The tilting-platform jig is the cheapest and most versatile jig and potentially by far the quickest to set. Darlow templates allow the jig to be set in less than 10 seconds. The version of the tilting-platform jig called the Darlow grinding jig shown here has the following features:

  • If used with an aluminium-oxide wheel, its tilt can be set accurately within ten seconds with a Darlow template whatever the grinding-wheel diameter
  • It can be used for any tool. Despite the popularity of pivoting jigs, the reality is that the only tool they’re well-suited to grind is the swept-back bowl gouge
  • If used with a CBN wheel, once the setting for each tool is noted, the platform tilt for that tool can be set to within half a degree within ten seconds without using a template
  • It can be used for long or short tools, and the length of tool support can be adjusted
  • The jig is patented, but so far no manufacturer has been appointed.

The jig setting on the radial scale is here not the same as the bevel angle because the thicker the tool blade for a particular setting, the smaller is the bevel angle ground

A prototype Darlow grinding template. A manufactured one could be made far more economically

Grinding a long-bladed scraper. The adjustable blade-support has been moved to the right to make the platform effectively longer. The tilt has been set to 67.5. Note this is the setting which gives a 70-degree sharpening angle with a blade 8-mm-thick

Grinding a short-bladed skew to a bevel angle of 12.5 degrees. The appropriate jig setting is 18. The adjustable blade-support has been moved to the left to shorten the platform’s effective length