Side Clamp Honing Guide

[chuck van dyck]

Hey there

So I'm getting lost in the art of dovetails. The journey currently has me down the path of sharpness.

I picked up a lot of my tools from a retired union carpenter who was selling his tools off on clist.

Among the purchases was a set of 5 Ulmia chisels and a side clamp honing guide. He showed me how he would quickly hone them on the job site with his oil stone.

So here's my issue. The cheap side clamp guide seems to not lock in "perfectly". I'm curious if this is normal for these models. Stanley plane irons seem to lock in nicely but chisels feel a bit sloppy. Many of the chisels have a slightly skewed bevel and the tips aren't perfectly square. I'm not sure if this would be from the previous owner quickly resharpening on site or from use of a honing guide that doesn't lock in square. I do believe it locks in square, but the bed that comes in contact with the chisel doesn't make uniform contact along the edge which is what has me all wound up.

Anyone who regularly uses one of these able to confirm that they should/shouldn't indeed lock in along the length of the bed?

It's a very cheap piece of kit, I think I paid $2 for it. New they are about $15.

Thanks for looking

[Matt Riegerix]

Hi,

The cheap side clamp jigs tend to have a hard time holding chisels well, i've read you can file the jaws to hold them better but havent had luck with that. I recently purchased the Lie Nielsen side clamping jig and its like night and day, I've switched over from the inevitable free hand sharpening I was doing when my chisels didnt work in the cheap jig to using them with a jig. I cant recommend getting a good quality honing guide enough. I'm certain anyone could and hope to someday improve my free hand honing, which is what I told myself I was doing before I bought my jig, but it really makes sharpening easy to use a good one.

Another potential problem is some chisels(some of mine) do not have parallel edges, giving any side clamping jig problems.

Matt

[chuck van dyck]

Hi Matt

Thanks for clearing that up man. Glad I asked before I wasted $15 on a new one if this tends to be how they typically function. I might have to take a trip over to Tools For Working Wood and see what upgrades they stock, although I'm in no place to drop $100 on a jig at the moment.

My big issue is how clumsy it is keeping the chisel in the slots when tightening the jig down. My go to method has been clamping is loosely at a high angle, then setting it on my angle reference jig and lightly tapping it into place. The $50ish Veritas system looks promising as it comes with an angle guide which would be handy.

Maybe I'll work on my freehand honing like you mentioned.....

[Winston Chang]

For the Eclipse-style side-clamping guides, one side is straight and the other is slightly curved. This is so that they can hold blades that don't have parallel sides.

In order to keep the edge perpendicular to the sides, you may need to check to see if it's out of square, and then apply more pressure to one side or the other when you sharpen.

As for the guide not holding the blade securely, that can be improved by a bit filing. It's pretty easy because the body is made of aluminum and it only takes 5-10 minutes.

Here's a video from Lie-Nielsen about filing the guide (from before they made their own honing guide): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojzzCXq5ook
And one from Fine Woodworking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBHd7x6ySSQ

[Steve Boring]

I looked into side clamping honing guides recently too. You might find this thread interesting:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?288566-Improved-Side-Clamping-Honing-Guide&p=3086320&highlight=

Fine Wood Working has a video of Bob Van Dyke tuning up one of those $15 clamping jigs. It looks pretty straightforward and might be worth a try as long as you already have the jig.

Also, Veritas is planning to release a new side clamping jig in the next couple of months (hopefully). It’s supposed to be in the $50 range. After looking into all the options, I’m waiting on the new Veritas jig.

[Dan Grano]

The Bob Van Dyke video from FWW that Winston linked above is really helpful. Even after filing the cheap eclipse style guide I have according to those instructions I still had trouble registering chisels well, but that may be me. I know other folks have more success. I finally bit the bullet on a nicer honing guide (the LN) after considering other options and though the price is tough to swallow I’ve been much happier w my chisels.

[Curt Putnam]

Ideally, you learn how to freehand hone (and when not to). Freehanding saves all the time spent fiddling with the jigs.

The Veritas chisel honing guide solves cisel holding problems for everything that will fit (1"+ bevel-edge and ½" mortise chisels fit.)

Learning how to run a grinder will save time when resetting bevels.

File the eclipse style jig - you only have a couple of bucks to lose. Then set up a projection guide board for it. That process is detailed elsewhere on the web.

[Winston Chang]

One more thing I should mention: to hold blades securely, it helps to use a screwdriver to tighten the knob a bit more than you can achieve by hand. I keep a stubby screwdriver with my sharpening stuff just for that purpose.

As Curt mentioned, a projection board is really helpful for setting blades quickly and repeatably. I usually put the blade on the projection board, tighten the honing guide by hand, and then tighten it a little more with a screwdriver. It takes probably around 3 seconds once you get the hang of it.

[chuck van dyck]

Hey thanks for all the info. So by design it doesn’t make full contact along its edge. Now that I know that, it makes perfect sense in order to fit many different sizes and designs.

I made a projection board early on and you’re right, it saves a lot of time. I made one out of scrap walnut with a stop set into a groove, but found marker on a piece of scrap ply suites me even better. I recently reset my 3/4” chisel by grinding off about 1/16” off the tip and reestablished the bevel on my bench grinder. Hit my 600/1200 diamond plates and feel pretty okay about it. Tool cut great.

Now that I know these jigs were designed this way I feel good about it. I just thought maybe mine was broken.

If BVD uses one, they’re good enough for me. I do believe mine is an old original eclipse after looking at a bunch of photos.

Thanks again! I shoulda used the search function ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[lowell holmes]

I bought a set of diamond hones and my sharpening both improved and is fun.

Check Lowes and Home Depot.

[chuck van dyck]

I’ve had less issue with the chisel locking in tighty, I use a coin to tighten as I don’t have a broad enough slotted driver.

My issue is getting the damn thing all lined up. We’re currently getting clobbered by a snow storm here in Brooklyn, unfortunately I won’t be able to go fart around the shop today and check it out. Too bad too because my new veritas dovetail saw arrived over the weekend. There’s gotta be something here that needs cuttin....

[Tom M King]

I keep a Lee Valley Plane Screwdriver on my sharpening sink. It's there to part the iron, and chipbreaker, as well as tighten, and more importantly loosen the screw on the Eclipse jig. It the one tool I wish had a synthetic handle instead of the wooden one, because it's going to get wet from my hands.

My first set of good chisels were Ulmia's too. I probably ordered the my first Eclipse guide at the same time.

[fritz eng]

another guide modification video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojzzCXq5ook