The Veritas tool rest has a platform, a pair of slotted arms, and a base, all made of anodized aluminum. The base is bolted to the worksurface. The slotted attachment holes allow some side-to-side alignment.

Adjustable handles made it relatively easy to lock the 2 5/8-in. by 4-in. platform in place. Once the handles were tightened, the entire tool rest was solid and secure. Its size and sturdiness make the Veritas more than suitable for freehand grinding.

The tool rest comes with a molded-plastic gauge that can be used to set the platform to any of the four common grinding angles: 20°, 25°, 30°, and 35°. Using the gauge was just a matter of placing it on the platform, then pivoting the platform until the edge of the gauge was tangent to the grinding wheel.
Unlike any of the other tool rests, the Veritas platform has a notch in front that allows it to wrap around the grinding wheel. The notch allows access to a portion of the side of the wheel while using the rest, a useful feature when sharpening a scratch awl or creating a conical shape.

The platform also includes a lengthwise groove designed to accept the Veritas tool guide, also called a grinding jig. Any cutting tool can be held between the clamping bar and the deck of the tool guide for sharpening. A pair of knurled brass knobs provides all the clamping force needed. A brass alignment pin made it easy to register the blade of the tool at 90° (for most applications) or at 30° (for grinding skew chisels).

In use, the Veritas proved to be easy to set up and adjust. It excelled when grinding plane blades and chisels. On the downside, because the tool rest is bolted to the worksurface, it first must be unbolted and then remounted before it can be moved from one wheel to another.

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