Starting your own sharpening service can give big rewards in helping to ease some of the financial hardship in these tough economic times. To get started will not require very much equipment. Before you start sharpening invest in a couple of quality books on sharpening as a little homework will go a long way here.
A small one inch by thirty inch belt sander and a six-inch bench grinder with additional assorted belts and grinding wheels and you can be on your way to earning an extra income from home. I would suggest buying good quality equipment as these machines will need to be producing every day. Not to say you need top of the line equipment but don't waste your money buying the cheapest you can find as you will be replacing them in no time flat.
Start with sharpening lawn and garden tools for friends and neighbors. when you feel confident set up accounts to pick-up at local hardware stores, lawn and garden centers etc. Make up some flyers that can be put up in local coffee shops and diners. Soon the phone will start ringing with can you sharpen this or that.
Remember the main concept to sharpening is to remove the dullness by creating a burr on the backside of the tool you are sharpening. Start with a little practice on your own lawn and garden tools. Mower blades take little more than a bench grinder, a steady hand, and an inexpensive cone type balancer. When grinding mower blades just follow the existing angle, when you think you have it sharp look at the backside to see if you have removed all the dullness and have created a burr. If so go to your belt sander to put a nice finish look on your rough grinding. Check the balance and grind from the heavy side until equal.
Many elderly will also gladly be willing to pay to have you remove and sharpen their mower blades. In this thinking adding a small trailer and offering a pick-up and delivery service may add some additional income as well.
Sharpening hedge shears, loping shears, grass shears, axes, hatchets, machetes, splitting mauls, wedges, shovels, spades, post hole diggers, edger blades, electric and gas-powered hedge trimmers, knives, cleavers, household and fabric scissors are just some of the many item folks need sharpened.
Once you have built you business up a bit you may wish to expand into chainsaw sharpening as well as chisels, plane irons, carving tools, wood-turning tools, most of which just require attachments and different tool rests for your grinder. As you can see there a multitude of items that need sharpening.
Before you know it you will be sharpening drill bits, carbide saws, router bits, planer and jointer knives, chipper blades,hair dresser shears and the list goes on and on.
Happy Sharpening
