Anyway, simple simple simple. I bought a pack of large sewing needles and with magnifiers on, ground them down. I was going to use a grinding wheel, but was told to just use a belt sander. I wound up chucking an abrasive disk secured to an arbor on the lathe, and rested the needle by hand on the tool holder for support while grinding the tip. Ovals are easiest, but you can square up the end first and make squared edges or beveled edges. The needles come tapered for the most part, so the edge gets bigger the more you grind away. I used my store bought chisels as a guide for the angle to grind away, just eye balling it. Final sharpening was on a set of honing stones. I using a small plane as a guide to keep the proper angle while running over the stones. Now there is no doubt some angles and such that are better than others. I suppose you can make a simple holder with the exact angle to guide you as you go. I embedded the eye end in a dowel rod that was predrilled and epoxied it. (Next time I will use a bigger dowel or ball shape.)
That's about it.
{Allan Yedlinsky}
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