Topic: My spindle gouge not thick enough for svd-185

[AndrewLee]

Hey guys,

I have a 10mm Robert sorby spindle gouge and when I try to secure it to the svd185's I find there's still a good few mm worth of play when the rubber ring is fully locked down. Any ideas?

[Ken S]

Andrew,

The clamping mechanism was redesigned on the SVD-186, which recently replaced the SVD-185. The new jig clamps securely with my traditional quarter inch spindle gouge.

Ken

[AndrewLee]

That's not good to hear, I don't really want to spend £60 for an upgrade when the original one is excellent for most applications.

[Ken S]

Andrew,

Read my review of the new SVD-186. Even better, read Rob and Rich's comments; they are active turners. My honest recommendation is to list the old jig on ebay for a deep bargain price. I know that's not what you want to hear. You always have the option of ignoring the new jig and trying to use shims to jury rig your SVD-185.

Perhaps one of the active turners would have another suggestion.

Do not get discouraged.

Ken

[Hatchcanyon]

We have two similar gouges from Crown. They are easy to handle on the SVD-186. One is grinded standard the other one got an Elsworth fingernail grind.

I also use this jig for other tools, for example for mortising chisels.

Rolf

[Ken S]

Andrew,

This may prove to be a useful learning situation. The tormek website (history tab) lists your SVD-185 as beginning in 1996. That is a twenty year production run, at least for the main jig. You are not the first Tormeker to use a small gouge. Granted the new jig has corrected the problem for a price. What did turners do for the last twenty years?

I suggest you contact Tormek support. Send them an email at support@tormek.se    I suspect they may have received the same question numerous times, especially with mini lathe tools becoming popular. Please post their response. Tell them that purchasing the 186 is not an option at this time.

As an experiment, you might try several thicknesses of a cut up business card or cereal box.

Another alternative would be to teach yourself to sharpen the small gouge freehand. This may not be as tedious as you might think. With sharpening (as opposed to shaping) a small gouge, very little steel is actually removed. Set your gouge directly on the universal support bar. Work slowly and carefully with a very light touch. Consider grading your grinding wheel fine. I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised in a very few minutes with a sharp gouge and no out of pocket expense. My grandfather sharpened his lathe tools this way and made very nice chairs.

Why didn't I put this in the first post? To be perfectly honest, it didn't occur to me. Like you, I am a creature of the buy another tool to fix the problem mindset. That is not a good mindset! You should try sharpening your gouge handheld.

Keep us posted!

Ken

[AndrewLee]

I have emailed customer service so it will be interesting to see what they come up with.

The cereal box cardboard is a good idea, as usual I came up with a more complex solution, looking around the garage for a bit of wood sturdy enough and small enough to act as a shim.

Freehand grinding though, is a good idea! I was too lazy to set up the jig for my parting tool and I tried that Freehand and the results were very satisfactory.

[Ken S]

We, and I do mean we rather than you, are often to quick to improve on an idea rather than just trying it. 

I watched a turner fumble with trying to place a very small cut off tool into a jig. At the time, I thought hand held sharpening would have been quick and easy. It pays to be flexible.

Ken

[AndrewLee]

Just had a response from tormek:

"Hi,
Remove the nylon bushing in the house no use only the brass part and it will fit."

Short and to the point lol

[Ken S]

This is a good lesson for all of us, myself certainly included. When in doubt, look in the handbook! (page 76 or the second page of the SVD 185 coverage or page 7 of Sharpening Woodworking Tools the Tormek way, included in the Woodturning Information Box, which every turner should have for ready reference). Refer to drawing a.

The other good lesson is do not be reluctant to consult Tormek support support@tormek.se. Well done, Sweden!

Good job, Andrew. You may eventually end up with an SVD-186, however, for the present, you have wisely saved enough to help cover the cost of your classes with Robin Bailey.

Do keep us posted.

Ken

[Ken S]

Sorry, this page has been deleted from the latest edition which is also the present online edition.
It is in edition 10.1. Don't lose your paper copy!

Ken