Jig for gouge fingernail grinds

[rsser]

This came up at Sunday's turnfest; sorry, can't remember who I spoke with about it.

Here's one version:

http://www.atbq.qc.ca/jm2/woodturnjigs.htm (http://www.atbq.qc.ca/jm2/woodturnjigs.htm)

If you're interested let me know your email address and I'll send you the plans.

[bitingmidge]

Ern,
You are a little ripper! I emailed Jean Michelle a few years ago, but never got a reply.

Turns out the poor bugger had carked it, so wasn't really interested in sending them to me!

I have a blown up fuzzy version from the existing website, which someone has recreated to keep the work alive, bless 'em.

Thanks,

P:D

[rsser]

LOL. No probs BM.

Yeah, some kind folks are maintaining his website but the plans aren't there. He kindly sent them some ago before heading off to the big jig shop in the sky.

Wonder what is doing up there, or down there ;-} Prob laughing his t*ts off.

[nfld steve]

Hi guys,I have those plans somewhere,from Jean Michel,I must have 8-10 pages,a friend on another site emailed them to me a year ago,and I'll have a look when I get a chance.They're very detailed,.
He told me even though it will take some time to make them,it's well worth it.
Also,I have a pretty simple jig for doing fingernail grinds,I'll take a pic and post it.
Talk to you later,Steve

[nfld steve]

Oh,also I was told Jean Michell had passed away,I forgot to mention this.
Sorry,Steve.

[rsser]

Yep Steve, though as you could have read above, BM let us know.

[TTIT]

Yep Steve, though as you could have read above, BM let us know.I'm guessin' "carked" isn't in common use in Canada Ern :;:U

[rsser]

Good point Vern.

... won't bother consulting my English/French dictionary for a translation.

Make it up? Cark = onomatopoeia: last sound made by dying person.

Reminds me of the genre 'last words by great men': the one who said with croaking voice 'my last words are in the file on the desk'. Now that's preparation ;-}

[nfld steve]

LOL,my God guys,yere as bad as me!!!lol.Now I'm sure I'm in the right place,lol.
Although I've been on a couple of forums which had very little humor,and I kind of was careful how I wrote stuff.This forum is much more "me".:U
Carked I guess would work in that sentence up here.
Croaked is what we'ld usually say though,,,,,similar.
Oh,but we wouldn't use that word to a member of that persons family,:no:,,not usually anyway,lol.
I'm going to go now and take a pic of my little jig,and try to have it posted before Christmas.You've surely seen the one I use before,but I'll post it anyway.I'm a beginner,2 years fooling around with turning,but I can do a really great job sharpening my gouges,honest,lol.
Talk to you soon,Steve:2tsup:
Opps,just learned how to use the emoticons!!

[ticklingmedusa]

I'm guessin' "carked" isn't in common use in Canada Ern :;:U

I almost had to use the strine decoder website...
not commonly used here in the land of the seppo. :D
JM's s site has good info.
I hope he's turning in the grave.

I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.
Last words ~~ Leonardo da Vinci, artist, d. 1519

should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.
~~ Humphrey Bogart, actor, d. January 14, 1957

Let's cool it brothers . . .
Spoken to his assassins, 3 men who shot him 16 times.
~~ Malcolm X, Black leader, d. 1966

Don't wake me, I'm sleeping
~~ unknown
tm

[nfld steve]

I'm on the right forum,lol.
"Sorry,I couldn't hear you,I was talking",unknown..:D

[Christopha]

Anyone who needs or uses a grinding jig is;
A: no sort of bluddy woodturner
B: not likely to be any sort of woodturner.
C: A bluddy dill! (please don't blame me, Cliff made me say it!)

[rsser]

or D: a pro woodturner looking for easy repetition of std grinds in order not to waste expensive HSS

So which of these are you Christopha?

[ticklingmedusa]

Anyone who needs or uses a grinding jig is;
A: no sort of bluddy woodturner
B: not likely to be any sort of woodturner.
C: A bluddy dill! (please don't blame me, Cliff made me say it!)

