veiners

[Guest]

I am having problems with the v tools or veiners, I don't know what it is, but they seem to plow on me and chip more than cut, even new out of the box, I have stropped until they shine like a mirror...but still the same, I must be doing something wrong...the round bottom palm carvers cut just fine??

[Nancy_G]

maybe 4 V tools.

[AlArchie]

Re: veiners

I've found 'V' tools a little difficult to get used to, but once ya get the hang of them, they work fine. One quirk, that I'v found is that MOST v tools are beveled on the outside edge, and therefore need to be applied a little steeper than is comfortable. There are some Japanese 'v's' that are beveled on the inside, and would allow a shallower approach to your cut. I'm going to order one or twp of those and try them out.

Nancy may have a point there, too about the hook on the tip of the 'V'. A couple other things to check are that the ends are square with the shank, and don't taper either forward or to the rear (handle end), and that the bevels meet at exactly the point of the V. It may be off to one side and thus cause you to have to push the gouge around the cut instead of through it. (hope that made sense to you; it did to me, but I was writing what I meant and you have to figure out if I meant what I wrote?????!!!!!)

Al

[Guest]

Re: veiners

Hi Ho,
If it has a V shape, it is called a V-parting tool, if it has a U shape, it is called a Veiner.
Originally, veiners were used to add veins to carved foliage, and may have been V or U shaped.

Most likely the problem with your tool is the 'heel' of the V needs to be taken down slightly. It is the rounded part on the underside of the tool. Another problem I see often is a double bevel on V-parting tools. Usually factory applied to create a sharp edge while avoiding problems such as a point or gap in the apex of the V.

I can give you two pieces of advice that will improve your success in sharpening V-parting tools.
First, is to use good magnification when sharpening them.
Second and most important, when you feel you have a good sharp tool, jab it into a board a couple times (cross grain), then look at it again under magnification. This will show the actual profile of the cutting edge; good or bad.
Oh, one last thing, when it looks sharp and has a good cutting edge, buff it lightly. It can make all the difference in the world.
Best of luck, Rick

[ibrewalot]

Re: veiners

For me, the only way I'm going to get a v-tool or a small gouge/veiner sharp enough to slice is to power strop. I've certainly messed up the bevel on several trying to sharpen them with a stone and all I've ever done is shorten both my tool and my patience. I recently went to a club that had a power strop (grinder with just buffing wheels, no grinding disk) and one of the guys there showed me how easy it was to get them to slice smoothly again. I ordered my grinder today (Christmas gift certificates to Woodcraft have begun to make their way to my mailbox!) so hopefully my dull v-tool and veiner days are over. You might try borrowing a turn on someone's first before you fork out the bucks, just to make sure that's the problem, but I used to have the same wood-crushing luck with 'em and power stropping fixed it for me.

Good luck,
Brian

[FatEddy]

Re: veiners

This is not the 'right' way to do it, but it works for me on small tools. Do as Rick advises and get good light and magnification (I use one of those flourescents with a mag. glass) then hold the tool steady and move the stone. Easy does it. Patience.

[Guest]

Re: veiners

OK thanks folks, I will try some of these ideas and see what happens.....

[Guest]

Re: veiners

Well I listened to everyone and then proceeded to run the tools on an 8000 stone and strop and on one, there was a point on the tip of the v, on the other, one side was different, so just sat there and 'patiently' honed and stropped...they do work much much better tho....thanks folks!

[Guest]

[jimmo2]

Re: veiners

I know this is not the correct way to do it but most of the time I cut a goove with a beveled straight gouge first. You could use a knife but the gouge is thicker and helps a lot when you redo with your v tool. I know there are times when this is not practical but it has saved me several times. Especially if it is a long groove. But by all means the v-tool should be as sharp as possible. It also helps me keep a straigh line if necessary. Anyway it sometimes works for me.

[Guest]

Re: veiners

I have only found one V-tool I couldn't sharpen; not that I didn't give it a good try. I spent nearly two hours in the attempt.
I had taken the job of sharpening tools for a large seminar in Montana. That week I must have sharpened 250+ tools; including barber shears, ice chisels, and a paper cutter.

I can usually sharpen anything that is handed to me, but that one V-tool was a special case. I estimate 75 percent of the tools I sharpened that week were V-tools.
That figures out to 186 V-tools I sharpened, and one that I didn't. Funny thing about it, I own the same tool and have shapened it many times.

I decided to return the tool and the $2.00 and accept defeat.