Arms loosening up
- This topic has 11 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12/31/2016 at 2:12 pm by
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I don’t use the detents any more. I think quite a few of us have turned the bar over so that the flat side of the bar is facing toward you when you are in your sharpening position. You would then have to flatten the screw tip. Some of us have used these to replace the supplied screws. They are so much nicer.
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Like Pinkfloyd, I have turned my bar around and no longer use the detents. And like many others here, I have replaced the holding screw with a quick-clamp. If you use the Variable Stone Thickness adapter (affectionately known as “SWAT”), using the quick-clamp can eliminate the need for the micro-adjusts, although I choose to use the micro-adjusts. Just this week I found the need to use both: I was doing a batch of six identical chef’s knives (modified to a thinner shoulder dimension). I sharpened each with a 17 dps polished main bevel, then added a 20 dps micro-bevel. To simplify the process, I set my VSTA’s to the 17 dps position, to which I worked my way from 400 to 1000, then polished the bevel with 6 and 3 micron film. Having achieved a good, polished bevel, I moved the rod supports three degree marks outboard for the micro-bevel. Having completed the knife, I used the quick-clamp to re-reference the rod supports back to the VSTA’s for the next knife. Works really well. Here’s a pic of my Gen 3 (upgraded) setup.
A quick bit of advise: If you’re considering turning your degree bar around, take care to grind the end of the locking screw flat and square. It will hold position better and reduce any movement as you tighten the screw.
Attached jpeg is exactly what I ordered if you want Stainless Steel. The stud was way too long (Lg measurement), so I had to cut with a Dremel and then clean and file the end flat. Go with a shorter Lg measurement.
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Tom, I have tried the VSTA’s and was not happy with the performance of them. I would use them on stone changes to set arms, then would use angle cube to check. Sometimes there would be a .75 deg difference from original set point. So I stopped using and use angle cube after each stone change. Takes longer for sure.
Doesn’t sound right… If I measure the angle before and after setting my VSTA’s, I’m always within about a tenth of a degree. Never as high as two tenths. I did a brute-force test once, checking the angle for every one of my stones multiple (10) times to get an idea of how accurate they were. If I recall correctly, every stone adjustment fell within about 1.2 tenths of the VSTA set angle. I’ll try to resurrect that data.
Question: Do you see the VSTA skewing as you tighten the screw? (Could be that the square hole isn’t “square” to the face of the VSTA)
I developed a technique for using the VSTA’s and WE used it as a basis for their instructions, but there were a couple of details that were changed.
For me, using the VSTA’s is much faster than using the AngleCube, but that’s entirely based on my confidence in them. Clearly, it doesn’t work for you. If you’ve watched my USB microscope video, you’ll get an idea of how much time I use to set the micro-adjusts to the VSTA’s.
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Wayne,
The shortest stud length is 9/16″ and that is what I ordered first, I still cut some off. Others would probably be ok with that length without cutting.
Attached is non Stainless Steel, 9/16″ stud which is cheaper.
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