I went out to the shed to slap sealer on the endgrain of some massive chunks of red ironbark I just scored and thought about this.
While I tend to dismiss blanket statements such as the above
as so much hogwash (or in your case perhaps sheepdip)...
I also thought about the merits of being able to grind freehand and they are
plenty.
My hands are not steady. I do some grinding freehand and some using a jig. There is no one true thing, all things are true.
tm

[rsser]

True.

A jig is good for beginners because it takes a major variable out of the equation. For a pro ditto though it adds to the downtime.

A straight across grind you can do easily enough with just a platform but a freehand Irish grind would take a deal of practice, downtime and lost steel. Once mastered I imagine you'd get a kick out of it.

Whatever floats your boat.

[nfld steve]

I might try freehand sometime with irish grind,but not today,lol.
I only use the little jig/holder for my spindle and bowl gouges,and actually,I wasted a bit of steel learning before I got it down pat.
I guess in time I may be able to freehand it,as I get more used to it.
I was wondering if anyone knows a decent way to put a little curve on my skew chisel?
It's now ground as it was new,straight,but I've read that it can be more forgiving if it has a little radius groud on it,a slight curve.
Anyone??lol.
Have a great day,Steve

[rsser]

Steve, it's dead easy freehand.

You're just swinging the edge across the wheel.

.. Skew on platform, finger lightly on skew at the point you need it to pivot, then swing the handle through an arc.

Practice first with the wheel stopped.

[nfld steve]

Thanks Ern!!I'll give it a go later,I have an oval skew,a cheaper one,and I'll try that one first.Then I'll go my other one from Crown tools.I love my good one,and the steel is really hard.
My brother bought a lathe and chisels to make pool cues,and quickly gave it up,lol.
Anyway,the headstock spindle got bent,and he gave the works to me,I fixed the lathe with a new spindle,but don't use it,it's a Mastercraft lathe,from Canadian Tire,but I've learned with the chisels a good bit.
I'm a beginner,but have developed the "full blown addiction",lol.About 2 years at it now.I first bought a Delta Midi lathe,and this summer bought a Delta 14" swiveling headstock lathe,,and about 6 good chisels/gouges,one at a time as funds alow.
I have to get our winter firewood cut up an put away,and a few more chores,then when the bad weather comes,I'll be at my lathe!
Also got a few "hobbles" to do for some extra cash,to buy more stuff,lol.
Anyway,that's a bit about me,and thanks again for the tip!
Steve.
PS: Really love this forum!!

[OGYT]

I wish you were closer, Steve. I'd trade skews with you. I have one I rounded the long point on, and wish I hadn't. I use the point so much, and don't have one now... what a stupid mistake for me to make. I never was too smart... so I can't get over it.:(
Anyway, I think you're right tryin' it on the cheap one first. :)

[bitingmidge]

Anyone who needs or uses a grinding jig is;
A: no sort of bluddy woodturner
B: not likely to be any sort of woodturner.
C: A bluddy dill! (please don't blame me, Cliff made me say it!)

I'm all of the above, specially the dill bit.

I sharpen freehand, not often enough, and after a year or so or one piece completed whichever is the lesser, I like to get the grind back to where it's s'posed to be. That usually involves inviting someone who knows what they are doing, to show me how to sharpen by hand. (thanks Toolin' :D) and I end up with a perfect fingernail all ready for me to bugger up for another year.

The jig is useful for dills, or people who don't turn frequently enough to get their hand in, to straighten up the grind every now and then, just as a plane blade sharpening jig is useful for setting up a blade.

I wouldn't have the patience or the desire to use it all the time, but it's really useful for us mugs setting up.

Cheers,

P
:D:D:D

[bitingmidge]

but a freehand Irish grind would take a deal of practice, downtime and lost steel.

Wouldn't you just need an Irish Jig?

P
:D:D:D

[rsser]

... a fiddle, jug of poteen and an audience?

Not!

[ticklingmedusa]

:D:D:D


... a fiddle, jug of poteen and an audience?

Not!

