advice on puchase of sharpening jig

[Brian Deakin]

I am new to woodturning and need advice

what is the best jig to purchase or make to sharpen turning tools

I plan to use the jig with a bench grinder


regards Brian

[Tom Brouillette]

Wolverine + CBN wheel = you'll never regret it

[Steve Mathews]

Wolverine + CBN wheel = you'll never regret it

This is the advice I followed after doing a fair amount of research and don't regret it. The only thing I might change is the courseness. I have 80 grit and 180 grit wheels. The 180 grit wheel is used for resharpening but seems too aggressive. I may opt for something finer. The 80 grit wheel is hardly used.

[John K Jordan]

what is the best jig to purchase or make to sharpen turning tools


Brian,

Best for starting? Probably can't go wrong with the Wolverine or something like it.

I have the Wolverine on a couple of grinders and it does work very well. For spindle and bowl gouges, their optional Vari-grind jig will let you grind like the experts.

One thing about the Vari-grind be aware there are two versions. I bought and used both and my opinion: get the original Vari-grind, not the updated Vari-grind 2. The Vari-grind 2 is designed to force the gouge to stay in the center of the wheel at all times. This might be good for people with limited mobility/dexterity (or attention span) to keep the tool from slipping off the side. However, it will cause the center of the wheel to wear more. I'm not alone on this - I know others who bought the new jig then sold it or got rid of it. (The original jig is cheaper, too.)

Speaking of cheap and/or making your own, this is very easy. In fact, I am producing drawings for a friend, Josh Bowman, who combined ideas from several sources to design a sharpening system very much like the Wolverine. As his turning club's president, he realized that a number of his club members had no good way to sharpen! (And the old saying is true: "If you can't sharpen, you can't turn".) This design is intended to keep things very simple for inexperienced turners.

Josh used ideas from Don Geiger's gouge jig. The whole thing can be made from scrap wood and a few screws and bolts. I looked at the prototype yesterday and I think it will allow a lot of people to sharpen professionally without a large initial investment - the whole thing might cost $10-$15.

We should have a document with the instructions in a week or so. Here is a preliminary drawing I did that shows the basic idea:

356039

I'll soon have exploded views with dimensions and his document will have a cut list and assembly instructions. If you are interested, I'll post a link to the document as soon as it is ready (or almost ready!).

One advantage to building one to start is if you find you love woodturning and upgrade to a different sharpening system some day, you can give it to someone else! However, one guy Josh knows said he has been using one similar to this for almost 10 years!

BTW, I agree with the recommendation to get a CBN wheel. I replaced all the standard wheels on my grinders with CBN except for one in my little weld shop. There are MANY advantages to CBN. The only real question is what grit to buy if getting only one. I buy from Ken Rizza at Woodturner's Wonders: http://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/4-in-1-cbn-wheels
The pull-down menu at the top of the page shows some of what he keeps in stock. I personally prefer wheels with 90-deg corners instead of the radiused edges, and with 1" of grid down the flat sides, but I think he orders them as needed. Call him, great guy.

JKJ

[Prashun Patel]

I built my own platform and v-arm. This works fine for roughing gouges. I bought the varigrind for spindle and bowl gouges. It's so worth the money.

If you are on a budget, I would rather buy a CBN and build my own sharpening jig. But if you can afford both, do it. It really makes sharpening a non-issue.

[John K Jordan]

BTW, it looks like you may have accidentally posted this twice. You might want to delete the other one to avoid fragmentation and confusion.

JKJ

[Eric Gourieux]

This is the advice I followed after doing a fair amount of research and don't regret it. The only thing I might change is the courseness. I have 80 grit and 180 grit wheels. The 180 grit wheel is used for resharpening but seems too aggressive. I may opt for something finer. The 80 grit wheel is hardly used.

Although this is a bit of a side note, I would recommend using your 180 grit CBN wheel for awhile before you decide to purchase a higher grit wheel. IMO, a new CBN wheel is aggressive but will become less aggressive with use. I have been happy with 80 and 180 grits and have used them for several years. Our club recently purchased a new 180 grit wheel and I was surprised how much more aggressive it was compared to my 6 month old wheel of the same grit and mfr.

[Reed Gray]

I just use platforms for sharpening, no jigs. That is not for every one though. Seems like at least 90% of the turners have the Wolverine set up from Oneway. On wheels, for sure CBN if you can afford them, and even if you find that difficult, they are worth every penny. If you get one wheel, go for the 180. I used to say get an 80 and 180 if you are getting two. Now, I would say the 180 is fine, but opt for a finer grit wheel. I get great burrs on my scrapers with both the 80 and 180, and with my 600 and 1000, I get great edges for finish cuts, but not for roughing cuts. For a grinder, the Baldor is best option, but more than most want. The Rikon 1 hp 8 inch slow speed grinder has plenty of muscle, while the 1/2 hp grinder isn't nearly as strong, but very popular.

robo hippy

[Brian Deakin]

Ihttp://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/feMAAOSwWxNYxXmD/s-l500.jpg

Thank you for your posts I have identified this jig for sale with the grinder for $40

I think it is the Wolverine jig Can anyone please comment

Further does the jig apear complete


kind regards Brian

[Bill Blasic]

Yes that is all you need except for a better grinder.

