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Time to put this thread to bed.  I tried the square edge jig as suggested and while it worked there was a but...  Had it have been a single edge skew I was trying to make there would have been no problems at all but with a double edge there was a need to invert the chisel in the jig a number of times while having to replicate the skew angle exactly.  I don't know if this was too much faff or my OCD kicked in but it wasn't something I was comfortable with.

As luck would have it on Thursday I found myself, with a minor detour, at one of the UK's turning/carving dealerships.  Unfortunately while there I had my pocket picked, unbeknown to me my left hand took out my wallet and before I realised what had happened I was the owner of the upgraded SVS-50 whose closed housing does accommodate gouge widths less than 10mm unlike the older version.  Retirement beckons next year and while there I also had the chance to fondle, caress and whisper sweet nothings to a new lathe.  The wallet however stayed firmly picketed this time.

Thirty minutes with the new jig soon converted a straight chisel into a 20degree double bevel skew.

Great forum, thanks to all for their help and encouragement.

Thanks Ken, your PM has been squashed by the internet police.  When I click on the link this is the cut and paste message I get:

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There is a large dark sedan with 4 besuited men all wearing hearing aids and sun glasses arriving outside my door as I type.  I am going outside, I may be some time!

Hi Ken, thanks for your continued advice and encouragement, much appreciated.  Very short period at home this weekend but I managed to grab 30 minutes in the shed and found I did own a square jig, it must have had an hour's use in the past 18ish years.  Unless I've missed something fundamental I can't see why the old jig wouldn't work reprofiling a square chisel to a 2 bevel skew.  I've even made a little wooden jig to repeat the angle both sides.  At this point I was going to insert a picture to show what I mean but how to get the image between the [img] brackets has defeated me, I am using an iPad.  What I can't do using the old square is replicate Rich's extension of 32mm even with the horizontal bar a millimetre away from the wheel.  Another picture meant to go here - fail.  I think there are some maths on Rich's web site showing all the extensions, something to look at one evening this week.  Using the horizontal bar as a rest when touching up is something I haven't considered but makes a lot of sense.

One of the things that has ticked me off about the Tormek from day one is the water trough.  I've yet to remove it without soaking the bench but in a flash of inspiration I connected a 60ml syringe to a length of thin pipe and now I suck some water out until the level is low enough to remove the trough without a flood, third photo fail here.

Hopefully a decent period at home next weekend to actually do some carving.  And on that final note is there a place where on t'web where carvers hang out to swap yarns, tips and tall stories?  I've been pointed towards MaryMay's site but it's a little too commercial for me.

Hi Ken, thanks for your welcome and your duties as moderator, I'm really bowled over by the amount of help I've received within 2 days of joining.  I had 6 hours of carving tuition while cruising up the Norwegian coast a few weeks ago and it has really whetted my appetite for more hence dusting off the 2000 and purchasing some 'sacrificial gouges' from a car boot to butcher.  What a good investment that has been although in most cases Tormeking* them has been wonderfully easy and successful.    I am sure I have an SVH-60 but my working week see me in hotels away from home so I won't know until Friday.  That said Rich already has me thinking out of the box how to make a jig to butt against the straight jig to ensure left/right or front/back uniformity on a double bevel (if that makes sense).  With the SVS-50 that problem doesn't exist so looking forward to home time on Friday to play again.  While I am sure I must have the old straight jig I don't know for sure since I use a scary sharp method for my hand chisels; am I allowed to say that?

Again that's for the welcome but I am not sure I'd sign up for the handle 'old hand'.  I might be old but time on the tools is very limited thanks to working away all the time but with retirement just around the corner that is soon to change.

John

*Sorry, new verb there, don't think it works very well.

Fantastic Rich, that answers all the questions.  Those photos remove all doubt so the SE-77 it is.  I am VERY new to carving, still to find my own feet and am trying to replicate what my instructor used and advised.  Unfortunately sharpening didn't feature in the short syllabus.  Your photos have also shown me I've a little more thinking to do about 'included' angles.   This is going to be a very long week stuck in a hotel until I can get home to my shed.  Again many thanks for your help.

Thanks for the replies Rich, that's certainly an impressive web site.  I'm away from my shed for the rest of the week so can't get any photos of what I'm trying to achieve but if you look at a pfeil 1s that is what I'm attempting to get albeit with a 70degree angle.  Would the SE-77 do that bearing in mind the 1s is double bevelled and skewed or will the re-released svs-50 grip down to 3/8 inch - 9.5mm?  Already I am thinking of a 70/20 degree insert to ensure the chisel is held at a repeatable angle in the SE-77 blade clamp or am I over thinking this?  I'm certainly going to have to look at the SE-77 next time I'm passing my w/w store which will be weeks away unfortunately but thanks for bringing it to my attention. 

Hallo all

I am a long time user of a Supergrind 2000 for sharpening turning gouges with a lot of repeatable success, can't think of a better / safer way of sharpening.  Having very recently been introduced to carving I picked up a handful of well loved carving gouges at a car boot just to practice sharpening those before attempting the same on new expensive ones.  Using the SVS-38 I immediately succeeded in bring the various curved gouges back to life,  it couldn't have been easier.  Using the SVS-50 and its closed seat a half inch single bevel straight gouge was reprofiled to a 70 degree skew double bevel, once again a very simple process taking all of 30 minutes.  However, there's always a however.  Given the length (or lack of) the gouge (it had been well used over many decades) I was only able to get a 40 degree bevel on it where I was looking for something nearer 20 degrees.  Either I have discovered a limitation with the jig or my technique is flaky so the exam question is simply which, the jig or me?

Having successfully profiled (almost) that straight gouge into a skew I next tried to tackle a 3/8 inch straight gouge but immediately found the closed seat wouldn't grip the blade, it was too narrow for the side screw to reach.  I understand this jig has been updated and rereleased so this exam question is, 'will the latest SVS-50 Closed Seat housing grip a 3/8th inch wide blade.

Hope all this makes sense, grateful for any advice.

John