# Grinder Jig Question



## Camden (Oct 22, 2013)

Hello all! I'm still fairly new to this forum, and turning and general(my shop is only about 75% finished), and I had a question regarding grinding jigs. I'd like to preface my question by saying that I know that a lot of issues concerning tools come down to personal preference and price point, so feel free to share any advice, whether it's fact OR opinion. Okay. So I recently purchased the Oneway Wolverine grinding jig. As I've been focused on other things(lathe assembly, bandsaw assembly, building my workbench, and my son of course), the jig is still in the box(with receipt). Last night I was on PSI's website, and I saw their 4-in-1 grinder jig. This could save me some much needed $, but I have no real faith in on-line reviews(what's to keep loyal employees from posting BS reviews?), so my two-part question is this: does anyone on here own the PSI jig, and is it worth anything, or should I just stick with the wolverine?. Thanks in advance, and sorry about the long winded question.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I think the OneWay Vari-grind is where you should spend your money.

I like OneWay. Good quality. I have two OneWay Talon chucks and will likely purchase a third.

The Wolverine is a method to support the bottom of a tool or another jig. Lots of ways to achieve the same.

Rip a piece of construction lumber, get a scrap of wood and cut a V notch and you can make an equivalent of the Wolverine in a short time.

The Vari-grind on the other hand, is better to purchase. You can make your own, some folks do, but I think everyone who owns the Vari-Grind feels it was worth it.

Here is my poor-man's Wolverine. A piece of scrap with a small countersink hole clamped to the right side of the base of my Grizzly slow speed grinder. Works for me. The Vari-grind is staged for the picture. It would not have stayed in position if I had included the tool.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Im a fairly new wood turner myself and for about a year now I was using a setup made of wood that I rigged up myself with a high speed grinder. Recently I purchased the Rikon slow speed bench grinder and the OneWay worlverine grinding jig, and I tell you what that is money very well spent, I never knew my tools could be that sharp and the ease of using it is great, I cant say anything about the PSI setup as I never seen it or heard of it. But im with Dave, the OneWay is the way to go. Name sais it all J


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

I own the Wolverine jig, but not the Varigrind.

I started by making my own version of the Wolverine, using a length of T-track and a couple of bolts with 5-star knobs. It worked okay, but I decided to upgrade to the genuine Wolverine because the side-handle was a lot easier than the knobs (I had to reach under the wheel housing).

To get a fingernail grind, I have some of the sharpening jigs made by a former member of the club I go to -- he sells them for $12 apiece, much cheaper than the Varigrind and as far as I can tell they're just as effective. You can see them on THIS PAGE.


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## Camden (Oct 22, 2013)

I just got the Rikon 8" slow speed, as well(on sale at Woodcraft, great deal), and got the Wolverine the same day. Thinking I maybe should have gone with the Vari-Grind... I'm fairly adept at grinding flat surfaces(I'm a chef by trade, and have been sharpening my knives and those of my cooks for 10+ yrs), so it's things like fingernail grinds that intimidate me a bit. I'm planning on aquiring some inexpensive(possibly used) gouges to practice sharpening. Thompson has my attention as far as my final tools(as do you, Dema, for all of my carbide needs), but I don't want to grind away good metal due to inexperience.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Camden said:


> I just got the Rikon 8" slow speed, as well(on sale at Woodcraft, great deal), and got the Wolverine the same day. Thinking I maybe should have gone with the Vari-Grind... I'm fairly adept at grinding flat surfaces(I'm a chef by trade, and have been sharpening my knives and those of my cooks for 10+ yrs), so it's things like fingernail grinds that intimidate me a bit. I'm planning on aquiring some inexpensive(possibly used) gouges to practice sharpening. Thompson has my attention as far as my final tools(as do you, Dema, for all of my carbide needs), but I don't want to grind away good metal due to inexperience.


The verigrind is a must. There are plans available online to make your own or as Duncan pointed out people sell them cheap. I picked up my verigrind online for $20 plus shipping so i didn't make my own. But would have if needed to.. As for the carbide tools from me, im slowly phasing them out as my access to my machine shop is somewhat now limited and costs more. I sometimes have some already made, like right now. But once gone i don't know when i can make more... I would learn on traditional tools first before turning to carbides .. "no pun intended" lol


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

A bowl gouge with fingernail grind is a very useful tool.

I have two, a Doug Thompson 5/8in 15V bowl gouge and a Henry Taylor 3/8in Superflute bowl gouge.

I tried sharpening by hand - grinder without a jig. I had a difficult time getting a consistent bevel which impacted my using the tools since some parts of the edge were sharp some were not.

Some folks can sharpen fingernail grind by hand. I watched a video of hand sharpening fingernail grind at the Ashley Iles company in the UK. Very impressive. This person likely has decades of muscle memory. I have a long way to go to be able to sharpen this grind by hand.

I purchased the Vari-grind and it makes the process simple, fast and above all consistent.

I am a big fan of the fingernail grind. Several different cuts from a single tool. Now that I have the Vari-grind I am able to keep the tool sharp and the bevel consistent.

The Vari-grind helped me. I think it will also help you.


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## adot45 (Jul 8, 2013)

I, like a lot of others, made the wooden online version of the Wolverine and it has served me well. I learned a lot about sharpening turning tools. I will admit to still using cheaper, flea market and yard sale skews and gouges because I'm hesitant to put "my good set" of tools to the grindstone as yet. I think the vari-grind you guys are talking about would really be a benefit to me now that I kind of see what's going on with this turning stuff.....I love it!


