Wed, 1 Sep 2004 13:51:58 -0700, "RW" wrote:

Well, I now have my lathe, a big pile of mesquite, and a Sorby 1/2"
fingernail bowl gouge. My problem is the gouge. It needs to be sharpened. I
tried by hand on my 8" grinder and the results are ugly. I used a very light
touch and did not mess up the profile, but it's obvious that if I do it this
way a couple more times I will mess it up. Local Rockler has a week turn
around on sharpening. I'm thinking jig at this point. Cost IS a
consideration right now. Any suggestions on what and where to buy one?

Thanks,
Wayne in Phoenix


You've gotten good advise for the Wolverine system. This'll work
great since you've already got a bench grinder. But there's also
another route.

First, a disclaimer. I am not affiliated with any toolmaker or seller
of any kind. I'm only a satisfied user.

I use the Tormek system. With the appropriate jigs, it'll reliably
sharpen the same profile time after time. If you want, it'll also
reshape the profile to something else, and then be repeatable to that
new profile. The Tormek's problem is that it's expensive. I got over
that a long time ago. This isn't to say it's perfect, but for turning
tools, I don't think there's any better.

You can get one online at www.sharptools.com There's otherplaces
too, like Woodcraft.