Thread: Whetstone sharpening and all that jazz

I think it was this jig that and Ken criticised but can't recall what for .... can anyone help?

My criticism of that particular jig is that you have to be careful that the chisel is in fact centred.

I remedied the problem by shimming the sides to the width of the chisel. All my skews are the same thickness so I was lucky there.

Thanks .

One of the virtues of being on a good thing and sticking to it.

Originally Posted by rsser

Following on from 's sharp weekend I've settled down to play with the Scheppach.

The wheel was dressed at the coarse setting, c 200, and at that takes off metal fairly quickly. The grind marks on the bevel are noticeable and with a skew and the wheel turning away a wire edge forms that breaks away into flakes with finger pressure. So I graded the wheel to 1000 and got a finer finish as you'd expect.

There's a lot of work still to do to standardise the angles on the spindle tools to speed whetstone setup and I'm working through this on an 80 grit pink wheel. Kept clean this works OK if you're patient. There's some flex in the Chinese mitred platform and consistent pressure is needed to avoid slight facets.

At 200 grit the whetstone does a fair job of pulling a skew up the wheel; that diminishes at the finer grit. All I have is the platform for this while a Tormek multi-jig is in the mail (SVs-50).

I think it was this jig that and Ken criticised but can't recall what for .... can anyone help?

The other concern is how to handle mini-tools. I tried a packing strip on the platform to provide handle clearance but found it hard to avoid facets on the small skew.

There's a lot of setup time but I'm guessing that with the right jigs and tool setter, and consistency of grind geometries, once you've got it sorted then you just record and follow the numbers.

The jigs in the kit so far are are the Jet fingernail grind jobbie, square across jig, the platform and the original Scheppach.

Apart from the SVS-50 is anything else advisable? (A tool setter is in the mail too.) Other tips? (The S. didn't come with much of a manual.)

The only comment that I made about the SVS-50, changing the two seats for different gouges is time consuming. I bought a second, and solved the problem.
The Tormek SVS32 short tool jig is good for some mini-tools
How good is the quality of the gouge jig that comes with the Scheppach?

Thanks for that tip about the SVS32 Ken. Will check it out.

The S. jigs are copies of Tormeks and though not as well made seem serviceable. But actually the fingernail jig I have is a Jet. Same knuckle pivot but has a pointed shaft that sits in a pocketed block on the mount bar (like a Unijig jig). The point wants to climb out of the pocket but I've got it to work OK. Just can't get right over on the handle end of the wings of an Ellsworth Sig gouge but that's no drama.

As I understand it Tormek are about to release hardware to sit in front of a dry grinder to take their jigs.

Wonder if it will be similar to the rod sitting in front of Northern Woodturners grinder. Heard this was your work Ken.

Ern,

Very interesting that Tormek are bringing something out. is trying to make me a stand using the Tormek bar in front of the grinder. Will keep you all posted.

I've found it almost impossible to match a True-Grind setting with the Tormek. For example, on Saturday I re-ground one of my spindle gouges. I used the no 3 setting on the T/G, but the match is on the no. 2 setting on the Tormek.

The hollows are different of course, given the differing diameters of the wheels. But once you shape it correctly, it's not hard to really hone on the wet wheel.

I don't know why, but Ken W. only uses the no. 2 setting on his Tormek jig for all his gouges, both spindle and bowl. How does that work?

Ideally, I'd like to sell-off my grinders one day and revert solely to the Tormek. But I have some serious regrinding to do soon (new mini-tools and all my scrapers) and I want some speed!

Jeff

Jeff, it's a learning curve for me but AFAIK the lower the JS no. on the Tormek fingernail jig the shorter the wings will be. Ken's using bowl gouges a lot in spindle turning so presumably shorter wings provide bettter access with the tool held on the side the way he does .... but I'd best let him speak for himself.

BTW, I can't see the point of not having a dry grinder. Turning tools aren't the only things you can do on them obviously.

BTW Jeff I've read that Tormek wheels if wet can crack if the temp drops below zero, and up in your chilly hollow .....

Ern and Jeff, I have two waterstone units. One of the wheels cracked, I think it was due to leaving the wheel partially immersed. Nowadays I use them then drain the reservoir.

PS Wheels are expensive.

What about adding antifreeze to the bath? It would prevent freezing and would add a degree of lubrication too.

You guys are gems. (WouldWood, second Forum smile today for me, so thanks!)

How's things going on the Gen Woodwork section? I don't travel there anymore.

Now Ern, I think the temp. control in the shed is OK. I hope. It's got that air-bubble stuff (R2 apparently) in the roof and walls, plus batts in the walls in that end of the shed. So I'm hoping that stone doesn't crack. It better not at $300+ replacement!

We had -8 degrees here the year before last and the water pipes burst.... Yep, we can see the snow on a clear day from our block. Snow is maybe 30kms away as the crow flies. And when the southerly gets up, it's cold.

But back to the wet grinder. I'm now wearing the wheel down. Previously, I only used it for my bench chisels and plane blades - just trying to avoid the hollowing. The new doovie that flattens the stones is so much better, so I'm now not overly worried about the dips. I can see another stone coming soon however....

And I too do not leave the wheel in water, unless I forget. I'm not sure, but the Tormek is supposed to run on continuous duty cycle. So on good turning days, I now leave it running all the time.

The water dish is a PITA on the Tormek. They must do something about it.

I must build a dedicated cabinet on wheels for the wet grinder. Out of either SS or marine ply. Water does go everywhere.

Jeff

The antifreeze idea was put to Jeff Farris the guru of the Tormek forum.

He gave it the thumbs down I'm afraid.

"http://www.tormek.com/forum/index.php?topic=748.0"

Well it's a sad day when you don't learn something!

Originally Posted by rsser

As I understand it Tormek are about to release hardware to sit in front of a dry grinder to take their jigs.

Wonder if it will be similar to the rod sitting in front of Northern Woodturners grinder. Heard this was your work Ken.

I discovered by accident a couple of years ago that the Tormek jigs work on the old Heligrind base. Max the president at northern mad a slightly larger version and the club bought some Tormek jigs. A lot easier to teach people if they have sharp tools.