Thread: Grinding jig

I'm in the process of making my own RP would you like the plan ?

Hey RP....a lot of folk will tell you that the way to go is a slow speed Tormek or the like.

Personally, I've been running a 3400RPM 6 inch grinder that I bought at an Ace Hardware store in 1993 for about 40 bucks. It still runs great, haven;t had a lick of problems with it. Keep telling myself that when this one goes I'll pop for an 8 inch grinder mainly because it doesn't leave as much of a concave on the gauges.

Kinda' feel that no matter what you get, slow, wet, dry high speed, you'll get used to making good grinds with it.

Good Luck.

Mine are really cheap (crude and home made), but they work just fine. Hate to buy anything I can easily make.

Edit: Ed there's only about .002" difference in concavity (in typical bowl gouge grind) between 6" and 8", which really does not matter. Best feature (for me) of 8" vs. 6" is that the wheels are usually wider, so there is a little more surface to work with.

SEE here for a few

RP

Are you looking for a grinder or a grinder jig?

And consistency with what type of grind?

For a grinder I do not understand the fascination with the Tormek. I use a Tormek for plane and bench chisel blades, but would not consider it for lathe chisels as it is far, far too slow in grinding HSS. You do not need a water-cooled grinder for HSS. HSS cannot burn on the average dry grinder, which is what i would get. Either 6" or 8".

Personally, I prefer to freehand skews, etc on a disk sander. If I need to grind a lot I use a 80 grit disk. If I am just touching up an edge I use a 240 grit disk. It I want the sharpest edge imaginable, I slap on a leather disk and strop with green rouge. Sharpening literally takes seconds to do!

If you cannot hone freehand, then use a Tormek jig on a high speed grinder. Tormek have just released a guide for a grinder that uses their jigs ..



Regards from Perth

Derek

Don't be put off by anyone saying that you don't need a jig, they are great. Most ( high speed grinder types) suffer from not having a sturdy support arm, which allows the jig to move around perhaps more than it should. Particulalry if your grinder vibrates etc. The one shown above (Tormek) and the Kelton are more sturdy than some on the market.

I like the idea of transferring from the grinder to the Tormek so I looked into this a little bit. Now, I don't know exactly what comes with the Bench Grinder Mounting Kits, but I think the photo may be easily misinterpreted. The "kit" is actually just one of the F shaped slide and the clamp attached to the wood. I'm not even sure if you even get the wood, but probably you do get the mounting block and some rubber feet.

What I see in that photo are in fact two of the TO-BGM-100 Bench grinder mounting kits (one on the left wheel and one on the right) costing about $130 each; so $260 for what is shown. Plus one SVD-185 gouge jig shown on the right wheel $145 (ish), and one SVD-110 Toolrest at $52.

The ads I read also suggest you need a TTS-100 setter, which is about $40.

There is - I think - $457 sitting in that photo ($500 if you add the setter). If you already have a Tormek with those fittings (SVD-185 and a SVD 110) then you will save some dollars (because you have already spent them).

You can buy other jigs for the grinder, such as a $180 Tru-grind, which is roughly the equivalent of the TO-BGM-100 and SVD-185 but works out about $95 cheaper, however, you cannot transfer the tool straight to a water wheel in the same jig.

I don't want to put you off these as the Tormeks give fantastic results, but you do need to be aware of the costs.

EDIT: Check the following posts for clarification of what is actually included in the kit.

have seen a good one last weekend it was called a wolverine cost about 200 it consists of jig for bowl gouges and the like a jig for skews a jig for ellsworth grind and a scraping jig i reckin its good value but i have a whetstone grinder
troy

Hi Groggy

I had exactly the same thoughts as you (but then we are related ), so I contacted Colin Rayner at Northwood Tools. He wrote back:

The kit includes two horizontal bases (XB-100) , two universal tool supports(US-105) and instructions on how to fit to your bench grinder. It does not include any other parts or jigs at all, it is assumed any TORMEK grinder user would already have the jigs they need.

So it seems that the kit is a HUGE saving on purchasing parts individually. I have put in an order for one.

Troy, the Wolverine jig is one I have been interested in for a long time. However, as far as I am aware, they are not available in Oz. They are a Canadian product. Shipping would be stiff!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hi Groggy

I had exactly the same thoughts as you (but then we are related ), so I contacted Colin Rayner at Northwood Tools. He wrote back:

The kit includes two horizontal bases (XB-100) , two universal tool supports(US-105) and instructions on how to fit to your bench grinder. It does not include any other parts or jigs at all, it is assumed any TORMEK grinder user would already have the jigs they need.

So it seems that the kit is a HUGE saving on purchasing parts individually. I have put in an order for one...

Ahh, that is better. I looked at the Tormek site and the 'kit' is just one of the bases and its supports. If Colin is providing two then that would be more attractive, especially to someone who already owns the Tormek and jigs. In fact, probably a 'must have', as the ideal setup is to use the one jig from grinding through honing to keep the same angle and minimise steel and time wastage.

IIRC, you have a 10" slow speed grinder that would match the Tormek wheels almost exactly, making an ideal system when this arrives. [insert envious smiley here]

Yeah, I'm in the order queue too ;-} , with a large number of conventional tools that need to be consistently shaped in the migration to the whetstone side of the bench.

But another thing to consider would be this: how would you go matching a Tru-grind or similar to a wet grinder?

On my Scheppach the case would have to be hacked or stacked to get the bench mounted bar into the picture. The height of the wheel might require a longer leg under the tool clamp.

Just a thought.

G'day Derek,

I just read the instructions for the BGM-100 here, http://www.tormek.com/en/accessories...bgm-100_en.pdf.

It listed the content of the BGM-100 and from what I understand that's only 1 grinding jig.

Then I read the description of BGM-100 from http://www.axminster.co.uk. It mentioned "The kit includes two horizontal bases, two universal tool supports and instructions.", confirming what Colin told you.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.a...DQKA6ZETDV5098

Cheers

GUNN

Originally Posted by dynoforce

I just read the instructions for the BGM-100 here, http://www.tormek.com/en/accessories...bgm-100_en.pdf.

It listed the content of the BGM-100 and from what I understand that's only 1 grinding jig.

Yep, that's the one that threw me too, see the link in my earlier post. Two of them changes the value factor. I use a Bluemax on the left and a 120 grit ALOX wheel on the right so grinding and sharpening with the same jig would be nice. Especially if you could then further sharpen and hone on the Tormek.

Yes I saw the Axminster one as well. After receiving an email newsletter from Colin - which alerted me to the offer - I Googled for more info and came up with the Axminster advert.

I do have the 10" Tormek, and I have a 8" half-speed dry grinder. The addition of the new toolrest (for which I had been considering the Wolverine) will make a great set up.



I am also on the wait list - which I gather will be filled next week.

Regards from Perth

Derek