- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Messages
- 2,209
Not, "This is why we can't have nice things", but "This is why jigs are bad."
Stacy you are far more knowledgeable than me so when you say something I usually just shut up and listen but in this case I strongly disagree with you. Clearly this is not a fault of tooling. Unless defective it's not really fair to a a jig is bad. This is a case of getting carried away and not paying attention to what is being done.
We have all done it in some situation at one time or another. The OP can take it a lesson that tooling doesn't replace thinking and learn the limitations of his tools, how to use them more effectively, and what he needs to compensate for.
One of my favourite saying (and one i constantly need to be reminded of) is: If you don't pay attention, you will pay in some other way.
My problem with jigs is that they are just tools. Tools are great in skilled hands ... and dangerous in inexperienced ones. A 48"chain saw makes cutting trees down easier, but you don't hand one to a guy his first day ion the woods. A cleaver will cut meat fast and efficiently in a skilled butcher's hands .. but it will ruin a rack of ribs and possibly remove some fingers in the hands of someone not trained. I could go on, but I think you get the point.
A tool has no mind, hands, or intelligence. It is only as good as the hands, mind, and intelligence of the user. Used wrong, they will mess up far more than they help.
In this case the original blade was fine. Valnut's filing skills were fine. The jig messed it up because there are many variables in the blade shape the jig cannot compensate for. Valnut would have been far better to continue with sandpaper and whatever type equipment he had been using. The result would have been far better than the one he got with the jig.
By learning how to file and grind a blade by eye and hand one can get perfect alignment most every time. Sure it takes some practice and there will be some learning curve, but once those skills are learned, then you will know how to use a tool for those tasks. You will learn how to move a bevel or line one way or another if needed ... no jig can do that for you. This is why I usually suggest making your first several blades with files and sandpaper rather than on a belt grinder ( unless you are already skilled with a belt grinder).
this is EXACTLY what happened. for me it was much easier to free hand and my any adjustments easier freehand instead of messing with an eye bolt and trying to figure out what the correct angle I should us with the adjustments. then having to constantly pull the file out and readjust the eye bolt and hope it's at the right angle. I tend to stop every few minutes and cover the blade in marker. when using the jig I noticed alot of different angles and I could never really get it flat.
the main reason why I messed the blade up was frustration. I did I much better job freehand and when I was using the jig it wasn't going well so I got kinda pissed. I realized I ground the edge off my blade so I went to file it down. that was my mistake now I have a 6in practice piece. if a jig works for you, great. but it's definitely not for me.
question : how thick should the blade before HT? I had the edge at about 1mm (before jacking it up) but the belly of the blade?