My sharpening setup & homemade gouge jig

[scooter]

Gday

Thought I'd put up pics of my setup, & the fingernail jig I made up on the weekend.

The vee arm is a triton extension table fence that I scored at work a while ago, mounted under my grinder baseboard. The eyebolt serves to tighten it in poisition.

The pocket undoes quickly off the end of the arm with another eyebolt, and the skew jig is easily bunged on.

The fingernail jig is welded up from scrap steel & bits & pieces from around the shed. Works well. Have been researching the jigs for a while, & copies ideas from different ones.

Pics below


Cheers..................Sean

[scooter]

more pics

[DJ’s Timber]

Simple but effective

[TTIT]

Sump-oil dipped Scooter? I did the same to mine - which looks horribly similar by the way! Love the way the edge is always precisely the same each time you sharpen it with these rigs. Good one!
All you need to add is some way of marking the angle to make it repeatable if you use it to sharpen other profiles. I have just 2 angle marks - 1 for the gouges and another for the toothpick or bedans or whatever you call them. The spindle and bowl gouge setups use the same angle but differ in the distance from the wheel and the amount of shaft outside the jig.

[Rance]

So what's the difference between what you are doing and just resting the end of the handle in the groove on the jig? It appears that the only difference is the protection of the fine finish of the handle. Obviously, I'm new to sharpening my lathe tools.

Good job on the jig btw. If you're into making your own lathe tools, try rods from printers & copiers. I just finished making a SkewChiGouge this weekend. I just love that tool.

[OGYT]

Looks like it'd work a treat! Good job!

[RETIRED]

So what's the difference between what you are doing and just resting the end of the handle in the groove on the jig? It appears that the only difference is the protection of the fine finish of the handle. Obviously, I'm new to sharpening my lathe tools.

Good job on the jig btw. If you're into making your own lathe tools, try rods from printers & copiers. I just finished making a SkewChiGouge this weekend. I just love that tool.

As the tool gets shorter because of sharpening the angle changes.

[arose62]

So what's the difference between what you are doing and just resting the end of the handle in the groove on the jig? It appears that the only difference is the protection of the fine finish of the handle.

If you rest the end of the handle in the groove, you'll just rotate the tool around its axis, which is the sort of grind you'd put on a roughing gouge.

Using this sort of jig moves the axis of rotation "outside" the tool handle. The end of the handle swings in an arc (not just rotates), giving the "swept back" grind shown.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Rance]

As the tool gets shorter because of sharpening the angle changes.


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Sorry , I don't buy that. OK, yes it does, but not to any significance in one resharpening. At the beginning of EVERY sharpening, you adjust the holder so the angle AT THE CONTACT POINT ON THE WHEEL is correct (ie. just like last time) and proceed.


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If you rest the end of the handle in the groove, you'll just rotate the tool around its axis, which is the sort of grind you'd put on a roughing gouge.
Using this sort of jig moves the axis of rotation "outside" the tool handle. The end of the handle swings in an arc (not just rotates), giving the "swept back" grind shown.
Cheers,
Andrew

Andrew, I can understand that, but does the direction of the grind marks make a difference? I'd think not. When I grind a tool, I'm "feeling" the pressure against the stone as I rotate it. The end result is that I A) grind enough away to get the edge sharp, and B) grind it to where the edge resides at the precise location on the tip of the tool where it should go (ie. where I want it). Outside of that, the only other factor is 1) the angle of the tip underneath the edge (relief angle?) and 2) the direction of the grinding marks. I believe #2 is irrelevant, and I believe I can control #1 by adjusting the arm sticking out from the bench. Is this correct? Maybe one method is just easier??? However, it just sounds like a reason to sell another tool/jig.

, Andrew, I'm not trying to be difficult. I just want to understand the grind.

[Alastair]

Rance

What you describe will give you a conical shaped grind. With Scooters' jig, you will be able to get a true fingernail grind. Each to his own, but having passed through the stages myself along the way, I find the latter far more versatile. By varying the offset angle, you can also vary how 'extreme' the grind is, until you find what suits you.

For bowl gouges, it also gives you a repeatable way to do the more extreme 'ground back' or 'Ellsworth" profiles, if that is what you want.

Regarding reproducibility, in addition to angle, there is also tool projection, and as said, wheel wear. For the former, I have a simple step gauge on the grinder with my standards. To combat grinder wear, Soren Berger showed an idea at Woodturn some years ago, which I pillaged. Simply, once you have a setup you like, make a MDF template, which fits exactly between the jig V rest, and the surface of the grinding wheel. Use this to set the extension. As the wheel wears, the distance will be maintained.

I will take some pics of my home grown effort, and post later this week.

[DJ’s Timber]

Rance rather than trying to explain the grind, have a look here and click on the Vari-Grind jig video, what it does is allows you to do a "swept back grind"

[Rance]

...have a look here and click on the Vari-Grind jig video, what it does is allows you to do a "swept back grind"

Interesting video, a good demo on how to use the jigs. I understand what you are saying about rotating about a different axis but don't see how that would give you any different grinding angles on the tip. The only thing I can imagine seeing is a different direction for the grinding marks. One day I'll look at two newly ground tools side-by-side. Maybe I just need to take the word from those of you more experienced and leave it at that. Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the link to the video.

Rance

[Hardenfast]

Good thread and responses on the never ending sharpening topic.

Many thanks for the link to the OneWay site, DJ. I found the videos very instructive and the jigs offered to be very reasonably priced. I am still struggling to come up with quick, consistent edges on some chisels.

My question is, at US$79.95 for the complete grinding jig setup, and another US$47.95 for the Vari-Grind jig, is it even worth mucking around with home made versions? Even allowing for airmail postage and conversion to AU$ I would expect the total to be less than AU$200.00.

I guess that's still a lot of money, and for those who are handy enough to create something similar from bits and pieces it's a good saving. However, for someone like myself who doesn't have the time, and would probably have to buy the various components anyway, maybe the $200 is a reasonable investment.

In any case I have sent OneWay an email requesting confirmation of total cost. Assuming they will post internationally and it's not too horrendous I will go ahead with it, in which case I'll let you know.

Has anyone else had stuff sent over here from OneWay? Do they have any local agents?

[Alastair]

Locally there are variations on a theme available, called Unijig and Heligrind, AFAIK. Suspect somewhere like Trend would have them. Someone out there may have details.

[WOODbTURNER]

Locally there are variations on a theme available, called Unijig and Heligrind, AFAIK. Suspect somewhere like Trend would have them. Someone out there may have details.

The Kelton Sharpening System by Kel McNaughton NZ is just about a dead ringer to the Oneway system. Give Mike a ring at The Wood Works Book & Tool Co. in Sydney on (02) 9979 7797.