# Sharpening jigs



## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

So I've been sharpening my gouges by hand with about a 50% success 
rate. Ok maybe that's being generous. 
Anyway, trying to learn proper turning technique is challenging enough without wondering if my sometimes multi-faceted bevels are creating problems for me. 
I've been considering the Oneway Wolverine grinding jig, but wondering what the difference between this and the Vari-Grind jig is, and if I need them both. I can only afford one at the moment. 
I've been doing only spindle turning so far, but I'm itching to try my hand at a bowl. Just bought a Nova chuck and currently on the hunt for a reasonably priced bowl gouge. Don't know if that affects what kind of sharpening gear I should buy. 
Guidance would be much appreciated!


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## TwelveFoot (Dec 30, 2015)

I recently went through this, upgrading from an improvised jig to one I welded together (could have made it from wood easier). I wish I'd done it sooner. Now I have no reason not to sharpen, and I get perfectly repeatable results, no grinding off more tool than necessary, no uneven bevels.

This is probably the most useful page I'd found in my searches.
http://aroundthewoods.com/sharp.shtml

Here are some more...
http://aroundthewoods.com/sharpening01.html
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/fingernail-profile-sharpening-jig-125947
http://www.woodturningonline.com/Turning/Turning_content/sharpening-jig/sj.html


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## TwelveFoot (Dec 30, 2015)

And to more directly answer your question. I don't have any experience, but looking at One-Way's site. The Wolverine is the base leg of the grinding system, this lets you do parting tools, standard ground gouges, and skews. The Vari-Grind is the additional arm, for grinding fingernail bowl gouges (and spindle gouges too, if you swing that way). So you'd probably want both. But that was just from a *very quick *glance at their site, double check that the Vari-Grind doesn't include the Wolverine?


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

You need both. The vari-grind is useless without a v-arm jig. If cash is tight I recommend you buy the vari-grind, and make a homemade version of the v-arm.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

There are two versions of the Varigrind jig. Be sure to get the original Varigrind and not the Varigrind 2.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Ditto what Bill said. However it's very easy to build your own system. Just a board with holes in it will replace the V arm part of the Varigrind system. then make your own wooden version of the Wolverine jig. Just to be clear the Vari grind includes the V arm and a good adjustable tool rest. The tool rest is good for sharpening tools like the Parting tool, Spindle roughing gouge, spindle gouges, scrapers and certain grinds of the bowl gouge. The Wolverine jig is designed to give the swept back wings on a deep fluted bowl gouge. 
One of the best things you can do is to simply true up your grinding wheels so they run without bouncing the tool. That will reduce your faceting a whole lot. 
I have some really good videos on sharpening and you can see some of my homemade jigs. Most of the work is done with the Oneway system however.
go to Youtube www.youtube.com and then type in John60lucas/sharpening and you will be able to see them.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Here's one someone else made . https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...+system&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Thanks for the replies guys. I bit the bullet and ordered the grinding jig and the vari grind together. It wasn't so much that I couldn't afford the purchase, just that I didn't want to have to discuss it with the missus lol

John I subscribed to your YouTube channel a couple weeks ago. Really great videos you post. They have helped tremendously in trying to learn to turn. I haven't had the time or opportunity to get to a turning club's meeting (they are all at least 1hr away from me) so videos are the next best thing. Thanks for sharing your experience and taking the time to make the videos!


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

Here is why you need both. You can sharpen a tool with a straight grind without it. 









Now try a gouge. Works good in the center, but bad off on the edges. 



















Also you can't grind a very steep angle without the vari grind. If I were to try to grind this it would catch and take a chunk out if the wheel. 









The same angle or much steeper angle can be ground with the vari grind. 









Even though it could be done on the grinder I prefer to use a strip sander for scrapers. 









