Installing a Wolverine Jig

[Fred Conte]

I had purchased the WoodCraft 8" Slow Speed grinder and the Wolverine Sharpening Jig.

In anticipation of receiving the equipment I had downloaded the wolverine installation instructions and built a platform to mount the grinder and the wolverine jig.

When everything finally arrived the wolverine bases wouldn't fit under the wheel housing?:confused: :eek: I double checked the height from the platform to the center of the wheel, 6 1/2", now I was really confused. Thinking that this measurement in the manual 6 1/4" - 6 1/2" was critical I called Oneway's tech support. The tech told me I was the first person to ever call about this problem and that WoodCraft has sold thousands of these combos - duh - now I really felt like an idiot.:p :D He went on to explain that those measurements are only critical if you are using their wheel balancing kit and that the grinder can be higher to accommodate the tool bases. I politely told him that this little tidbit of info would be helpful if they included it in the manual.
I hope this helps other new wolverine owners who may encounter this problem.

A newbie Livin' and Learnin'...:)

Fred

[Neal Addy]

That's weird. I have the same combo and it fits perfectly. I had to use a small riser (as per the instructions) to make the wheel-to-base 6-1/2" but it fit under the wheel with no problem.

I wonder if something changed with later models of the Wolv. It would be interesting to see pics.

[Dick Strauss]

Fred,
I think most folks just raise the grinder up on a base between the grinder and the mounting platform. That is what I did for my home-made system.

[Jim Becker]

The current grinder I have under my Wolverine had to be raised slightly more than the previous one, but a little platform and shimming took care of things. In reality, the vertical measurement isn't all that critical...at least not like it is for a fixed jig like the Ellsworth jig.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I took the rubber feet off the Woodcraft slow speed grinder. Then I cut some squares out of plywood to put under the grinder base to raise it to the correct height.

[paul ashman]

I have the same combo, and also took the feet off of the grinder, cut out a 1"
piece of wood as a base/riser and it works perfect. Make sure to square the jig under the wheels as accurately as possible, I cannot overstate the importance of this!
Good Luck!

[Fred Conte]

Thanks all for your input!

Yes I did take the rubber feet off but got hung up on the 6 1/4" min and took the 6 1/2" dim as a max. from their drawing. I have added 3/4" riser blocks and everything is okay.

Thanks again!

Fred

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Fred,

As stated by Paul.....take your time and make the bases for the jig align as perfectly as you can with the grinding wheels. Then as added insurance buy the Wolverine wheel dressing tool that is used with the jig. Because the Wolverine dressing tool uses the same bases, it will insure that the grinding face of the wheel is perfectly perpendicular to the plane of the base. Thus you will get better grinds.

[Paul Heely]

... He went on to explain that those measurements are only critical if you are using their wheel balancing kit ...

Can anyone explain why/how the wheel balancing kit would be affected by the height the grinding wheels are mounted at?

Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

Can anyone explain why/how the wheel balancing kit would be affected by the height the grinding wheels are mounted at?

Makes no sense to me...and I own and love the balancing kit. (Highly recommended...) I made no changes to my setup and the height of my grinder was purely determined by the clearance needs of the Wolverine arm sockets (for want of a better term...) and the bottom of the while guards on my particular grinder.

[Wayne Boian]

Fred and everyone else,
Thanks for posting the information. I just purchased the same setup and will be putting it together tomorrow.

Wayne

[Andrew Jordan]

WHen I was looking into the Wolverine system, I found a claim, somewhere, that the system was incompatible with my grinder because of the way the 'feet' are designed.

I have the Delta variable speed 6 inch grinder...same as you, perhaps?

Andrew

[Neal Addy]

I'll bet that was me. And you're right... the Wolverine is incompatible with that particular grinder unless you are willing to do some serious modifications (see below).

The OP did mention he had a WC slow-speed so I don't think that's the issue.

72206

[Paul Heely]

I can vouch for the WC low speed grinder working fine with the wolverine bases. I had to raise my grinder up about 1" but there was no interference with the grinder itself.

[Allen Neighbors]

I made a homemade grinding system for my little Vicmarc mini lathe, so I wouldn't have to carry my grinder with me when I travel. I modeled it after my 8"Delta/Wolverine system. The rail slide is mounted under the lathe ways, and the wheel mounts in my Chuck. It's probably 8 inches to the center of the wheel from the rail slide. It works - and well - so I think it's just necessary to not go "less" than the manufacturer's recommendations. (Now I have to rig up a wheel guard.)