If you are using the Oneway Wolverine sharpening system to grind your detail, spindle, roughing gouges, and skews, the V-arm setup can be a bit of a fussy process of trial, eyeballing, retrying, and readjusting multiple times to reproduce a given bevel angle. When I finally had wasted enough time adjusting the V-arm to a different length for each and every turning tool, I came up with some simple, accurate story sticks. They let me position the arm quickly to exactly the right setting.

Make a series of thin sticks mitered at one end. After adjusting the V-arm for a given tool, place a stick in the pocket and, without altering the V-arm’s length, cut the other end to length so that it just touches the closest point on the wheel. Finally, label each stick to its companion tool and store it close to the grinder. Once in a while I have to shorten the end of the story stick as the tool is worn away over time.

click to enlarge

Jim Richey

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Honing Compound

This honing compound is great for loading into a buffing wheel and polishing an assortment of metals.

Buy at Amazon

Double Sided Tape

A thin woven core makes XFasten tape strong yet not too thick (0.008 in.), and helps it hold powerfully without being difficult to peel off.

Buy at Amazon