Ellsworth sharpening jig

[John Miliunas]

Hey Jim B., not trying to "jump" your intended post, but just thought I'd throw my version of the Wolverine mod out here. It's kind of rudimentary, but I needed a modification, which could be used without needing the rear support of the Wolverine; The wall behind my grinding bench is too close to push the rod back far enough for the Ellsworth jig.

So, I grabbed a hunk of Cherry and commenced to chop it up. I drilled a 3/4" hole, centered on the piece and marked the appropriate square off for the rod to go through. (The Neanders are gonna' like this part.) Yes, I took a hand chisel and plugged it into....errrr...No wait. That's not right. Lost the cord for it, so I couldn't do that. :rolleyes: Anyhow, I squared up the hole for a snug fit and slid it onto the Wolverine rod. Got her all squared up and measured off the proper distances and marked the 4" mark from the center of the wheel. Then, I put a notch in it to receive a scrap piece of al. angle I had laying around. Marked the center of it and drilled a partial hole for a pivot spot. Glued it into the notch and slapped it all back on the Wolverine. Tested for fit: Just right! :D Yup, me thinks it will work fine.

I'm not in the shop now, but in thinking about it, maybe if I set the main Wolverine rod out for the regular 1/2" bowl gouge, I may even be able to slide my Ellsworth pivot far enough forward and use both without ever taking the rod out. :D Hey, now that would really be cool! I'll try that tomorrow. At any rate, just another option for you turners out there with a similar situation, which you may want to try. The more options we have, the better, 'cuz the same one doesn't work for everyone! Thanks for taking a peek! :cool:

[Jim Becker]

That's a very nice solution, John. You could enhance it by installing a threaded insert and a knobbed-stud to eliminate the need to use the C-Clamp on the arm. The only downside I see to this design is the fact that the portion of the v-arm in front of your jig holder could possibly interfere with your body unless you push it down all the way to the vee portion.

Nice job!

(I haven't forgotten you...still in meetings and was only home last night for about 5 hours of sleep after my flights home from KC; and back in the truck this morning at 7a to drive to a briefing in NJ. Starbucks is my friend these days...)

[John Miliunas]

That's a very nice solution, John. You could enhance it by installing a threaded insert and a knobbed-stud to eliminate the need to use the C-Clamp on the arm. The only downside I see to this design is the fact that the portion of the v-arm in front of your jig holder could possibly interfere with your body unless you push it down all the way to the vee portion.

Nice job!

(I haven't forgotten you...still in meetings and was only home last night for about 5 hours of sleep after my flights home from KC; and back in the truck this morning at 7a to drive to a briefing in NJ. Starbucks is my friend these days...)

Thanks Jim! Yeah, you kinda' read my mind on the threaded insert & knob. Still considering it, but I kinda' like to work with the KISS methodology whenever I can. And yes, you're correct about the "V" part. That too, is not a biggie. The whole object was to rig something up, so that I wouldn't have to relocate the grinding station further from the wall, as it would then really be in the way. Don't have a whole lot of room to spare, 'ya know... :D

Next is, I think I try to rig something up for better DC on the BS! :cool:

[Jim Becker]

John, I found I already had a pic on my machine (shown below). The stock for the block started out as 1½" square stock. Please note that the size was predicated by the actual setup of the grinder and Wolverine jig--you need to get the pivot point at the right height relative to the centerline of the grinding wheel. From there, I cut a vee-groove down one corner on the TS and then cut off the short block. The bottom corner, opposite the groove, had the corner knocked off to allow it to sit neatly in the jig. A small piece of material was glued back on to provide a stop for the Ellsworth jig. As you can see, I put two threaded inserts in the sides of the block so that I could use knobbed studs to mount it to the Wolverine jig vee-arm. This was a change to the double stick tape I first started out with.

One modification to what's in the picture...marking the arm doesn't work over time. As the wheel wears, the point needs to change. The best way to accommodate that is to make a quick setup template that you use to position the jig exactly at the same distance from the wheel face, no matter what the actual diameter of the wheel happens to be. This will also work with your jig since it's independent of the mounting method.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks Jim. That is pretty much what I expected to see and I was right in assuming it wouldn't work for my installation. I just would not be able to get the arm far enough into the jig base to pull that off. I had also thought about the scribe thing, but quickly discounted that on the premise of wheel and chisel wear. For those who DO have the room behind their grinder, I think yours is a simpler setup. ;)

On the bright side, I did check yesterday evening and I can easily leave my Ellsworth base on the jig and still use the "V" for my regular 1/2" bowl gouge, with the regular grind, for instance. Don't even have to move the arm or base, so I can effectively, sharpen BOTH types of gouges without a setup change! Thanks again for your suggestion and input. That's what got the "idea juices" flowing... :cool: