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powderpost
25th March 2008, 12:23 PM
I have no desire to re-kindle the grinding/sharpening debate again. Normally I grind freehand but as a result of severing the tendon in my left index finger, there is no feeling in that finger and that makes it a bit difficult to grind free hand. One of the blokes in our club came up with this idea. The first photo is a grinding aid gadget for a skew. It is made from two pieces of 19 x 32 about 90mm long. A piece about a millimetre thicker than the skew is glued in between. The insert is cut at an angle to match the angle of the grind on the skew. Two 8mm threads are tapped in with a metal thread cutting tap. Two 8mm threads cut from an 8mm bolt and a hacksaw cut, cut into one end for a screw driver and fitted to the gadget. This is then fitted to the chisel, placed on the grinder (stationary) with the wooden gadget against the tool rest and adjusted to get the desired angle of grind.
Photo 6 shows the skew gadget in action.
Photo 4 shows the finished grind.
Photo 5 shows the gouge gadget in action and
Photo 3 shows the end product for the gouge.
The second one is for gouges. A hole is bored through a 75mm disc of 19mm timber, to suit the gouge. An 8mm thread is tapped into the side (not end grain) and a stud as for the skew jig is fitted. It works the same way as for the skew.
Been using these now for about a year and find them very good. They are cheap and easy to make, even if a few are needed to suit different chisels.
Hope this helps achieve good results.
Jim

orraloon
25th March 2008, 01:51 PM
That looks very practical. Simple is most often the best.
Glad I was not tempted to spend mega dollars on some of the grinding jigs on the market. I will have a go at that gouge one.

Regards
John

rsser
25th March 2008, 03:23 PM
Nice one Jim. Simple is good.

Hope you recover feeling in the digit.

artme
25th March 2008, 06:28 PM
Great work Jim! a really simple and effective set of jigs! :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

coffenup
25th March 2008, 08:12 PM
:2tsup:thanks for the ideas jim
Regards Michael

killerbeast
25th March 2008, 09:38 PM
Brilliant... could be a great aid in getting training i sharpening more or less freehand, as these fits any grinding system...

Hov about irish grind on bowl gouges ??

joe greiner
26th March 2008, 01:06 AM
Very nice, Jim, and as said simplest is best. I've found to my dismay that freehand sharpening allows the bevel angle to creep toward almost perpendicular. We might benefit by having gauges nearby to locate the blocks on the chisels - even useful for the expensive rigs.

For more rapid engagement, I'd suggest using wing bolts instead of ordinary bolts or screws. Probably hard to find, so I've used a short piece of allthread with a wing nut secured with LocTite or similar adhesive.

Tapped holes in hardwood blocks probably work fine. In softwood, you could use T-nuts embedded in separate segments, with the segments then glued together.

Best wishes for recovery or adaptation, and thanks for posting.

Joe