Make Your Own Woodturning Tool Sharpening System Modeled After the Oneway Sharpening System

I thought I write this article about making your own sharpening system for woodturning tools because I know many new woodturnings cannot afford to go out and buy a sharpening system like the Wolverine Oneway sharpening system. It’s gonna cost you between $100 and $150 to purchase the system and you just don’t have the case. So, there are solutions and there are plans and videos that will show you how to make a sharpening system for your woodturnig tools that is similiar to the Oneway sharpening system and I thought I would put together some videos and pdf’s to help you ….then, I think I am going to set up one of these systems on an old water wheel grind I have.

I have the Wolverine Oneway sharpening jig and although its taken me some time to perfect my sharpening technique, I love this woodturning tool sharpening system.

I have my wolverine sharpening system set up on one grinder but I thought I would like to make a dedicated grinder out of an old harbor freight wet wheel grinder that is kind of a Tormek take off. The benefit is that the wet wheel turns very slow and will take off very little steel when sharpening your woodturning tools.

I really didn’t want to buy another Wolverine Sharpening System ….although I would in a second if I had the cash but I don’t….. so I thought I would try making a system and tool holder since I’ve watched a handful of videos on guys making a sharpening system that essentially is a take off or duplicate of the Oneway sharpening system but made of wood ….and in some cases steel ….but, I’m going to make mine of wood.

Make Your Own
Woodturning Sharpening Tools

I have to admit, I almost enjoy making the different tools and jigs for my woodturning habit as much as I like turning wood. There is something so very satisfying in making your own wooddturing tools and jigs….at least for me.

Cap’n Eddie video on making a duplicate of the vari-grind jig was one of the first videos I was exposed to for making your own sharpening tools. He has some great videos on making the holder, the varigrind and how to use it. He also sells the components on his website for making the system yourself ….at least he did ….I’ll have to go back and see if I can dig up some of those old videos he did. Note to self, look up Eddie Castelin’s sharpening videos 🙂 You can see Capn’ Eddie’s $2 Dollar Sharpening Jig ….click on the link 🙂

Al Furtado also did at least one video on how to make a Oneway copy ….or he might have called it an Ellsworth tool or tool for grinding an Ellsworth grind …..I’ll dig up that video or post also https://youtu.be/j9Cm8kjfsVQ

New Video On Making Your
Own Oneway Sharpening Jig

One of the first things I think you should do is watch Doug Thompsons video on sharpening your woodturing tools https://youtu.be/ttYyulsM7wg

this will give you an idea of what sharpening is all about and might help you if you have problems sharpening your woodturning tools.

Make a Wood Turning/Grinder
Sharpening Jig for $12!

Here’s a video on making the sharpening jig from plywood, no need to know how to weld or work with metal ….his name is Paul Jenkins and I believe that is his youtube channel also. He walks you through a simple build for a sharpening jig base and explains the how’s and why’s ….I thought it was a pretty good video https://youtu.be/Ws_JoC4BXOQ

Here is a link to a pdf for dimensions and instructions http://stwt.org/pdf/king%20heiple%20sharp%20jig.pdf I will also put this in the “File” section of our facebook group at Wood Turng Basics. He shows a very basic but functional vari-grind jig for holding your woodturing tools.http://stwt.org/pdf/king%20heiple%20sharp%20jig.pdf

Making a HOMEMADE
Wolverine Sharpening System!

Watch this young man make a very simple version of the Wolverine Sharpening System. It’s super simple and although it is probably focuses on sharpening simple roughing gouges and parting tools ….if you use your imagination you can see how you can use it with the vari-grind tool to sharpen your bowl gouges. https://youtu.be/Ph0EwjQrurY

Copy of Vari-grind Jig

Both Cap’n Eddie and Al Furtado show us how to build a tool similar to the varigrind for next to nothing. It can work with the platform in the above paragraph.

Marius Hornbuerger shows us how to make a really nice version of the vari-grind tool holder by video https://youtu.be/sfmIv0iXjis

and also gives us a copy of of the plans he uses, actually templates that you glue to your plywood and cut out…..doesn’t get much simpler.

Shop Made Ellsworth Grinding Jig

This guy basically copied Capn’ Eddies Ellsworth Sharpening Jig and he does give Capn’ Eddie credit in his description but it is a decent video and shows you how to make the vari-grind type jig so you can sharpen your bowl gouges https://youtu.be/ir2hlwVr84M

and he has some decent tutorials with pictures at https://www.instructables.com/id/Sharpening-Jig-for-Woodturning-Gouges/

How To Sharpen a Turning Tool
Without a Grinder

Maybe you don’t have a grinder or you’re just hard core and want to keep things really simple here’s a quick lesson on sharpening without a grinder ….how to use some diamond sharpeners by hand to keep an edge on your tools. Its a little hard core for me but he does explain the basics of sharpening which can be applied to just about any type of sharpening when it comes to sharpening your woodturning tools or any woodworking tools https://youtu.be/9kkI7iHL-Nc

Wolverine Oneway Sharpening
System Setup Guides

Below you’ll find the pdf setup guides for the Oneway sharpening jig that come with the package. You’ll find these useful when trying to understand the theory and application for sharpening your woodturning tools.

The Oneway Vari-grind Jig Setup and Use