King Heiple's Shop-Built Jig
Build your own sharpening jig with these plans by Fine Woodworking author King Heiple
Open or download the 1-page PDF file below for the plans to make the sharpening jig. (Requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print PDF files.)
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Creating a fingernail grind on your spindle gouge by eye is possible but difficult, even for a seasoned turner. Oneway, Sorby and Tormek all make jigs to simplify the task, but more than one woodworker has hesitated at their prices and concluded that they could make a workable sharpening jig themselves. This shop-built jig was created by King Heiple, a retired surgeon, amateur woodworker, and Fine Woodworking author.
The only metal parts in the jig are two thumbscrews and their accompanying nuts and a 1/4-in. by 6-in. metal rod that connects the pocket jig to the V socket in the adjustable-length arm. The jig can be used with 6-in. or 7-in. grinding wheels, but an 8-in. grinder gives less of a hollow grind as well as lasting two or three times as long.
Ernie Conover is a turner and teacher in Parkman, Ohio. His article "Learn to Turn Spindles" appears in the May/June 2002 issue of Fine Woodworking (#156).
The Lathe Book Ernie Conover's comprehensive guide to woodturning machinery and accessories
The Complete Guide to Sharpening Tool expert Leonard Lee shares a lifetime of study of sharpening methods, techniques, and devices in the most practical reference on the subject
Spindle Turning From Fine Woodworking, articles that will teach you how to master the gouge and parting tool and how to tame the skew chisel
