FVB applet trouble

[teejay58]

Hi, guys. I am a very green noob with a T8 and the FVB. Using the software that came with the FVB, the first attempt ground my jig very well. But didn't touch the knife blade. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Seems like hundreds of you use and appreciate the FVB software. But I am super stuck. My wheel is 249.5mm. Blade projection is 132mm, desired DPS are 12. And it tells me the height of the USB should be 76.52. But this  is not high enough for the jig to clear the sharpening wheel. I did my measurements with a large digital caliper, just like the one in Wootz's videos. I checked the blade projection with a ruler nailed to a piece of wood, like Wootz. But still, something is badly off. Got any ideas?

[micha]

Hi TJ, welcome to the forum.
That sounds really strange. How far does the knife blade protrude beyond the jig?

[RickKrung]

Hi TJ, welcome to the forum.
That sounds really strange. How far does the knife blade protrude beyond the jig?

This was my first thought as well.  Short protrusions of the blade from the jig could  definitely result in grinding the jig.  I did this on two of my four SVM-45 jigs (the other two are used only for large, wide, thick knives).  I believe this is in part, one reason for the small knife jig. 

I do not think this is an issue with the FVB or the angle setting software. 

If you can, please extend your blades out a bit and let us know if the problem persists.  And do tell us how much blade extends out from the jig. 

Rick

[wootz]

Hi TJ,

First, make sure you select the right Tormek model option in the applet - by the numbers you give your applet is set for Tormek T-8.

I guess what you describe does not happen to every your knife, only to that with a narrow blade.
With narrow blades, we may need to first place its edge on the wheel so that the jig is cleared, and only then use the applet.

Try this way:
- clamp your knife in the knife jig within the first 2-3 mm of the spine;
- raise the Universal Support to approx 70-80 mm;
- by rotating the adjustable stop, place the edge of the blade on the wheel with the knife jig not touching it;
- now, measure the jig protrusion (jig length), enter the value in the applet and calculate the due height of the Universal Support for your target grinding angle of 12 dps.
As you set the Universal Support to the due height, the jig clamps should stay clear over the wheel.

If still a problem, we need to see a photo of your knife clamped in the jig and resting on the wheel of your Tormek.

[van]

Hello,
strange problem, never detected with the use of FVB.
It would be interesting to have photos to better understand the situation.

[teejay58]

I should mention that the knife I am attempting to sharpen is a Victorinox boning knife. It is 11" long, a bit too long for the short knife jig I would think. Sure hope we can figure this out. Need to have these knives sharp before i go hunting in 2 weeks!!! Also, I'm working on some pictures. Having trouble with the 256k limit, passing between Samsung phone and ipad, etc. I'll get it in a little bit. I think.

[RickKrung]

...snip...
Also, I'm working on some pictures. Having trouble with the 256k limit, passing between Samsung phone and ipad, etc. I'll get it in a little bit. I think.

You may know these, but three things that I look to for managing image size: 1) Compression, 2) Cropping and 3) Pixels. 

Compression: For posting photos online, I pretty much only use JPGs.  Compression ratio affects the amount of image quality loss and image file size.  Compression is typically set in your camera, but some editing programs can modify it also. 

Cropping: I often take photos back a ways with a lot more image around what I'm interested in and then crop in my editing software to focus on just what I want.  I do this, as often, getting too close blocks light or depth of field isn't as great as I want.

Pixels:  There are only so many pixels that most computer screens can display effectively.  640 is the maximum pixel width or height that I try to use.  Online viewing cannot really make use of many pixels over this, I've heard, and I believe it.  Depending on cropping, the pixels in the other dimension may be as much as 640, but for most I use 480, but I set the greater dimension at 640 and let the software determine the other one. 

Most decent image editing software lets you manipulate these.  I can but do not like manipulating things on my phone.  Instead, I send them to my computer and do the editing there.  The one exception is rotation.  I was having trouble with images that I rotated in my computer not showing up as rotated once posted online.  They viewed fine on my computer.  So, not, before sending images from my phone to my computer, I check to be sure they are rotated and if not, I do the rotation on my phone first.  That has solved the problem.  I do not know what sorts of image editing software is available for the iPad.  I have one, but don't use it for image editing. 

Rick

[teejay58]

Pics as promised.

[wootz]

Thank you for the photos TJ. I've checked our records, and see that you have Tormek T-8, so your calculations and setup are correct.
With a narrow blade like this, you need to thin away ends of the SVM-45 clamps as it is simply too thick - see how I've done, I ground them on a bench grinder:

[teejay58]

Or maybe I should use the other side and grind into the wheel instead of away from it. And purchase the other piece of software. Would that make it work without grinding the jig?