[Christopha]

or D: a pro woodturner looking for easy repetition of std grinds in order not to waste expensive HSS

So which of these are you Christopha?

I have never met a professional turner who used a jig to grind tools.... EVER!

I have been asked to demonstrate and sell many different grinding jigs at woodwork and turning demonstrations over the years, I have even been given some of them and in my humble opinion they were all just about making a quid out of poor newchum turners. And that always did make me cross! It is not difficult to learn to grind turning tools freehand unless perhaps you are a victim of Parkinsons or similar.

[bitingmidge]

Isn't that like all trades though?

Mechanics don't need to consult manuals to adjust tappets.
Architects (could once) draw to scale freehand without using a rule.
Brickies don't need levels. :p
Carpenters don't use sharpening jigs.

That doesn't mean that people who need some other form of assistance are dills necessarily, just that they don't have a lifetime of practice.

I'd think twice if I saw someone who effectively sharpened for a living (like a turner) who couldn't do it with his eyes closed, by feel. I don't ever intend to get that much practice, but I still like to have my tools correctly sharpened when I use them.

Cheers,

P

[rsser]

Which pro woodturners have you met Christopha?

[Christopha]

Which pro woodturners have you met Christopha?
MANY Ern, many and I am not about to start some sort of silly list thing either. Why not ask if he uses sharpening jigs?
Pete, the dill thing was and is a joke really. :-
When I started out turning many years ago I was 'had' by a number of salesmen and I really hate being taken for a mug and I hate seeing others 'taken' the same way.:((:((:((
Freehand grinding really is not too difficult at all. An old friend who is a tradesman turner taught me in about 10 minutes, NO exaggeration! The spindle gouge is the trickiest to master I guess but if once sorted it makes all other grinding a breeze.:2tsup:

[OGYT]

It is not difficult to learn to grind turning tools freehand unless perhaps you are a victim of Parkinsons or similar.
"... or similar..." there it is. Similar. It's called a Benign Familial Tremor.
I'm also not a professional, and don't even play one on TV. :U
When honing becomes laborious, I use a grinding jig. Consistent bevel every time... I don't ever have to hunt for the sweet spot... I know where it is. Always. :D

[Alastair]

I have never met a professional turner who used a jig to grind tools.... EVER!

I have been asked to demonstrate and sell many different grinding jigs at woodwork and turning demonstrations over the years, I have even been given some of them and in my humble opinion they were all just about making a quid out of poor newchum turners. And that always did make me cross! It is not difficult to learn to grind turning tools freehand unless perhaps you are a victim of Parkinsons or similar.

Hi Chris

Weighing in on this,

Not professional, but highly active. I was taught by a three of the best, however, and too true, they all freehanded. However, in 3 years of parttime instruction, while I could grind freehand, it took time and steel, and the edge was not always reproducible. One of they above, also introduced jigs as an alternative, and I found them preferable, for some applications. He also used them for initial grinds on new tools.

I use a home built version of the unijig. Only use for roughing, detail and bowl gouges. Skews, scrapers, bedans, parting are all ground "semi" freehand on an adjustable toolrest.

Regarding the time vs efficiency debate, I have jigs set up for all settings except the offset angle. To "touch-up" grind a series of different tools to different grinds will take me just over a minute each, complete with setup and changeover. Thereafter, edge is just refreshed on slipstone during job.

Where I usually regrind, is when flogging the bowl gouge. With jig set up, I generally take about 30 sec to rejig, touch up the grind, and return to turning. I doubt that I could even locate the (short) bevel in this time freehand.

While someone turning 24/7 will no doubt have the skills, and would achieve some improvement in efficiency, I am convinced that the elevation of freehanding to demigod status is not necessarily appropriate for the remainder of turners. As I choose not to worship at that altar, I'll stick to my mix of jig and stand, it works for me.

Regards

[bitingmidge]

Pete, the dill thing was and is a joke really. :-


I know! :p:p

P

[rsser]

A much loved SIL was Dutch but with pretty good English.

She used to say 'you're a dildo' when she meant 'dill'. Least I think she meant dill!