I spent an hour trying to find an answer to this:

Hi Everybody,

How do you get your lathe tool back into the SAME position when you use a Jet (and probably a Tormek) Slow Speed Sharpener?

When I sharpen a lathe tool and then sharpen other lathe tools, I don't seem to be able to come back to the first tool with an accurate sharpening angle. I am sure one, or more, of you FWW people have solved this problem. However, I cannot find your post.

Please clue me to the type of Jig that you invented. If for no other reason than I spent some serious time this afternoon trying to invent one without success. I am begging, groveling, etc.

Thanks and Enjoy,

Jim
 
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I use the same settings on the jig itself, so that never changes. To set the bar that the jig rides on, I just put the gouge in the jig and adjust it by eye, sighting the side of the wheel to get the bevel to match the wheel. I also often color the bevel with a black Sharpie, then when I think I have the jig support adjusted right, I hold the tool (in the jig) to the wheel and turn it an inch or so by hand...just enough to grind away the black mark. You can quickly see if the wheel is hitting all of the bevel that way.

Tormek also has a jig-setting tool, the Turning Tool Setter (TTS-100) that can be used in conjunction with their gouge sharpening jig. I haven't used mine yet, because I'm not using one of the Tormek pre-designed gouge profiles. When I got the Tormek, I just found the jig setting to duplicate the profile I was already using on my gouges and set the jig support by eye. Once of these days I intend to regrind my gouges to one of the Tormek grinds (which would actually be a very slight change from what I have now), just so I can use the TTS-100.
 
What I do with my carving gouges is hold them in my right hand, using my index finger as a stop against the tool rest, and I do not release that grip at all during the bevel grinding, I can look at the bevel, cool down the tool on a glass of water and continue grinding without changing the angle.

No jigs needed, only a bit of care and not to change the way you're holding the tool against the tool rest.

Hope this helps.
 
Toni's comment made me realize that I assumed you were using a jig. Are you using a jig or free-handing it? I use the Tormek gouge jig and like I said n my previous post, I always use the same settings.
 
A question for you Vaughn:
While I'm not familiar with that jig that you mention, I've seen the wolverine jig which IMHO has a drawback; as one rests the end of the handle of the tool against a stop to get the bevel angle, if one doesn't adjust that setting the resulting bevel angle will be different each time one sharpens a tool due to the shortening of the tool together with the wear of the grinding wheel.

Am I right or I'm missing something? As I said I'm not familiar with those jigs.
 
A question for you Vaughn:
While I'm not familiar with that jig that you mention, I've seen the wolverine jig which IMHO has a drawback; as one rests the end of the handle of the tool against a stop to get the bevel angle, if one doesn't adjust that setting the resulting bevel angle will be different each time one sharpens a tool due to the shortening of the tool together with the wear of the grinding wheel.

Am I right or I'm missing something? As I said I'm not familiar with those jigs.

Toni, you are somewhat correct. Although the wear of the grinding wheel is minimal, the jigs do need to be adjusted over time to compensate for the smaller diameter. This is really not much of an issue, though. In the case of the standard Wolverine jig, as you mentioned, the end of the handle is used as the reference. Unless all your turning tools are exactly the same length, you'll be adjusting the jig for each tool anyway. There's another Wolverine jig used for swept-wing gouges, the VariGrind. It is set by referencing off the tip of the tool instead of the end of the handle, so the changing length of the tool is not an issues with it...only the slowly-changing wheel diameter. With either jig, once a tool has been shaped to a profile you like, there's really very little wear to the wheel at each sharpening. It only takes a few seconds to touch up the tool edge.

Remind me when you're here and I'll show you the basics of how the Wolverine style jigs work, and also the Tormek jigs. :thumb:
 
Hi Everybody,

How do you get your lathe tool back into the SAME position when you use a Jet (and probably a Tormek) Slow Speed Sharpener?



Jim

I don't use a slow speed grinder for lathe tools. I have my tool rest on my regular bench grinder set to the angel I I like and once it's been ground it is only a few passes to touch it up.
 
A question for you Vaughn:
While I'm not familiar with that jig that you mention, I've seen the wolverine jig which IMHO has a drawback; as one rests the end of the handle of the tool against a stop to get the bevel angle, if one doesn't adjust that setting the resulting bevel angle will be different each time one sharpens a tool due to the shortening of the tool together with the wear of the grinding wheel.

Am I right or I'm missing something? As I said I'm not familiar with those jigs.

If I'm thinking of the right jig one has to adjust the tool handle cup each time the tool is ground and for each tool ground.
 
Vaughn,

Do I understand correctly---You are using the same angle on all of your wood lathe tools (bowl gouges, spindle gouges, skews)?

With my home made Wolverine copy I can come back from the lathe, do a touch-up and go back to the lathe in about 2 minutes. This is true as long as I am using the same tool. With the fake Wolverine I have only one white wheel on a 1725 RPM grinder. It does touch up the edge with great accuracy. However, going from roughing gouge to spindle gouge does take a bit of time and patience. My one stone does not leave the finish I desire.

The Jet Slow Speed Wet Grinder leaves a beautiful edge. However, (you knew there would be a however, didn't you?) it takes me 10 or 15 minutes to get the tool back where it was. Heck, I'm 84. In 10 or 15 minutes I could forget what I was turning.

For doing a skew, there are no stops, detents, or whatever in the holder. The holder is just two plates that tighten on the WT tool. No settings for how much tool sticking out, or side-to-side positioning, or in and out positioning. The tool might as well be in my hand with no jig.

