Hart Design - Versa-Rest Tool Rest
The Versa-Rest grinder tool rest features a 4-in. wide table to accommodate most hand tool sharpening tasks.Like the Veritas, the Versa-Rest tool rest is made of anodized aluminum, and it has a similar-size (2 1/2-in. by 4-in.) platform. The platform can be tilted to various angles, moved up and down, or adjusted in and out. Initially, the platform wasn’t perpendicular to the track. But with some judicious bending of the arms, I was able to correct the misalignment. Plastic wing nuts lock things in place after adjustments have been made. Compared with the handles on the Veritas model, however, the wing nuts were less comfortable to use, mainly because they had to be turned with a good measure of force to lock the platform securely. Even then, it was not quite as secure as the one on the Veritas model.
The base of the Versa-Rest is secured in a sliding track, making it easy to adjust the base either in or out. Another advantage of the sliding track is that it allows the base to be removed quickly and easily when extra room is needed for freehand grinding. You can buy a second track and mount it in front of the second wheel on the grinder.
The tool guide that comes with the Versa-Rest, called the Multi-Jig, secures the cutting tool between the clamping bar and the deck. A pair of slots in the bar allows the knobs to slide back and forth, a small feature but one that made it easy to adjust for blades of various widths.
The guide holds the tool steady to the grinding wheel at 90°, or 45° for a skew grind. Two holes in the deck accept an alignment pin that’s supposed to help position the blade at those two angles. But with only one fixed registration point on the deck, the pin is of little value. Plus, the pin lacks a shoulder, so it regularly fell though the hole and onto the floor. A rubber shoe under the clamping bar did prove useful, though, helping to hold the tools more securely and to dampen vibration.
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