sharpening spindle gouges

[Mike Minto]

i'm still terrible at sharpening spindle gouges - anyone know of a jig one can buy/make to help with this task? thanks, mike

[Curt Norman]

i'm still terrible at sharpening spindle gouges - anyone know of a jig one can buy/make to help with this task? thanks, mike


Look in Craft Supply http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/
Oneway Vari-Grind Jig with Wolverine Sharpening System is the very best to keep your tools sharp........
Curt Norman

[Mike Minto]

curt, the oneway's grinding jig/vari-grind works with spindle gouges? wouldn't the rolling action give me a too-pointed tip like when i roll the tool by hand on a platform? mike

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mike - I use just the platform on the grinder and figure you probably do also. Curious as to what kind of a problem you are having with your spindle gouges?

[Bill Arnold]

I have the Wolverine system and use the basic grinding jig for spindle gouges. Like this: http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/grind_jig.htm

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mike,

The vari-grind will only give you a too pointed end if you don't grind enough on the end.

If you want a "classic" grind on your spindle gouge you could get it with just the tool holder on the vari-grind.

You can also get it with the vari-grind but you have to find the correct distance and angle.

[Gordon Seto]

This may give you a place to start your own experiment, if you use Varigrind.
http://www.thompsonlathetools.com/images/extra/Sharpening.pdf
The same leg setting as the bowl gouges, but the nose angle is different.
It would save you the trouble of resetting the leg setting each time you switch from B.G. to S.G.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Sounds to me like you are not spending enough time on the tip. If you go quickly from one side to the other you will get a pointy tip. I use the vari-grind to sharp and go kinda slow from one side to the other. I bought two vari-grind one for bowl gouges which I pinned and one for the spindle gouge which is also pinned. Pinning them gives the same grind everytime.

[Steve Kubien]

I'm with Bernie, spend some time sharpening the tip, just gently rotating from about 11 o clock to 1 o clock. Been there. Done that.

[Bill Arnold]

Mike,

Here's the link to some videos of the use of the Wolverine system (http://www.oneway.ca/multi-media/wolverine_videos.htm). Whether you have the system or not, you can see some techniques in action. I don't recall where I saw it, but I remember someone building a basic tool handle rest like that on the Wolverine from scrap wood.

[Mike Minto]

guys, when you sharpen your spindle gouges, do you use the vari-grind and roll the tool like a fingernail bowl gouge, or do you use the 'platform', rolling the gouge side to side, or moving the entire tool, leading with the handle, from one extreme left to right sorta motion (if that made sense?). steve, i'm just winding up with too much of a point still on my spindle gouges, much to my dismay, because i'm starting to do more work between centers than i thought i would :o. mike

[Bill Arnold]

Don't use the Vari-grind, just the basic tool rest. Align the tool so the back of the gouge is resting on the wheel and roll it about its axis.

[Thom Sturgill]

If you want swept back wings, use the vari-grind. If you want the 'classic' grind just use a platform and roll the tool.

Craft supply carries a device called the raptor (http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Sharpening___Universal_Jigs___Raptor_Set_Up_Tool__ _raptor?Args=) to set the wolverine jig arm so that the angle stays consistent as the wheel shrinks. They suggest setting the Vari-grind to a specific angle and pinning it, and using the same projection all the time. (2" for an 8" wheel and 1 3/4" for a 6" wheel.) Eye-balling the setting to get the right angle does not work for me, these do. Spending the right amount of time grinding the nose matters too.