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Vicmarc gouge jig
My old bowl gouge jig, which I really liked, was starting to wear and not hold gouges reliably in the same position each time. So it was time to buy a new one.
I thought I would try the Vicmarc Vrs 5 (the one on the right here) because it can hold some of my larger gouges (up to 32mm and until now had to use a different jig for those) and because Vicmarc have a good reputation for engineering and design.
I needed a second grinder, however, I didn't go with the VM half-speed grinder as I rarely ever sharpen anything that isn't HSS, and because life is too short to spend more time sharpening than necessary.
The grinder I went with was this 2850 rpm, 1HP Hafco MetalMaster.
The dimensions were slightly different to the VM grinder (by about 5mm), so I had to raise the jig slide base by that much to match the specified height and position to the centre of the spindle.
The result was that I was unable to replicate my preferred grind that has a 62deg nose angle and swept back side grind. The slide on the jig just wasn't long enough.
I then removed the packing under the jig base and ran into my next problem. The jig then hit the base on which the grinder was attached. It was a good thing the grinder wasn't attached to the bench, as I had to cut out part of the base to allow the jig to complete the left wing of my bowl gouges.
With that done I was only just able to replicate my preferred bowl gouge grind with hardly a mm to spare before the jig slide ran out of length again.
A few other things about the gouge jig.
The part that holds the gouges is a hefty piece of engineering that I don't expect will ever fail to hold gouges firmly and repeatedly in the same position. However, at over 800gms before you put a gouge in it, you won't have to go to the gym after working out with it...:)
The leveraged screw to clamp a gouge in place has a low gearing so that even the the most arthritic hands will secure a gouge firmly for grinding. The downside is the number of turns it takes to clamp and un-clamp a gouge from the jig. The position of the knob also restricts how much rotation can be achieved with each grasp, so that I could only manage a 1/4 turn at a time when clamping up and about a half turn at most when un-clamping.
I'm not yet fully convinced that this is the ideal bowl gouge jig for me, so I'll give it a bit more time before I decide.
It might be ideal for you, but if you are considering it, I would suggest you find someone who has one and who is willing to let you try out your gouges with your preferred grind on them to check out if it is going to work for you. In my case it very nearly didn't.
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Just a couple of more observations on the VM gouge jig.
The smallest gouge that the jig will hold is 3/8". Not that many of us use much smaller than that, but I do have at least one 1/4" detail gouge that will still have to be done with my old jig or freehand.
The position of the knob with larger gouges comes very close to the gouge blade so that your grip on the knob is restricted. This reduces the rotation possible with each grasp of the knob and increases the time to tighten and loosen the clamp. This 'interference' lessens with the smaller diameter gouges.
Also, and of more significance for me, is the way the jig collides with the 8" grinding wheel (next to faint arrow) when holding and putting the swept back part of the grind on my larger gouges (3/4" and above). The size of the jig accommodates the largest of gouges, but not all grind options.
Fortunately the jig just clears the 8"wheel with my most used 5/8" size, and smaller, bowl gouges. That may be sufficient for most turners.
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One more grizzle
Definitely a design flaw, IMO.
The ball foot of the arm sits in a socket which is oversized.
If that ball foot slips out of this socket there is a 'backstop' to prevent it from coming completely off the slide, but this is set too far back to prevent a nasty second grind being inflicted on the heel and side of the gouge when this happens. eg.
This was happening far too often to me to tolerate it any longer, so I made the following adjustment by moving the backstop to sit on the circumference of the ball foot when seated in the bottom socket. A small but significant adjustment.
Here it is with the screws and backstop repositioned.
And here is the the ball foot, socket and backstop in alignment, as they should have been all along. Without gross user incompetence, there is no way that ball foot is going to slip out of the correct position now ...:U
Some of my previous grizzles could be put down to my (perhaps) idiosyncratic grind preferences, but this one is in my opinion a case of poor design!
Fixed now and so much nicer to use as I don't have to put so much effort into trying to keep the ball foot seated properly in that oversized socket.
If you have one of these jigs you may also feel the need to make a similar adjustment.
If VM continue to manufacture this jig I would hope to see this design flaw (ie, in my opinion) remedied.
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Yeah that used to happen to me on my modified Woodcut, bloody annoying. :(( Bad design tends to bring the profane out in me :U
I thought of using a small universal and a locating pin, all the swing action and no chance of jumping out.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/attach...727520&thumb=1