I have a dedicated sander for this and another one for wood. Once you grind metal it blunts the belt and it will never sand wood without burning again.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

If you really want some good options for sharpening go to the AAW website http://www.woodturner.org/ and order the sharpening video. They have 3 different turners showing 3 different ways to sharpen. You can then pick the method that will work for you. I never could sharpen a bowl gouge by hand until i got that video. I still use my Wolverine jig mostly but have 2 gouges I sharpen by hand because it's quicker.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

I received & set up the Wolverine jig last week, and am thoroughly enjoying turning with consistently sharp tools! The really nice thing about it is that it only takes literally like 10 seconds to touch up the edge of a tool while you're turning. No excuse to have a not-too-sharp gouge now!
I used the vari-grind to sharpen my bowl gouge (a cheap Narex 3/8" bowl gouge) and was surprised to find that from the factory the bevel was not flat, it had a convex belly to it. Needless to say it is crisp and sharp now


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## Big Jim (Sep 29, 2011)

*Me?*

I adjust the table on my grinders to the angle I want and then use the table as a guide for the bottom of my tool. I sharpen all my tools thisaway. After the first sharpening/shaping it only takes 3 seconds to freshen up a tool. 
Nothing fancy here just the old fashioned ways.
Big Jim


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

One thing to start doing with the bowl gouge is to knock off that sharp corner at the bottom of the bevel. I just sort of freehand it after pulling it out of the Wolverine jig. This corner drags the tool making it harder to learn to feel the cut. It also tends to burnish the wood leaving rings that are noticeable only after you put finish on the inside.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Thanks for the tip John. Maybe that will help to reduce the chatter I sometimes get when transitioning from the inside sides of a bowl to the bottom.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

If your fighting that transition point from the sides to the bottom you are probably coming off the bevel and it's scraping which makes it hard to control the tool and you don't get a clean cut. Happens a lot to new turners. There are two solutions. OK maybe 3. The first is simply the shape of the bowl. If your bowl has a smooth continuous arc from top to bottom it's easy to stay on the bevel. If the bowl is too deep or the gouge is ground to acute you still may have trouble staying on the bevel. Try grinding the gouge more blunt. I find a 55 degree nose angle will do almost anything. I have a 40 degree gouge that I like a lot because a more acute edge will cut cleaner but it limits how steep the bowl can be. 
the 3rd thing and this is only good for bowls like what we call a dog dish. A very steep side with a bottom that's almost flat. It's impossible to ride the bevel through the transition area. It this case what I do is cut from the lip to the transition area. Then I cut from the center of the bottom out to the transition area. Then turn the gouge so the flute is facing the wall and scrape the corner using the lower wing. 
You can as you've probably already found out cut from the lip all the way to the bottom through the transition area but you have to make it a very light scraping cut as you go through that area. It will try to kick back because you aren't on the bevel but if you make it light you can usually control it through this and then pick up the bevel on the other side and continue to the bottom. 
Hope that made sense. Hard to describe without doing a video and just haven't had time to do that yet.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

I rarely do anything the easy way. I rough turned a couple green bowls which are now bagged up on a shelf in my basement shop. I think I underestimated how tough it would be to turn a stack laminated bowl from KD stock, so I glued up some scrap walnut and maple and went to town. Blank was 8" square by 5" thick. 

So yeah, you nailed all 3 things John lol. My vessel design has really steep sides, and after I re-ground my bowl gouge it cut much smoother towards the transition point. I also think I need a much heavier scraper. I'm working with a set of old Craftasman gouges from the 50's or 60's, and the scrapers are only about 1/8" or 3/16" thick. I'm going to have a good bit of sanding to do to get rid of the chatter, as well as a bit of tear out here and there. Here are a couple pics


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

I love the Hunter tools for bowls of this shape. I use them as bevel rubbing tools. The #5 tool is perfect for this shape. Because the cutter is mounted flat on the bar, when you rub the bevel you have a tool with a bevel that is about 82 degrees. This means you can rub the bevel with the tool handle almost straight out. It has a cutting edge of about 30 degrees to you get an incredibly clean finish. Much better than using a scraper. 
that looks like a great looking piece.


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