Sorby Fingernail Jig

[mudman]

I bought the Sorby Delux sharpening jig at Woodex and am mighty pleased with it.
Once I'd got it set up (which took me three goes, don't ask ) I re-ground a gouge and was really impressed with how easy it is to use. I was also surprised to find that there seems to be much less heat generated with the lower chance of bluing the steel. Probably due to less force being used on my part.

Anyway, I was wondering about a couple of things.

Do people bother with the measuring of the projection on the fingernail jig? I did the first time but since then I just sight from the side and adjust until it is touching the wheel at the correct angle.

The other thing is, what else is the fingernail jig capable of? I notice that the angle if the holder can be adjusted wrt the arm and was wondering what the purpose of this is. Is it for different grinds/shapes. The instructions are a bit lacking and only say about resetting it if moved, not why you might want to.

 

[Wanlock Dod]

Barry,

I just got one of these too. I set mine up as you describe by adjusting until the bevel angle against the stone is right, by sight.

I think that the adjustment would allow for different bevel angles (by adjusting the stopper on the stem) and a longer or shorter grind (by adjusting the angle relative to the stem). I haven't investigated this yet, although I can imagine it's both useful and frustrating if you have loads of gouges with different grinds. Useful because it can do them all, possibly frustrating tring to reset it to the right one.

Cheers,

Dod

 

[paulm]

Dod's pretty much covered it in his reply.

I did take a few minutes to make a small plywood template to set the gouge projection in the holder and the same template also sets the distance of the tool rest from the wheel. Takes literally seconds to set both if required and seems easier and more reliable than doing by eye, but whichever works for you !

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Alf]

I did take a few minutes to make a small plywood template to set the gouge projection in the holder and the same template also sets the distance of the tool rest from the wheel.

Yep, it's a good idea. Once I'd got the correct projection by lining it up by eye on the wheel I tacked a couple of stops onto the board the grinder's bolted too, one for spindle gouges and one for the bowl gouge. Very quick and easy. Luckily I don't have enough turning tools to have a wide range of grinds. :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[mudman]

Thanks for the replies all.
Pretty much what I suspected then.
I do like the system. I had started off freehanding everything but was getting a few problems with little points appearing on the gouges. I was a bit unsure if the setting up of the jig everytime I wanted to touch up an edge would be a hassle but it takes hardly any time at all. Any extra time taken is easily regained from being able to get a fresh edge much more quickly with the jig.
It also showed me just how poor the tables attached to the grinder.

One useful thing I've done is to use one of those little rare earth magnets to attach the angle finder to the grinder so it is always to hand. If you leave the magnet on the side of the finder and against the edge, then when you place it on the table to get an angle, it will stand up by itself allowing both hands to be free to adjust and tighten at the same time.