I searched for a good design and eventually found this. I think it’s better than what I found mostly online. One single pivotal point on each side not two. The thing is rock solid. The grinder out of the box, with the tiny forever moving tool rests was inaccurate , clumsy to use, incapable of being used for heavy fast cutting and not enjoyable to use. Now it’s a really good tool. The guy in the book said it’s really easy to do. Well I am sure it is if you are surrounded by pieces of timber perfectly milled half a mm larger than the dimensions required and machines of course. I made mine with my usual kit which is hand tools and a router and I had to use my skills. I love the tool rest, it all locks in place without cinching hard and when you have it where you need it the lock is a rock.
Grinder transformed
The double-jointed tool rests I’ve seen online always struck me as over-complex, especially if building out of scraps and ply the way most people will be. Smart job, very clean looking.
I’ve not used a buffing wheel in many years but a grinder/buffer machine is on my dream workshop list. They make fixing up old tools so much more enjoyable.
Totally Ed,
It’s the sort of thing which I would do at the maker space if I get the chance. Tools and machines rarely arrive in a state which allows the full potential to be realised. I would start by sorting out the planer. The tables need shimming. It just seems to me that not putting the work into our tools is shortsighted. Glad you like it. I use it for my scrub plane blade. The hollow grind means I can take it to razor sharp with just three or four strokes of a piece of wet and dry on mdf. I move the stone not the blade. I thought I might make some scratch stock blades with the grinder and I am seriously thinking about hollow grinding some blades and going over to freehand sharpening. Krenov was a big fan of hollow grinding. I can see why.
I have an old saw blade I want to try turning into scraper blades…