Enjoy,

Jim

More to come COX cuts me off if I dally.
 
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Toni,

I am not a klutz or I would have poked out someones eye by now. However I can make a complete mess of sharpening darn near anything. My WorkSharp 3000 (NOT the 2000) is beautiful for bench chisels and plane blades under two inches wide. I could teach a normal six year old to make fantastic shaprenings for those blades with the 3000. AND I could teach that child how to do it in about 15 or 20 minutes...I mean chisels you could shave with.

In my opinion the 2000 is no better than any other sharpening method for anything else.

Sorry, I digressed. My hand sharpened chisels, etc. look like they were sharpened by a drunk teenager. I have used Scary Sharp (hope I spelled that correctly), several kinds of stones, abrasive paper on granite, abrasive paper on plate glass, little clamps that hold the tool while a wheel rolls it back and forth over the stone, etc. My son says I don't have a sharpening gene.

Anyway, that's why I want some thing, solid, repeatable, fast, easy to use, etc.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
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Hi Jim.


At the beggining of our woodworking days we all have faced the frustration that comes when not being able to sharpen a tool, be it a chisel, gouge, plane and so forth.

I use mixed techinques, for instance I use the veritas MK jig to set the initial bevel on my planes and wider chisels. Once that done I just keep on honing them by hand until the bevel needs to be redone.

Since I have carpel tunnel syndrome I feel that jigs help to reduce stress in your wrists and hands when sharpening specially in long sessions, and at the same time one can relax about not getting the angle right. Against to what other purists may think I believe that one has to use the resources at hand to get the best result, and if for that you need a jig, I'm not going to look down on you.

Although that given enough practice one can draw straight lines freehand, someone invented the ruler to be able to draw straight lines, in an easier, quicker and precise way and nobody will point at you for using one. will they?

Being able to sharpen without jigs is and advantage, but the bottom line is that what you need are sharp tools no matter how you make them sharp.
 
Vaughn,

Do I understand correctly---You are using the same angle on all of your wood lathe tools (bowl gouges, spindle gouges, skews)?...

I use the same angle on all my bowl gouges. Once I set the horizontal bar the jig rides on, I don't have to move anything. (I'm careful to have the gouges sticking out from the jig the same distance every time.) I also use the same jig settings on the one spindle gouge I use, although I have to move the horizontal bar to match the angle of the bevel. (I have no idea what the actual angle is...it's pretty much what was there when I bought the tool.) I also have a roughing gouge, but it hasn't seen the light of day in a couple of years. I'd rather use bowl gouges, Oland-style tools, or the Ci1 carbide cutter tool for roughing.

For skews, I use the Tormek Multi Jig. It takes a little fiddling around to get it set at the previous angle, but I do it by eye. I think I've only ground my two skews once or twice since I got the Tormek. Aside from those times, I've just had to touch them up on the leather honing wheel to get them shaving sharp again. (I very seldom use my skews, so a sharpening can last me a long time.)

I don't bother using the dry grinder on my gouges and skews anymore. I do use it on my scrapers and hollowing tool bits. Since I'm not reshaping the profile on my gouges, I don't need to remove much metal at all. The Tormek is just as fast as using the dry grinder, and like you, I prefer the finer finish the wet grinder provides. I haven't tried sharpening a scraper the "Tormek way" yet, since I've been happy with the results I get from the dry grinder. I keep the tool rest on the dry grinder at the same setting for all my scrapers and hollowing cutters, so there's no adjusting involved. It's a very quick couple of seconds on the grinder and the tool is ready for more action.

If I understand what you've written, it sounds like you're grinding your gouges on the dry grinder with the Wolverine-style jig, then finishing them up on the wet grinder with another jig. If my understanding is correct, I'd suggest not bothering with the dry grinder, and just using the wet grinder on your gouges from the start. When you switch from one jig to another, it's nearly impossible to get the grinds from two machines to match up.

Does this help?
 
Man:eek: lotsa words expended for what is a simple thing with the Wolverine set-up. I've messed with many sharpening systems but have fallen in love with the Wolverine. Resetting is a minimal task. Sharpening a turning tool once the jig is set requires about three seconds. Many (most?) turning jobs do not require individual tools to be resharpened more than once. If they do...no big deal. Wear of wheel and/or tool is extremely minimal and automatically adjusted for at the beginning of a job when angles are reset. I know quite a few turners who freehand everything. That's even quicker. (qualifier: I know some who grind and grind and grind like they have gone into a trance. With one, I could actually see the tool getting shorter.) I won't debate better or worse for that technique. I freehanded for a long time but discovered truly sharp turning tools only after getting the Wolverine.
 
I bought the unit from Jeff Farris (Tormek) which is the same jig and arm used on the Tormek for my dry grinder. I can rough my gouges on the dry grinder and then just turn to the Tormek and not have to fiddle with anything. I only use the dry grinder to shape my tools but the Tormek to sharpen. Once set the Tormek takes me a minute or two to sharpen/hone my bowl gouges and spindle gouges. Generally I do this for my final one or two cuts. I don't remember the number but bought a second jig for my spindle gouges so they are set all the time. Getting lazy in my old age.
 
I bought the unit from Jeff Farris (Tormek) which is the same jig and arm used on the Tormek for my dry grinder...

I got the Tormek setup for my dry grinder, but haven't set it up yet. I've been waiting until I felt a need to reshape one of my gouges...haven't really had the need yet. I figure it'll make experimenting with different profiles easier, though.
 
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