Measurement thoughts

[Rob]

Good thoughts Ken.  I really recommend inside and outside calipers for all woodworkers and not just turners.  They are really useful and I use mine all the time for all manner of fixed distance transferring.

For the same reason I also recommend two other fixed distance measuring tools, one by veritas and not sure of the other.  They allow the user to set a distance from an edge and then scribe that line...they're like a ruler version of a scribing gauge and very useful for mortise layout lines or repeat drill hole layouts.

I'll get a snap of them and post in a tick.  The longer of the two is another of my most used tools.

[Rob]

Here are those scribing rulers and edge gauges I mentioned.  Fabulously useful.  I also added the veritas saddle square which is another classic for avoiding mis matched layout lines that run over a right angled edge.  That thing lives in my pouch along with my

- digital calipers
- bradawl
- pliers
- pencil
- marking knife (I use a scalpel)
- really small engineers square
- usually one or both of the scribing rulers shown here

[Rob]

sorry...forgot the pic

[Rob]

This is invaluable for accurate marking lines (ref mortise discussion)

[Rob]

And this....believe it or not...is another of my favourite gadgets that is actually useful.  Its a pencil sharpener that fits in a drill!  Fast access to sharp tips when Im not using the scalpel which tends to be reserved for mortise layouts.

[Rob]

And last but not least are my calibration "known heights".  These standards are accurate to three decimal points so they're great when you want an exact fit with a plane or for setting table saw or router bit heights

[mike40]

A good reminder for me to keep a check on the flatness of my wheel Ken. Those are some wonderful measuring /marking tools Rob. I will have to post some photos of mine just for laughs if no other reason. They are pretty primitive compared to yours. I liked the pencil sharpener too. The scalpel is nice too. Do you sharpen it on the Tormek or just change the blades?

[Rob]

ha, never even thought about sharpening it on the Tormek.  You buy inexpensive packs of 10 blades so I think there are better ways for me to spend my time :-)

[Ken S]

Until last year I lived in an industrial town in Northeastern Ohio.  There were plenty of retired machinists wanting to sell their tools.  I have had a decades old hobby of collecting machinist's tools.  Over the years I have accumulated a lot of Starrett tools.  Therefore, I tend to think of solving problems using machinist's tools.

In the same way, I'm a tinker with the Tormek.  I have accumulated several spare parts and jigs.  That's why I recommend using things like a second micro adjust nut or support bar.  I just happen to have them on hand.

I do try to include alternative ways of doing things.  For example,  3/8" drill bit will work as well as a .375" gage block in measuring a 3/8" distance between the support bar and grinding wheel.

Rob, I like your pencil sharpener!

While some of these methods may seem like overkill for the Tormek, accuracy or inaccuracy is cumulative.  Many posts complain about out of square grinding and other issues which can be corrected by truing up our technique.  Good measuring tools are a good start.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

I developed a negative crown in my grindstone when I was sharpening a couple of axes for my grandson.  A few passes of the truing tool took care of it.

I don't know about the idea of including band-aids.  When I sharpened a set of kitchen knives for a friend a few months ago I was tempted to give him one along with the sharpened knives, just as a warning!   

Judging by my conversations with him, and the evidence of the poor prior attempts at sharpening I could see on the knives, he and his family members are not at used to using sharp knives in their kitchen.  He has commented a couple times to me since then at how different it is to work in the kitchen with sharp knives.

I'd hate to be the cause of someone's injury, so including a band-aid could be one way of saying, "Be careful!"

[Rob]

Yeah, I kind of smiled inside when I saw the band-aids.  It was kind of Tormek's little joke :-)