fingernail grind using the Wolverine jig?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I bought the Wolverine system when I bought my Woodcraft grinder. I would like to try the "fingernail grind" on my spindle gouge. I have the vari-grind attachment. Does anybody use this to grind their spindle gouge to a fingernail grind?

[Lee DeRaud]

I bought the Wolverine system when I bought my Woodcraft grinder. I would like to try the "fingernail grind" on my spindle gouge. I have the vari-grind attachment. Does anybody use this to grind their spindle gouge to a fingernail grind?The Harbor Freight spindle gouge already had a fingernail grind on it, so I didn't have to rough-form it. But the Vari-jig worked fine for sharpening it, once I deciphered the, um, sparse instructions.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Lee................using the term sparse is being generous when refering to the included instructions!

[Wes Bischel]

Ken,

The videos may help you get the "feel".

http://www.oneway.on.ca/multi-media.htm

Wes

[Andy Hoyt]

Ken - The vari-grind is infinitely variable (hence its name, duh).

Simply put, one end of the adjustment range is for putting an irish grind on a bowl gouge and the other end of the range is for pretty much everything else. The in between stuff is for fussy personal preferences. At least that's how I've always thought of it.

Hold the Varigrind in your left hand with your left thumb on the gouge tightening knob and the wingnut for the arm facing you. Loosen the wingnut on the arm and slide the arm up towards your left wrist as far as it will go. That's the fingernail (and everything else) spot.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I had watched the video on the vari-grind and apparently missed it the first time where the guy grinds a fingernail grind on the spindle gouge. I watched it a second time....received Lee's reply......went to the shop and put a fingernail grind on a 1/2" HF spindle gouge. Worked great! Thanks!

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

No need to add my $.02. You got the video and all the inf. you need.
I just worked on a four winged bowl this morning( not quite finished yet, some sanding and finish left to do). The ONLY tool I used was a 1/2" sorby Bowl gouge with the Elsworthy/Irish,fingernail grind and just a little touchup on the inside with a round nose scraper.

One of my favorite tools.

Bruce

[Jim Becker]

Bruce, the fingernail grind on a spindle gouge is a bit different than a side-grind on a bowl gouge, such as the Ellsworth. The principle is the same in that the bevel angle varies, but due to the great differences in the tool flute designs as well as the appropriate angles, the setting on the Vari-grind is quite different. It's more "upright" for a side grind on a bowl gouge and uses a greater angle on the jig for a fingernail.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I had some extremely hard fir scrap in the shop I'd been using for practice. Using a skew I made a couple of V cuts about an inch apart. Then using the newly fingernail ground Larson spindle gouge, I started making coves from the Vs............What a big difference! When I got done I had coves that came together at the Vs and the Vs were sharp enough to hurt! Wow...what a difference correctly sharpened tools make! Wow!