Wixey Angle Guage for Sharpening Angle Determination

[Mike Konobeck]

I thought this was an original idea but it seems to be thought of before so I am not going to take credit for it but still may help someone out with sharpening angles. I have a rabbet block plane and LN has a stepped blade with makes it so the jig can't hold the blade in the intended area so I had to use the chisel holding portion of the jig which I don't have a stop setup for yet. I could not figure out for the life of me how to accurately measure the angle so I scoured the shop trying to find a small compass or other angle measuring device when it hit me. What about the Wixey Digital Angle Guage? Sure enough, I set it on the stone and zeroed it out, then stuck it to the blade and adjusted. Simple as that!!! I thought I would see if my idea was original so I Googled it and sure enough there are some suggested uses and this is the only place I could find a reference to it but figured I would give Craftsman Studio credit.

http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/C019003.htm (http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/C019003.htm)

Either way, this will now be one of my main ways to confirm angle set. The YouTube videos from Lie-Nielsen show the guy with a sharpening station with stop blocks which would be much better and quicker for standard setups but this helps in odd situations or a a validation.

[Don Dorn]

I used that method to verify that my stop blocks were valid. I noticed that one of the Lie Nielsen videos commented that using the bottom portion of that jig subtracted about 5 degrees from using the top portion. My Wixy verified that - 4 degrees but who's counting a single degree. It's a good idea and easy to do.

[Tony Shea]

I also use that method quite often when I decide for some reason to use the honing guide. I prefer free-hand but use the jig to help re-grind a new bevel and the wixey is a great help in verifying the angle quickly.