you described on the first page of this thread. If the centre hole alone were spotted (or none at all), it could be drilled/tapped then turned/faced on the mandrel as you described. It could then be clamped to the milling table (orientation unimportant) and the centre hole located. The shoulder screw holes and step could then be machined at one setting with no need for "trickiness" with the combination square.

(Of course you could ignore the existing hole spots and do this anyway but it would leave the redundant spots in the finished part).

In several of these instances I've felt it easier to remake the part from scratch .... doing most of the turning work more easily on the end of a bar of material then parting off.

Not to detract from the quality of the kit though - I realise Gary has set this up to minimise the equipment needed to make it.

Edited By Bandersnatch on 22/12/2015 22:01:03

Yes, in a couple of cases, the clamp washers that go on top of the fence and also IIRC the ones on the base, I found it easier to turn them and part off from bar stock. In the case of the clamp block, in retrospect I'd have used Gary's method of drilling thru the screw holes and using some pins to locate the block vertically in the machine vice to mill the step. But it's nice to have a kit with all the material you need.

Glad you're finding the thread useful.

I bought the book of drawings from Eccentric Engineering at the Harrogate show earlier this year and am slowly working my way through it. As I got drawings only I am using what material is surplus in the workshop and having to adjust sizes accordingly. The table is cut from a piece of 3/16 thick GFS so the clamps have to be adjusted accordingly and the metric stock sizes are rounded up or down to the nearest imperial sizes I have available. A lot of work in making it but very enjoyable, no drawing errors so far, the only problem is finding the small adjustable handles(dont know their proper name) at the moment I have some M6 ones from Axminster at a push they will do but would like a couple of M4 ones, anybody know of any stockists?

Baz,

If you live near Manchester a tool supplier called BrianPope has them in stock. They are in Stockport, a really gpod source of all engineering tools. I even get my lathe oils and coolants from them

Regards,

Bob

Hi Bob,

I am a couple of hundred miles south down in Hampshire. Have you got a phone number or website address for them. Thanks for the info.

Presumably **LINK**

Not the most comprehensive or compelling website I've ever encountered! Sounds like a place you need to turn up in the flesh.

Edited By Muzzer on 23/12/2015 12:09:08

Dunno if you boys have seen this but there are some Youtube videos from a Brit living in the US who is making one of these tools. Judging by the apparel, he appears to have gone native...

I have started my kit and am up to the first image of John's thread. I find turning radial grooves difficult so I used a 2 mm carbide end mill and set up drilled and parted discs of LG2 on the rotary table on the mill. I first attempted this with the laser cut discs provided but they raised huge burrs which made it difficult to see, and impossible to test fit the o-ring. My long M6 screws are too long but about 3 mm so I will either cut them down or use spacers. It would be much better if all the laser cut steel discs in the kit were CNC machined instead, but I suppose Garry does what is most economical to keep prices down.

Yes, the burring is a problem with the steel plate used, whatever the machining method. Like you I parted my discs off a bit of bar, but turned the grooves - can't remember what tool I used though!

I've just seen that Gary has begun uploading some of his videos explaining how to build and use the Sharpening System. These videos are well worth a look!

**LINK**

Hi all,
Thanks for that Jimmeh, Yes, I’ve been uploading videos over the past few days on how to build and use the Acute Sharpener.
I’ve tried to include machining hints and tips and alternative options/setups where possible. I was looking at doing a voice over but ended up going with subtitles: at least that way you can pause the video for anything that’s not clear.

I’ve made a few improvements to the kit since it was first launched.
The end caps with the “O” rings are now supplied as a CNC machined item as they were one of the trickier items to make.
I’ve been able to find screws 5mm shorter for the table adjustment so they don’t have to be cut down anymore and the fence is now supplied virtually finished, it just needs one 4 mm hole drilled.

I thought I’d solved the burring issue on the laser cut discs recently by getting them heat treated. Unfortunately it was not to be. The trial parts went fine and machined without leaving rags but when I had the rest of them done they came back from the heat treaters with slag/scale inclusions from the furnace all over the surfaces .
Now I’ve got 2500 laser cut parts that I have to individually remove the slag from with emery tape and a scraper. Ah well, we live and learn.

We’ll be attending the Doncaster Show later this month so I’ve been filming and editing solidly for a bunch of weeks now to try and finally get the DVD finished. Apologies to all our customers for the time it’s taken.
The videos on YouTube will be the same as that used for the DVD.

Well I’d better get back to editing Part 2 of the Work Arm video so I can get it on YouTube and hope to see some of you at Doncaster (stand 97) on the 20th-22nd May.

Cheers
Gary

Try chucking them in brick cleaner for a few hours first. You'll need to neutralise then oil them to stop rust.

Thanks for the tip Neil but I had the guys down at the blackening plant put them in the acid dip for 20 minutes and it did nothing apart from cost $250. I assume brick cleaner is a type of acid ?

Also tried a wire wheel and the sand blaster. Sand blaster might have done the job eventually but I'd have been there till Christmas.

I'll bring along a couple of bits to the exhibition and have a competition to see who comes up with the best way of getting the slag off

I'll bring along a couple of bits to the exhibition and have a competition to see who comes up with the best way of getting the slag off

For preparing really tough stuff (like descaling) at sea we used chipping hammers and air powered needle guns

edit thought:

Perhaps, for small jobs, the hammer action of a drill with a blunt masonry drill would suffice

Edited By Ady1 on 02/05/2016 14:11:59

Having worked on some of the parts and discovered how hard they are around the laser-cut surface, I assumed Gary intended the heat treating to reduce that hardness and allow burr removal subsequently.

I wonder if tumble polishing would work..(visions of a cement mixer full of shingle, parts and coolant wash)

I have a small tumbler-polisher and did some of my parts for about 8 hours. It didn't do much around the laser-cut edges.

The slag inclusions are really too small for the drill idea but thanks for the thoughts Ady1.

How on earth did you think 'heat treating' would get rid of burrs on a laser cut part?

Tony

Ah perhaps I'd better explain the issue fully.
The bright mild steel that the laser cutter uses is quite ductile which I assume is so it can be readily bent in a press like the brackets for the grinding table.
The ductility means that the steel is a bit gummy when machining. When you drill a part the exit hole leaves a larger rag than normal and that has to be removed each time with a countersink or deburring tool, a bit of a pain but not the end of the world.

I would say the steel has been pickled to achieve the ductility as it has too low a carbon content for proper heat treatment.
After speaking to the heat treater we decided to try a heat and quench to see if it would remove the effects of the pickling.
As I mentioned above, that worked fine, small rags and the swarf tends to chip now rather than longer strings when turning. The downside is the cleaning up I've had to do.

Having worked on some of the parts and discovered how hard they are around the laser-cut surface, I assumed Gary intended the heat treating to reduce that hardness and allow burr removal subsequently.

To be honest I haven't had any issues with tool wear but I do try and make sure the first cut is deep enough to get all the way through the skin into clean metal.

I tried putting all the parts through my vibratory finisher after the acid dip, it didn't take off any of the inclusions but did give them a nice polished look

If you need to jackhammer tiny details then a power engraver can get in there, you can make your own tips too

My lidl one was about 15 bananas

I wouldn't fancy doing hundreds tho, sounds like a job for sand or shot blasting, some car/driveway power washers have a sand blasting attachment facility.

Edited By Ady1 on 03/05/2016 22:19:39