[Steve Nix]

Take a look at Wood Turners Wonders, they have complete set ups of Rikon grinders with CBN wheels.

[John Brown]

To me it doesn't look complete, it is missing the V arm.

[Dave Bunge]

$40 seems like a good deal to me. I believe you can buy the missing vee arm from Craft Supply for about $20.

[John K Jordan]

Thank you for your posts I have identified this jig for sale with the grinder for $40
I think it is the Wolverine jig Can anyone please comment
Further does the jig apear complete


Brian, that is an excellent price - get it! It is missing the long V-arm but you could easily make one from steel or wood or, as someone mentioned, buy a replacement.

A different grinder would be good - a used 8" grinder or something like the 1/2 hp Rikon 1/2 speed would work, although in the long run you might be happier with a 1 hp grinder.

You can then use two different grit wheels, or a CBN on one side, etc.

JKJ

[Bill Boehme]

?.... Further does the jig apear complete ...

No, it's missing the long arm with the V notch that the Varigrind fits into. That's a critical part. On the plus side, it has the Varigrind. The whole thing seems to be in rather beat up condition.

[David Delo]

As long as the handles tighten down correctly, I'd probably buy this lot for 40 bucks if I was looking. However, isn't that Vari-1 pictured the early generation Vari-1 with the clip/spring hold-down versus the later style with the plastic hub which I believe to be more desirable. Like this one......
356145

[John K Jordan]

As long as the handles tighten down correctly, I'd probably buy this lot for 40 bucks if I was looking. However, isn't that Vari-1 pictured the early generation Vari-1 with the clip/spring hold-down versus the later style with the plastic hub which I believe to be more desirable. Like this one......
356145

I have no problems with the original version. If you like that one better you could make one or get the upgrade kit.
https://oneway.ca/products-category/sharpening-grinding-jigs/Vari-Grind/Vari-Grind%20Retrofit%20Kit
Note that there are two versions for the Varigrind - the original with the metal spring and one that will fit much larger gouges (seldom needed or even wanted by "normal" turners). I see on the Oneway site the big one appears to have that plastic piece.

I can't remember if I mentioned it here or in another thread, but there are a number of people, including me, who don't like the new Vari-grind 2 because of the way it works. I bought one and just keep it around to show people what I don't like about it.

JKJ

[Brian Deakin]

Thank you for your posts and advice I contacted the person selling the jig and he has the located the long v arm We have agreed a price of $50 including postage
Further I plan to sell the grinder and have identfied this grinder as a possible replacement





http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/XT8AAOSwax5YwQ3G/s-l500.jpg






Creusen DS 7500TS UK 230V 1~50Hz



SKU: 003080


Creusen DS 7500TS UK 230V 1~50Hz
DS 7500TS UK 230V 1~50Hz 003080


MODEL
DS 7500TS UK


Voltage V
230



~1


Hz
50


Power Watt
350


Speed min-1
1400-1700


Per. speed m/sec
11-13


Grinding wheel
150 x 40 x 15



150 x 40 x 15


Grit
60/100


Noise level dB (A)
55


Weight Kg
12

[Brian Deakin]

Thank you for your help and advice

The person selling the jig has located the long arm with the v notch and we have agreed a price of $50 including postage

[casey herring]

Had the wolverine set up for a while. Recently went to Sorby Pro Edge and I prefer it. It's quick and painfully simple and more consistent for me.

[carl mesaros]

I also have gone the Pro edge route and absolutely love it . It is so easy to go from one angle to another, from scrapers to bowl gouges in seconds. The only hard part is writing the check, kind of pricy at $500.00. I also own the Tormek system (Jet knock off) which is now gathering dust along with my bench grinder.


[QUOTE=casey herring;2670123]Had the wolverine set up for a while. Recently went to Sorby Pro Edge and I prefer it. It's quick and painfully simple and more consistent for

[Brian Deakin]

I came across these links

This shows how to set the angle on

Oneway Wolverine Grinding Jig and Vari-Grind attachment

Please note you need to print a copy of the jig in the post below and use it as a template to set th angle of the jig



Set the arm on the Vari-Grind to the same angle shown in the picture.

http://thompsonlathetools.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Sharpening.pdf

and please see

http://thompsonlathetools.com/sharpening/

This link shows another method of seting the jig