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Grinding and Sharpening Jig

Jim C Bradley

Jim C Bradley

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4,945
Location
Oceanside, So. Calif. 5 mi. to the ocean
I purchased the Tormek BGM-100 and brought in my faithful (though none too bright) assistant to aid in the install. This rig allows you to go from shaping operations on the bench grinder to honing operations on your wet sharpener while maintaining the tool geometry.

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First my trusty sidekick Igor selects a drill bit or two.

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After returning to the shop following a brief trip to the bathroom for band-aids and peroxide we got back to work. Igor insisted on showing off his Canadian Woodworker shirt so I appeased him (these fools are easier to work with when they are fed and happy . . . and it takes so little . . . to make them happy that is; they eat like a horse.)

After I finally got Igor out of the way so I could get some work done, the holes were drilled, the tee-nuts were counter bored and I allowed Igor to hold the board so I could get a picture.

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The BGM-100 sometimes needs to mounted higher than the grinder platform depending on your grinder size or format. I quickly and efficiently withdrew a piece of cherry to use for this purpose from my index of scrap wood . . . this translates to "I dug through the scrap pile in the shed till I found something to use".

Igor once again rudely pushed me out of the way and made a mess of the cherry block by trying to use a hand plane on it . . . Silly Igor, you can't use one of these complicated un-tailed tools.

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Despite my challenges in working with the mentally deficient, I managed to get things assembled. The TTS-100 is used with the BGM-100 to set the Universal Support (that's German for "rod") to the same relationship with the wheels on each grinding/sharpening tool.

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Now using the Tormek Multijig SVD-185 you can shape the tool quickly. Then move directly to the wet system and sharpen and hone the profile without having to readjust anything.
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Jim, let me ask: I know the TTS 100 gets your bevel set identically on both grinders, but the does larger radius on the Jet make any difference in the finished grind you see on the tool (does it hone the complete bevel)?
 
Let me toss my 29 cents in...being the "other Jim" Fred. A 6" wheel leaves a big concave in the bottom of a gouge...had one...saw it every time they were sharpened for years. 8" will minimize that in a nice fashion. The concave allows for debris build up and over heating. Additionally...you have no functional bevel to ride...you have a cup. It is not stable or efficient. 8" at minimum, they do a great job...10" is a GOLD standard. This is just my opinion from years of sharpening gouges...others will no doubt have others.
 
fred hargis said:
Jim, let me ask: I know the TTS 100 gets your bevel set identically on both grinders, but the does larger radius on the Jet make any difference in the finished grind you see on the tool (does it hone the complete bevel)?
Click to expand...

It is indeed a non-zero difference but, in practice this seems to be a non-issue. The entire bevel leading edge gets honed. Marking the entire ground surface with a felt pen, at the extreme sides, there will be a bit of ink left between heel and edge.

If exaggerated, say the difference between a 2" radius wheel and a 10" radius wheel, the larger (honing) wheel does create a sort of micro-bevel while also touching the heel. This same geometry is in play but, to a very minor degree.
 
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Very nice. Igor does good work. :D I have all the parts to set up the BMG-100, but just haven't gotten around to do it. It'll happen sooner or later after I get reunited with my shop stuff.

A suggestion if I may: I find it's a lot easier to sharpen my gouges if I remove the handles from them first. I have a lot better control of the gouge and the jig without the extra 16" or more hanging off the back end.
 
I've got mine setup on an 8" variable speed grinder, Works great at correcting any issuses.

Then I take it to the 10" tormek clone and it does a great job of cleaning things up and putting a nicer edge on it.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
Very nice. Igor does good work. :D I have all the parts to set up the BMG-100, but just haven't gotten around to do it. It'll happen sooner or later after I get reunited with my shop stuff.

A suggestion if I may: I find it's a lot easier to sharpen my gouges if I remove the handles from them first. I have a lot better control of the gouge and the jig without the extra 16" or more hanging off the back end.
Click to expand...

How often do you sharpen your gouges?

My handles don't come off, but to take the extra time each time to remove and remount the handles, would drive me nuts, I sharpen often, and it only takes a second, and I find that the more often I sharpen the better I turn.

I'm just wondering if you guys spend way too much time sharpening, then honing your gouges?

Really?

The edge does not last that long to bother honing, IMHO, the only edge I hone is the skew, but I don't use that for anything but a finishing cut.

Jim your set up looks slick, tell Igor that his did a good job, give him an extra ration of ice cream :D
 
Stuart Ablett said:
How often do you sharpen your gouges?...
Click to expand...

I typically sharpen four to six gouges at a time, and use one until it starts to dull, then just grab another one. (I'm not real picky about using X profile for Y type of cut.) ;) A lot of the time I'll sharpen at the beginning of a turning session and then not need to sharpen for an hour or more, depending on what I'm cutting. By the time I stop to sharpen, I'm usually ready for a break anyway.

Just guessing here, but I'd say it takes me 2 or 3 seconds to remove the handle (the T-handle allen wrench is sitting on the headstock within easy reach), another 3 to 5 seconds to put the gouge in the jig, and maybe 10 seconds at the most to take a couple of passes on the Tormek wheel. Add another 5 seconds to remove the jig and remount the handle. All of my bowl gouges use the same Tormek settings, so once it's adjusted, it's good to go for everything but the detail gouge, which only needs sharpening occasionally. Part of the reason why I've not set up the BMG-100 on my dry grinder is because I'd only use it to change the existing profile on a gouge, and so far I've not really had a need to do so.

I don't use the leather honing wheel on my gouges, because as you pointed out, the benefits aren't worth the time needed to do it. I do like using the wet wheel on the Tormek better than using the dry grinder, though. It feels like the edge I get with the 1000 grit wet wheel stays sharp longer than the edge I get with the 120 grit dry wheel, and the Tormek takes no longer to touch up an edge than the dry grinder. (Establishing a new profile is a different story, though, especially with the cryo PM steels like Doug Thompson uses.)
 
I did not make myself clear. The 8" dry grinder is just that; I use it to modify the cutting edge of a tool. The 10" slow speed wet stone (I won't use the word grinder here.) is for touching up the existing shape and bevel of the tool. I think you could grow moss on an iceberg in the Antarctic sooner than you could grind a new shape on a tool with the slow speed, wet wheel.

I know a lot of turners use a tool right off of the dry grinder and I did too at one time. The smoother, slightly thinner edge slices through the wood much better for me.

For me the dry grinder puts a good burr on a scraper (120 grit Norton)...Yes I also use a steel a lot of the time.

Notice, I did not say I was right; I said that is what I do.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
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