Which grinding jig?

[Routermonster]

Hi all
Encouraged by previous forum posts about the Norton 3X grindstones (especially Philly's review onn his web site), I decided to order one from CHT. And now I'm eagerly awaitng delivery ...

Apart from (hopefully) making it much easier to grind primary bevels, it will also bring my cheap old bench grinder (which has been sitting in a corner of the workshop gathering dust for the past few years) back to life.

The question is - I guess I am going to need a jig/tool rest to hold the chisel/plane iron at the right angle. I have looked in the Axminster catalogue. They sell a couple under their own brand name. They also sell the Veritas one, which is rather more expensive. It does have nice brass knobs though.

Is the Veritas one worth the extra? Do any of you have any favourites or recommendations? Or should I dig into the offcuts box and make one from MDF, ply, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Les

 

[gidon]

Les

Something like this takes 30 mins to make:

and works pretty well.

You may find the tool rest that comes with the grinder is ok on its own. Check out my video if you want some tips for setting things up:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hm4HiN2Lww

Cheers

Gidon

 

[staffie]

Les,
I have a 6" benchtop grinder with a few norton grindstones. (Cheap Wolfcraft wet/dry)

I built an MDF housing around the grinder and on top of this I mounted a tormek toolrest and use the tomek jig for sharpening.

Works a treat, you have to be careful with alignment and make sure everything is 100% square but cost wise with grinder around £80.

Ill do a photo tonight.

Regards
Jock

 

[chippy1970]

Gidon,

Watched your you tube video, where did you learn that method on the diamond stone where you push the chisel away from you but with the point towards you ?

I was taught as an apprentice to hold the the chisel pointing away from you and at the correct angle and slide backwards and forwards. I have never seen anyone use your technique before.

If it works I wont knock it :wink: but it seems strange to me.

 

[gidon]

Chippy - I have seen this method used before not sure where. It helps for narrower blades - especially for beginners. In fact I'd almost say it's foolproof if you have a nice hollow bevel to rest on .
Cheers
Gidon

 

[ByronBlack]

Thanks for posting the video Gidon, I enjoyed that, and learnt a few things as well.

What would you recommend as a full diamond stone setup? Would two plus a strop be enough? With the two being a fine and x-fine?

 

[gidon]

Thanks BB!
I won't say what diamond stones I have because it's embarrassing but a red fine stone I reckon is about the most versatile stone. Going from that to some green honing compound (the Veritas stufff is good) on some MDF gives a nice edge. Adding just one more grit to that setup is a hard choice - to start of with I reckon adding a coarse (or extra coarse) is your best bet. In fact the first diamond stone I got was a double sided DMT Duosharp extra coarse (black) / fine (red). Very useful stone. The extra coarse I used to use to flatten waterstones and grind primary bevels, and the red fine is still probably my most used grit for all sorts. But it really does depend on your sharpening regime.
Said it before but if you can get them in the states or someone posted an ebay link, then they really aren't that much (although getting more expensive by the day with the XR!)
Cheers
Gidon