Short Chisels

[Byron]

I have several Stanley chisels whose blades are 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" in length.  Bevel is 25 degrees.  Can't get the jig close enough to the stone to achieve the 25 degrees.  Is the blade length too short for the Tormek jig?

[Jeff Farris]

There are two approaches to this.  The first is the one covered in the Owner's Handbook, using the SVS-32 Short Tool Jig.

The second is to abandon using the two lugs on the right edge of the jig to set the blade square.  Just push the tool further through the jig (you'll need about 1-1/4" to get 25 degrees) and then use a small engineer's square to square the blade to the front edge of the jig.

[Byron]

I'll try the second approach.  Thanks.

[msrdnr]

There's a third way, although not quite "by the book." Just sharpen the chisel on the Tormek freehand, i.e, with no jig. It's pretty easy to keep a constant "length" of the chisel just using the universal tool support and your fingers sliding back and forth. For most chisels this works fine.

[Byron]

I just finished using the second method posted by Jeff.  It worked fine.  I processed all my chisels in no time.