attempting to make your own paper wheels could be dangerous or deadly

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richard j said:
the solid wheels are just that, solid and not full of holes like the contraption he made. how many years of experience do you have with buffing?
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Several.

In my experience, buffing accidents are usually catastrophic... for the item being buffed. I'd occasionally get slightly burned by touching a piece of metal that had heated up under the buff. Buffing accidents do get your attention, however, and are a good reminder of the risks involved.

It's a pity the other thread was shut down for showing a DIY tool setup. Strikes me as kind of crazy as all the small knifemakers and smiths seem to rely quite a bit on DIY tooling. How many smithys are out there that would give OSHA inspectors fits? Belts and pulleys without guards, forges and volatile chemicals, sparks flying around, etc. What is that book, $50 Forge or something, written by a well respected knifemaker, advocates scrounging and DIY tooling at nearly every step. If a forum member can't figure out that this can be a hazardous activity, he's got much bigger problems in life.
 
if its a good idea i have no problem with making something to use in the shop, if its safe. spark said it all when he locked that thread. if it werent for this thread being a warning for people to not attempt doing something dangerous and an accident waiting to happen, i would lock this one too.
 
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That's where I disagree. Siguy's idea was no more an accident waiting to happen than use of any other power tool. As with anything, one's use of common sense is crucial. It just seems silly to play nanny on a forum dedicated to admiration, use, and manufacture of very sharp, pointy metal objects.
 
Spark saw the danger of using a power tool grabbing the knife, which would also apply to use of solid cardboard wheels.

Regardless, I'm not sure how his status as a non knifemaker means much in this context. After all, he just disavowed your use of wheels for sharpening, too.
 
the wheels i use have been around longer than the 17 years. in the 17 years that i have been using the wheels, i have never had a wheel grab a blade. "After all, he just disavowed your use of wheels for sharpening, too." where did spark do this at?
 
Don't turn this thread into a shit fest.
 
Here. (not shit)

I'm not interested in getting in a pissing contest. I've simply laid out my opinion that siguy's solution isn't nearly the death machine it's made out to be. I respect the other opinions in these threads. But disagree with many of them.
 
he was talking about the wheels in "that thread". if spark had a problem with the factory produced wheels, he wouldnt have let me advertise the wheels in my sig line and he would have locked my thread about the wheels.
 
he was talking about the wheels in "that thread". if spark had a problem with the factory produced wheels, he wouldnt have let me advertise the wheels in my sig line and he would have locked my thread about the wheels.
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If Spark believes that commercially available wheels will not grab, he is in error. Any high speed tool can and will grab if the conditions are right. Stone, cloth or cardboard wheels, belts, face plates etc. doesn't matter.

There's no reason to believe that Siguy's wheels are more prone to grabbing a knife than any other kind, commercial or otherwise, because grabbing is pretty much a user error. One might argue that siguy's wheels are simply structurally unsound. You seemed to take this line, at least initially. However, as built, I feel this argument is overstated. Regardless, this wasn't Spark's objection.

I can appreciate your experience. I, too, never had a wheel grab a knife, either. I use slack belts and cloth wheels. But my experience (and yours) does not mean that it cannot happen, even with commercially made products. All power tools have specific risks involved. Some DIY power tools even more so. However, this is not quite the case with siguy's wheel, at least not as it's been argued so far.
 
shecky, give it up, spark was the one that locked that thread. he seen that it was dangerous and posted that it was dangerous and the thread never should have been started.
 
richard j said:
shecky, give it up, spark was the one that locked that thread. he seen that it was dangerous and posted that it was dangerous and the thread never should have been started.
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Why the nastiness? Could you not address my points instead?
 
we can go back and forth on this issue and you'll never understand. like i said, give it up.
 
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mods, if shecky keeps it up and wont let it go, i'm locking this thread or you can for me. he cant seem to understand that spark has no problem with the factory made wheels which are rigid and when used as directed are safe to use.
 
If all the detractors in this thread could stop the self-congratulatory back-slapping (Darwin award references in particular) and actually explain EXACTLY and in detail why this homebrew innovation is so dangerous, I think this argument could be put to bed with much better effect.

I think we can all agree that regardless of whether the tool is made by a manufacturer or an end-user, sharping knives with power equipment is inherently more dangerous than using a hand tool, such as a stone or a strop. Yet Richard J, every time I turn around you are recommending these paper wheels to people without knowing their level of experience with power equipment. Assuming that the knife is being held so that the edge is not leading against the rotation of the wheel, i.e., in a stropping direction, how is it then that the homemade cardboard wheels pose inherently more danger than the wheels your buddy makes and you consistently recommend?

Let's say the homemade wheel isn't perfectly true, well in such a case, which would be immediately apparent before actually using it on a knife, the knife still wouldn't be thrown into your leg and at worse would bounce up and down a little. Let's also imagine that one of the inner laminated cardboard circles becomes delaminated and unbound from the arbor, even then it would just remain stationary while the others spun, more likely posing a fire hazard, if ignored, and not be in danger of hurling the knife across the room. I'm not denying that your friend's cardboard wheels are a superior product, I just haven't read anything in either of these threads that warrants such dire warnings. I'm all ears.
 
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