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## Camden (Oct 22, 2013)

I really appreciate all of the input. So glad I joined the forum! I'm going to look around online for the vari-grind, for sure. I was also looking at the Wolverine fingernail/ side grinding jig. Woodcraft has it listed for $55.99, which is $24 less than the vari-grind w/ out base. Is this an acceptable option, as I already have the base jig? I hate to have to be cheap, but it's an expensive hobby, and my family comes first as far as finances go. Thanks again for all of the advice/ help. Oh, and Dema, it's no worries on the tools. I definately want to learn with traditional tools first. I'm a tool hoarder, though, so I know carbide will make it's way into my shop at some point.:shifty:


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

Camden said:


> Woodcraft has it listed for $55.99, which is $24 less than the vari-grind w/ out base. Is this an acceptable option, as I already have the base jig?


Seriously -- since you already have the base jig, try one of the $12 items on the page I linked to.

I've used the Oneway Varigrind, and IMO it has no advantages. If anything, it has a disadvantage -- it requires the tool shaft to be an inch or more longer, meaning it will stop being usable sooner.

(The "variable angle" of the Varigrind is a feature, but nobody I know has ever changed the angle of the jig. Meaning, it's a useless feature.)


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## Camden (Oct 22, 2013)

Duncsuss, I first thought that the page you posted was for members of your club only. Just took a closer look, and I will most definately go that route. Why not? It saves me a good deal of money and, as you stated, I will likely have more luck with this option. Thank you very much for sharing. It's not very likely that I would have found it on my own. Seriously, this forum is great! You guys don't even know me, and you're helping me more than some of my "friends". Hopefully, I'll be able to contribute soon as well.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Camden said:


> Duncsuss, I first thought that the page you posted was for members of your club only. Just took a closer look, and I will most definately go that route. Why not? It saves me a good deal of money and, as you stated, I will likely have more luck with this option. Thank you very much for sharing. It's not very likely that I would have found it on my own. Seriously, this forum is great! You guys don't even know me, and you're helping me more than some of my "friends". Hopefully, I'll be able to contribute soon as well.


We are a woodturning family, Family sticks together like Titebond II :laughing:


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

Camden said:


> Duncsuss, I first thought that the page you posted was for members of your club only. Just took a closer look, and I will most definately go that route. Why not? It saves me a good deal of money and, as you stated, I will likely have more luck with this option. Thank you very much for sharing. It's not very likely that I would have found it on my own. Seriously, this forum is great! You guys don't even know me, and you're helping me more than some of my "friends". Hopefully, I'll be able to contribute soon as well.


You're welcome!

One further tip ... when you've got the jig, you'll want a quick way to get a repeatable stick-out-the-front distance. One method is to use a combination square, but that requires you to set the distance and tighten the lock nut. My turning tutor showed me her gizzmo -- simply a piece of wood with a hole drilled in it to the correct depth. (And a penny or dime glued into the bottom of the hole so you don't make it deeper each time you push a gouge into it.) I turned mine to make it look fancy :laughing:

And one more tip ... you'll want a quick way to make the bar of the Wolverine jig extend by the exact same amount for a specific gouge. (Each gouge might need a different extension.) Take a look at the Raptor Jigs and see how easy it would be to make your own out of a piece of scrap plywood.

For each gouge you own, you might need a different "tool nose gauge" and "arm extension gauge".

The important thing with all these jigs is not the precise angle that you grind on the gouge -- it's that you get the exact same angle every time you sharpen a gouge, removing the barest minimum of metal each time. It's quicker to sharpen, the tool lasts longer, and your "muscle memory" of how the tool responds to the workpiece gets more reliable.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

The raptor jigs are nice. But those can be made from scrap wood. Just have someone trace the outline and give you the templates. That's what i did.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

duncsuss said:


> You're welcome!
> My turning tutor showed me her gizzmo -- simply a piece of wood with a hole drilled in it to the correct depth. (And a penny or dime glued into the bottom of the hole so you don't make it deeper each time you push a gouge into it.) I turned mine to make it look fancy :laughing:.


 
why havnt we seen this fancy turned depth stop :blink:


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

RusDemka said:


> The raptor jigs are nice. But those can be made from scrap wood. Just have someone trace the outline and give you the templates. That's what i did.


Yes, I used scrap plywood pieces -- just cut a tall/thin triangle.

With the Wolverine arm set at the length I wanted to set the gouge nose angle, I put the sharp point of the triangle in the pocket and lowered the front end alongside the grinding wheel. I marked the outline of the wheel on the wood, then took it to the bandsaw.

Easy-peasy :thumbsup:


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

RusDemka said:


> why havnt we seen this fancy turned depth stop :blink:


:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Go to www.youtube.com and type in john60lucas sharpening and you will find all of my sharpening demos. Hopefully it will answer your questions. 
Here's one to wet your appetite.


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## Camden (Oct 22, 2013)

Thanks John! I definately need all of the help I can get. While I may be no stranger to a grinder, this type of sharpening is currently out of my depth. Funny, when I began to pursue turning, I thought that I would only have to learn to turn. I've already learned many things I would have previously thought myself incapable of accomplishing, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I can't wait to see what's next! Thanks again to all of you who have helped and will undoubtably continue to aid in my pursuits.


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