Veritas grinder jig review

[luthier49]

I`ve been mulling over a long time whether to get a whetstone grinder or stay with a dry grind system to regrind my plane irons and chisels. I`ve read all the reviews in the mags and on here and decided to stay with dry grinding. I would have to find space in the workshop for a Tormek or clone and I don`t fancy all the water splashout these machines seem to make. To get better results dry grinding I bought a Veritas Grinder Jig with the Plane and Chisel grinding attachment and I am very pleased with the results I`ve had with it.

Here is the new jig mounted to my 8" grinder. I used to use the Axminster rest to the left of my grinder which gave me reasonable results but the Veritas is so much better and there`s no way I can burn the steel with this system because it`s so easy to use and you can grind with a much lighter touch. The jig comes with a plastic angle setting tool but I use my own home made tool seen in the photo below. I can set the angle of the rest spot on every time with this tool.

Here`s my angle setter being used to set the angle of the jig table.

Here is a plane blade set in the grinder attachment. To set this up the attachment is placed in the jig and the blade inserted until it touchs the grindstone. Before tightening the thumb screws the jig is taken off the the grinder jig with the blade pinched in the jig with finger pressure and the blade moved forward slightly by about a millimetre and then the thumbscrews are tightened.

Here`s the results of the grind. There was no burning of the steel and the bevel was dead square and evenly ground.

The next couple of photos I`m honing the secondary bevel using another superb Veritas product the Veritas Honing Jig. I hone on a CMT Duo Extra Fine diamond and finish off on a fine Archansas stone for a polished edge. I`m very pleased with the results from this tool and glad I kept to dry grinding.

 

[RogerS]

Interesting post, Bob. I can understand your approach and rationale.
Having just got a Scheppach Tiger I can understand why 'dry' is appealing !

Maybe I could send you some of my blades so that you could sharpen them up for me so I can do a direct comparison :wink:

 

[TonyW]

Bob, thanks for this post. I have a cheap wet / dry 6" and 8" system and have been thinking about the best way to set grinding angles. Your home made angle tool looks ideal.

Cheers
Tony

 

[JackL]

I have a wet grinder and found it a bit of a pain, so I bought the Cruesen slow speed grinder. A real gem and gets a wonderful edge. Only grouse I have is that the white stones seem to wear out at an alarming rate.
Has anyone else had the same problem and found ways around the excessive wear rate?

 

[luthier49]

I`ll post some close up photos of the angle jig tomorrow for those who might want to make one.

 

[George_N]

I've used the Veritas grinder jig for a while now and I also think it is great. I use it in conjunction with a cheap 6" grinder. Like Luthier, I didn't get on with the angle setting thingy that came with it so I went for the Tormek AngleMaster, which is so easy to use. I have brought quite a few old plane irons back to life with this grinding set-up and have never felt that there was any danger of overheating a blade.

 

[chippy1970]

Great Bob I posted about these jigs the other week I was going to buy the Axminster one but you reckon the Veritas one is worth the extra money ?

 

[luthier49]

chipp,
Yes the Veritas is worth the extra money. I`ll just tell you something about the Axminster rest. I bought one of these quite some years ago for my 6" grinder which I now use for sharpening my turning tools. This rest has all metal bristol knobs and they don`t slip when tightening. The one in the photo above was purchased about a year ago, and the bristol knobs are plastic cheap knobs and they slip in use. A case of once a good product now not so good. I have quite a few other Veritas products and I`m impressed with thier quality and fuctionallity. The Veritas rest locks solid as a rock and the knobs are top notch quality.

As promised, photos of my grinder angle setter. I used a piece of cycle spoke as a rivet for the pivot point.

 

[Karl]

I too use the Veritas jig with a cheapo grinder, and find it excellent, except for one problem.

My grinder has a white, 40mm wide wheel. The jig table is designed to slot "over" the wheel ( see the pics on the first post - you'll see what I mean). However, this only works for wheels upto 25mm. Meaning that I can't get the jig close enough to the wheel for proper grinding. I will probably have to resort to cutting the table of the grinding jig to accomodate a 40mm wheel.

Cheers

Karl

 

[chippy1970]

Yeah I have a record 6" grinder with a 40mm white wheel on the left so I would have to cut the slot bigger. Is it ok to do this or will it ruin the jig.

 

[TonyW]

Bob
Thanks for posting jig pictures - shall have to copy yours

Interesting about the Axminster this is the one I have got - still suppose you get what you pay for

Cheers
Tony

 

[Karl]

Chipp

I think it would be ok - the enlarged slot won't intefere with anything and shouldn't reduce the strength of the table.

Tell you what. You do yours and, if it turns out ok, i'll do mine :lol:

Seriously - i'm going to do mine in the next few days - i'll let you know how it goes...... It's just a shame Veritas didn't think of it when designing the jig.

TonyW - i'd second Bob's comments about the Axminster. I sent mine back cos I wasn't happy with it. The Veritas is much better.

Cheers

Karl

 

[pooka]

Chipp

I think it would be ok - the enlarged slot won't intefere with anything and shouldn't reduce the strength of the table.

Tell you what. You do yours and, if it turns out ok, i'll do mine :lol:

Seriously - i'm going to do mine in the next few days - i'll let you know how it goes...... It's just a shame Veritas didn't think of it when designing the jig.

TonyW - i'd second Bob's comments about the Axminster. I sent mine back cos I wasn't happy with it. The Veritas is much better.

Cheers

Karl

Hi Karl,
Have you enlarged the opening in your Veritas grinder jig, and if so has it caused any problems in use?

I am in the same boat with a 40mm thick wheel and the Veritas jig and I haven't tackled it yet, so I'd be very interested in how it worked out for you.

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Had one of those grinding jigs for about a year now and love it - even started to use it on the dry grinding wheel last week rather than the wet one (too slow)

nice tip on the angle setting jig bob, thanks N

 

[Karl]

Hi Pooka

Yes, I did the mod (apologies to all who were waiting with baited breath to see the outcome....)

It works great - is easy to do (5 minutes). It took me longer to re-align everything to the grinder ! Just be careful as to how you hold the "table" when cutting it - it is a bit fiddly.

Cheers

Karl

 

[pooka]

Thanks for the info. That has given me the encouragement to go ahead and do my own, so I appreciate your help.

 

[ivan]

Re soft wheels waearing down quickly - you can get a harder bond which lasts longer but cuts hotter so you increase risk of overheating - it's your call.....

 

[OPJ]

What is it you not like about the Axminster jig? I've just been given one of these to go with my brand new Record 8" grinder. :wink: I looked at the other Veritas jig (slots on to the metal rest of grinder) at the same time but I could be saving twenty pounds here...

I haven't even attempted to use my grinder or the Axminster jig yet as I reckon I should have a good sweep up before I start making sparks everywhere!

It does look like a similar design to the Veritas. The one problem I can see with both jigs is that there is no way to hold the iron or chisel while griding. But I guess you could make a sled from thin MDF and add a toggle clamp?

Thanks also for the angle-setting jig, looks like a good idea. I haven't yet figured out how to do this manually as the manual may as well be full of blank pages for my grinder! :roll: How did you cut the curved slot?