Here are some pictures of many modifications I’ve made to my WEPS. I made a base out of a sheet of Micarta that a friend had given me years ago; it is great stuff for the application allowing holes to be drilled and tapped.
- I mounted swivel feet with 3/8-16 setscrews through the base which allows me to adjust for blade offset and uneven surfaces from the top using an Allen wrench. The swivel feet are from Essentra Components part# L-0SS.
- I tapped the jaw riser 14-20 for Ram ball hardware and when I needed extra length I made a slotted adapter for the rear. More tapped holes and adapters are sure to follow. The Ram mounts and end balls can be configured in a myriad of ways. The first idea was a bump stop to keep me from overshooting the tip and to add a small measure of safety at least a relatively large visual device near the end of the tip. If you are considering using Ram mount hardware, most of the male threaded ball ends are aluminum, a better way is to buy the female threaded ones and use stainless setscrews. I thought I was clever and cut one of the dumbbell double ball adapters in two and tapped the cut ends; it wasn’t worth the effort.
- I couldn’t find what I wanted in an auxiliary clamp and the machinist’s clamps I had were too hard to drill and tap. So I made the setup that is pictured; it has way more holes tapped than necessary, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. If I knew what type of steel it is, I’d send it for heat treat having had bad luck with warping doing it myself. It is longer than necessary and the tightening screws could be closer together to make a more compact unit. The rigidity it gives on a flexible blade is amazing. The Ram mount is off center, hence the slot in the rear added mounting angle.
The long slicing knife pictured is used to cut the domed center off of cake layers when my wife bakes cakes. I get the honors of slicing the cake tops and also get the remainder, so it all works out. The little flag of blue masking tape is my limit marker; I sharpened it in 2 steps overlapped by about 2 inches. - A dual head LED music light available from amazon is in some of the pictures. I really like it as it illuminates both sides at once and minimizes shadows. I’m working on a better stand for it and maybe make the wire plug into the bottom or side so I can lay the rods between the two goosenecks when inserting a knife into the vise.
- I was frustrated with the width of the angle cube and grabbed a 3/8” square lathe bit out of my tool box; so far I haven’t found anything better at getting a reading on the bevel of a knife or to line up on the narrow flat near the handle.
- I included a picture of the smallest pocket knife I have rigged up in the Tormek small knife holder. I had to wrap it with several layers of chamois so it would tighten. For small knives, it can’t be beat. Maybe Clay should sell them.
- Several posts show using masking tape on one of the paddles to mark the edge location; I’ve found that a simple pencil mark on the diamond stone is faster, safer and a little graphite won’t hurt the diamond stone as much as residual mastic may.
