Shopsmith Forums

Here is information from my 10 July 2008 post in the Maintenance and Repair Section.

My BIL finished the prototype design of his idea for using the Shopsmith Sharpening Jig while turning. We discussed it on the phone a couple of times and this is not the final product but I thought you might be interested anyway. We are working on making this thing adjustable so you can use it with any (or nearly any) length turning - not just pens.

If you ever need to use your chisel sharpening jig while turning pens (and who doesn't?), here's something you might want to try.

Take a piece of 3/4" plywood, as wide as the extension table, cut a groove to hold the sharpening jig, cut a slot through which to poke the sanding disk, put 150 grit aluminum oxide paper on the BACKSIDE of the disk, clamp the plywood to the extension table, mount the sharpening jig, and sharpen away - when turning pens. When your chisel gets dull and needs a touchup, rather than going to the other side of the Shopsmith or to another tool in your shop, just move to the left, touch up your chisel and get back to "work". It works pretty neat. Just make sure you cover your way tubes to prevent metal filings from accumulating on them.

If you want more details than this short description, just ask.

Attached Images
BackSideSharpener1.JPG (111.3 KB, 28 views)
BackSideSharpener2.JPG (119.6 KB, 25 views)
BackSideSharpener3.JPG (147.2 KB, 25 views)

OMG...simply brilliant

Okay I'm lost. My sharpening guage instructions told me to mount my guage on a piece of ply and use the Aux table. My guage has been mounted that way ever since I first bought the guage back when it first came out.
Ed

Hi Ed,

Don't feel bad. I've had mine mounted that way for years. Then my BIL bought a used SS and attended one of Rick's TAs with me last year. He got interested in turning pens and wanted a way to keep his tools sharp WITHOUT having to slide the headstock to the left to use the sharpening jig. He also didn't like trying to either (1) sharpen on the "up" side of the disk or, (2) reach across the machine to sharpen on the down side of the disk as you have to do if you mount the jig on the extension table.

His idea started out differently than shown in the pictures. But after we talked about it over a few days he decided to do it as shown. We have an idea we are working on that should allow you to use this setup regardless of the length of the turning you are making. We're getting together this weekend to try to finish the design (among many other things we will try to accomplish and probably not get done ).

More information and pictures to follow. Perhaps our patent application will get approved and we can start to market these things as an after market add-on;) . But then again we wouldn't get the satisfaction of sharing with you guys on the forum. It's kind of like pay back for all the great advice and assistance we have gained from this group.

I hope the pictures and this explanation make some sense. It does to me but then I've seen the set-up. If is doesn't - let me know and I'll try to come up with a better explanation .

Okay now I get it!
What I really like is the idea of putting the paper on the back side of the disk. I have one disk set up for steel sharpening and putting paper on both sides would allow me to have two different grits available at one time.

I may even use that idea for my other disks dedicated to wood sanding. One has velcro but the other doesn't right now I use it for only one grit now I can have two plus the velcro gives me almost unlimited sanding capabilites with out ruining paper changing grits.

I like it!!!!
Ed

I said I'd post more when we had finished modifications to make this thing adjustable.

Here's the scoop. No need to make fancy modifications. After thinking about it for a while we decided you just have to make the plywood long enough so the right end rests on the headstock and the left end rests on the auxillary table when turning the shortest object you will turn. Then to adjust for a longer turning just slide the headstock (with plywood jig attached) to the right the appropriate amount. Be sure to clamp the plywood to the aux. table at the new setup and you're ready to go back to work!

Some things are so simple it makes one wonder why the heck it took so long to figure it out.

Another discovery was if your chisels get too short for sharpening them using the SS jig you can fix that easily. Just cut another dado in the plywood - closer to the sanding disk - back the SS jig towards the operator and mount the jig in the new dado. You'll have to make the plywood wider than shown in the pictures I posted so you should include the wider plywood and the second dado in your original when you make it. Otherwise you'll have to re-make the jig.

That really is a well thought-out and ingenious jig. So well-thought-out and so ingenious in fact, that I'm tempted to borrow it for a video shop tip.

With all good wishes,

I only have the aluminum sanding disks as my shopsmith is an greenie. Can the steel sanding disks be used with a greenie? I can't attach sandpaper to backside of an aluminum disk.

I see two problems in the photos posted in this thread. One is that sharpening produces sparks. The plywood looks to me to be vulnerable. Second is that a gas can on the floor below.

As an educator involved in maintaining science labs and shop labs I had to attend several OSHA classes. Maybe I am over sensitive but several shops have burned to the ground in my area over the years because of such issues.

Bob Coder
Willcox AZ

rcoder wrote:I see two problems in the photos posted in this thread. One is that sharpening produces sparks. The plywood looks to me to be vulnerable. Second is that a gas can on the floor below.

As an educator involved in maintaining science labs and shop labs I had to attend several OSHA classes. Maybe I am over sensitive but several shops have burned to the ground in my area over the years because of such issues.

Bob Coder
Willcox AZ

I saw the same thing, but I wanted to see if someone else had spotted this. However, I do like the concept that was presented. Lately I've kind of been on a recycling kick. How difficult would it be to use an older SS main table and adapt this using a zero clearance insert?

BPR