Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

TDaniel

>Todd, since you are getting the Wolverine I would suggest that you not buy the Tormek, even though it is a good machine for some purposes. Instead, buy a high quality 8" 1800 rpm grinder and equip it with a 60 and an 80 grit blue or white stone. Sharpen your flat tools on the 60 grit and the gouges on the 80 grit. Get a diamond file, medium grit, for your skews and bedan tool and hollowing tips (scrapers). Now after you have all this, if you still want it, add the Tormek. The Tormek is not a bad tool and it will do a fine job of sharpening a lot of tools but to change from a gouge to a flat tool requires dressing the wheel each time and this is a very slow process with their dressing tool; others have had good luck with other type dressers. The wheel costs about $140 US (which is rediculous) and if you use the machine very much and swap from gouges to hand chisels and such that require a flat stone you will be buying a new wheel in less time than you would expect.

TD (who has both)

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

John Lucas

>Todd

For spindle turning I only use 2 styles. I use the Oneway arm and just put the handle in the V and rotate the spindle gouge. On some of my gouges I don't like the shape I get so I start the grind at the nose with the handle in the V. The as I rotate the gouge clockwise or CCW i push the gouge up the stone so the outer edges of the gouge are ground back slightly.

my 2 smaller spindle gouges have slightly deeper flutes so I sharpen them using the Oneway bowl gouge jig or my homemade Ellsworth jig.

The shape I grind is dependent on the shape of the flute and how I intend to use that tool.

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Dick Hines

>The jig I use for gouges are right in the front of my face. Eyes those and a block of 2x4. Works for me.

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Fog Tanner

>I have both the Tormek and an 8" 1725 rpm dry grinder. The dry grinder has 60 and 100 grit wheels, the Tormek is 200-1000 grit. I use the dry grinder for reshaping, scrapers, and my Ellsworth jig. I use the Tormek for all else. After a period of use on gouges, you will have to true the wheel on the Tormek, but I don't use a lot of force when sharpening so I don't have a lot of grooves from the gouge and don't have to retrue the wheel very often. Main thing with the Tormek is that it doesn't take a lot to sharpen the tool. You're not grinding - just sharpening with a delicate touch, as Ellsworth says, to bring the edge back. Keyword is delciate with either one.

I have all the jigs for the Tormek which will grind most of what I need. The Ellsworth is the exception and the reason for the dry grinder along with the scrapers. I was sharpening the scrapers on the Tormek, but decided to leave it setup for skews and gouges.

If you get the Tormek, you will want to get the jigs for the skew and gouge at least. And spend a little time reading the manual on the different setting for the gouge. Its also worth getting the leather wheels for honing the tools. I alternate between the hone and the stone, sharpening only every other time I go to the machine. I fgure this saves wearing the tools away and more than pays for the price of the leather wheel.

That's my 2.5 cents worth....good luck with your decision.

Fog

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Joe Millsap

>I have used the One-Way Wolverine jig for 10 years and am still using the same gouges. Before the wolverine I went through a gouge in about 6 months. I highly recommend the jig.

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Peter Teubel

>Ditto. I have a Tormek, but I use it for my other woodworking tools, expecially planer blades. Trueing the wheel takes a LONG time, so I reserve it for flat bladed tools. For turning tools, I use the Wolverine exclusively.

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I just have a different experience here. Flattening the face of the wheel takes me no particular time at all using a flat faced diamond dresser that costs all of $17 (Woodcraft and elsewhere).

Precision trueing of the the wheel does take a fair amount of time, between getting out the jig, setting up the jig, having it do its work, and cleaning up after it. But one, I dont' find it takes a lot more time to do this than Trueing (as opposed to dressing the surface) of a dry grinding wheel. The Wolverine system, for example, has a precision truing jig with a point diamond. You run into much the same procedure here (getting out the jig, setting it up, etc.) as you do with the Tormek. Frankly, I don't know of many dry grinding folks who ever, let alone regularly, actually precisely true their wheel as opposed to dressing the surface and flattening it up a bit. (Just sticking a dresser up against a wheel will help remove some of the high spots, but actually does very little to actually true it to round.) Furrthermore, with the Tormek, the slow speed makes it less requiring of trueing, as the tool can slowly track the surface, as opposed to a high speed wheel where the out of round surface with create vibration and in severe cases, chatter.

I think what leads people astray in their conception of the Tormek facing requirements is that Tormek offers a precision truing jig, and the stone grader (good for grading, but way too slow for facing or trueing), but no inexpensive diamond facing tool. Just take that cheap diamond dresser, put it against their horizontal tool table or even the universal support bar, and you can have the wheel faced in just seconds.

Yeah Lynnn, I sorta agree, but......

TDaniel

>Lynn, I agree that the Tormek can do a very good job with most any tool; however, as a primary shop grinder I think it falls short. As a maintenance grinder to maintain an edge it is great, no question there. But as a main grinder you must consider all the tools that will be sharpened on it and the time it takes to dress the wheel before going to a different tool and the cost of replacement wheels and when all these things are factored in I think the Tormek falls short. It is definitely not a bad tool; it is, in my opinion, one that should be purchased later as a secondary grinder....not as a primary grinder. I say get the 8" grinder first; then if you think you need a Tormek, buy one; but don't think that all you need is a Tormek. This is of course my own personal opinion and your mileage may vary.

Re: Best jig for spindle gouge shaping

Peter Teubel

>I like the idea of using the diamond dresser for facing the wheel. I'll have to try that! However, I use my Tormek mostly for sharpening my 12" planer blades. It takes me AT LEAST 10 minutes (usually more) to true up the wheel (after using it for sharpening turning tools) and get it parallel to the jig. The Wolverine jig takes far less time (like 10x less). I mean, just look at the wheel speed difference (90rpn vs 3600rpm).

Re: I sorta agree, too

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>Hi Terri, I really wasn't expressing any disagreement with your comments but for the flattening/trueing issue. And again, I only note my experience has been different.

I also know that I'm an unusual case, as almost all the tools I first bought and still regularly use have been Glaser's--and I think the Glaser extended edge retention and the Tormek repeatability and refinement are kind of a synergistic pairing.

So, my appreciation for dry grinders only developed as I started using more conventional tools the required more frequent sharpening, or came less well prepared than the Glasers