Question on sharpening chisels

[Drop Shot]

Ok, here's one for ya to ponder.  I have an old set of Sears chisels (you know, the high quality ones with the plastic handles?).  I've had my Tormek for several years and after making sure the stone was true (its now 123mm) I decided to give the chisels a new face. However, when I put one of the chisels in the vise (it was slid as far forward as possible and still have the straight side against the stops), and tried to set it for 25 deg. To get 25 deg, I had to lower the rest to the point where the tool holder bushing guides would hit the stone. The chisel seems normal in lenght. Am I doing something wrong?

[Jeff Farris]

Nope, you're not doing anything wrong, but your chisels aren't exactly "normal" either.  Actually, there is no "normal" length for chisels.  European manufacturers tend to make a longer blade and older American tools are usually the same.  Short blades are popular with carpenters because they're easier to carry on the job.

There are two ways to deal with the problem you're facing.  The first and easiest is to give up on using the alignment pins on the right side of the straight edge jig. Slide the tool further into the jig and then use a small square to square the tool to the front edge of the jig.  I do the same thing with spokeshave blades, too.  

The alternative is to use the SVS-32 Short Tool Jig.