Tru-Grind sharpening system

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mac davis 20 years ago

I finally broke down and bought a sharpening jig...

After a lot of urging from the group to do my own sharpening, (my wife is the family sharpener), I went through free hand on a grinder and 1" belt, then tried a few shop made jigs..

For $110, the Tru-grind is a great value IMO, and would have saved me hours and days of building, adjusting and learning to use my own jigs...

I'm pretty much a beginner on lathe chisels and I've used up a set of $15 chisels in my experimentation, but with the T-G, I was putting edges on my tools that were sharper than I or my wife have been able to do... My conventional grind bowl gouges look and cut great and my swept wing gouges actually look a little like Bill Grumbine's... NOW I can practice some of the cuts on his video, which just don't work with a standard grind..

In about 2 hours, I sharpened all of my lathe tools, several center punches, a few drill bits and pretty much anything else that didn't run or duck...

As you can tell, I'm very impressed with it...

Mac

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Bjarte Runderheim 20 years ago

Welcome to the flock:-)

Mine is now over 2years and well used. When the eye is no longer what it was, if ever it was, the Truegrind becomes a very good helper.

(I'm norwegian, not from N.Z:-)

BjarteR

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mac davis 20 years ago

I thought that they were a ripoff... now I see why so many experienced turners buy or build a jig...

My only problem so far is making myself hold the damn thing like in the video and not trying to hold the chisel handle..

Mac

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Bjarte Runderheim 20 years ago

The eternal truth: "There is no substitute for practice".

BjarteR

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Henry St.Pierre 20 years ago

mac davis wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Just curiosity, but why did you choose Tru-grind? Did you consider Wolverine or others? Regards amigo, Hank

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mac davis 20 years ago

Mostly price, Hank...

Wolverine, Kelton, etc. are more up front and then you need several "attachments"... like for gouges, skews, etc...

Also, it seemed very close to the one that Derrell Feltmate built and likes..

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Mac

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Larry Blanchard 20 years ago

Since I recently bought the Wolverine with the "Vari-Grind" attachment, I thought I'd compare the costs.

The Wolverine gives me the equivalent of the Tru-Grind "System" plus an extra base and "Sturdy Rest".

The cost of all of that (Packard) adds up to $201.85.

The Wolverine system with the "Vari-Grind" costs (also from Packard) $127.90. Or I could go with their "Intermediate Wolverine System" which includes the above plus a wheel dressing attachment for $149.95.

So the claim that the Wolverine costs more up front does not appear to be true.

Also, with the Wolverine I can switch from one wheel to the other. The Tru-Grind has "handed" tool rests.

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Bruce Barnett 20 years ago

I saw one catalog that had a sale on the Wolverine starter set - for $59. (saving $20).

But I can't remember where...

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WA5FDF 20 years ago

I have both systems. I bought the Tru-grind first but it had a problem with the knob on the vari-grind jig. It was hard to get it settled and tight enough to sharpen and then had to find a pair of pliers to get it loose. I then bought the Wolverine and also made an arm to allow the use of the Elsworth jig. I like this much better and us it all the time.

Vernon

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Tru-Grind sharpening system

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