The Bench Grinder
Second only to proper dust collection, having sharp tools is the most critical part of a successful workshop. Without sharp tools, chisels will not be able to pare to layout lines, handplanes will tear out even the straightest grain, and drill bits will burn and scorch your workpiece. The key to keeping my tools sharp is my Rikon 8 Inch Slow Speed Bench Grinder. I chose to upgrade the stock wheels to the more expensive but vastly higher quality Woodturner's Wonders CBN Wheels.
CBN stands for Cubic Boron Nitride, an abrasive that is second in hardness only to diamond. This durability makes it a prime abrasive for shaping metal because it cuts quickly, cleanly, quietly, doesn't heat up your workpiece nearly as much as Aluminum Oxide grinding wheels do. CBN wheels also come in much finer grits than Aluminum Oxide wheels. Another benefit to CBN wheels is that they run much truer than any other wheels. This is because they are precisely machined and use spherical washers that negate any play from the nut that keeps the wheel on the grinding shaft.
To sharpen tools on a bench grinder, you'll need a system to help create repeatable and accurate grinds so that tools don't wear down too quickly. The Oneway Grinding Jig takes car of this with a cam-locking tilting platform and v-pocket. The platform is used for sharpening flat tools like scrapers and skew chisels, while the v-pocket is used for sharpening round tools like bowl gouges.