Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey there OLFers,
Im pretty impressed with my new system... So I figured Id share my impressions with you all....
I was really disappointed with my Veritas MkII honing guide I bought, and found out that the machining was off eventually -
I found a way to determine the correct honing angle in the end but it didnt work the way it was supposed to however, which as I said previously
>was disappointing..
I wasnt ready to write off Veritas as a brand however, and I figure it was just an anomoly and not an indication of thier overall quality - since Id heard so much about them in a positive vein...
So I placed a little order with Lee Valley, and they were pretty great - they sent it COD for only $6 charge and only $12 or so for shipping which is pretty great considering it weighed nearly 30Lbs,,,
Learning to sharpen was a bit daunting at first but I was persistent and learned to sharpen by hand and freehand,,,, and I started getting not bad -
Well the funny thing about getting better at sharpening however is that I started getting alot more sharpening tasks - like the wifes gardening tools and such,,, :)
Anyhow I wanted a step up in sharpening equipment, and got the Veritas power sharpening system -
It is very nice indeed!
And I couldnt help getting the miniature rosewood planes they offer - I figure that they will come in handy for brace work,,,, I believe I have heard other mention they work well in this way.
.. I have a feeling my sharpening chores will be alot easier now.


And the planes,,,


I got the extra grit pads they offer and a couple extra platters for easier run throughs,,,
Thanks for looking and sharing my tool joy!
Cheers
Charlie

I need something like that. My carpal tunnel kills me when i hand sharpen.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

Very cool new toy Charlie!
I would love to get one of these, Soon.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Nice score Charlie!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Nice score Charlie, I to found my first Veritas Mk2 was "off" as well, especially when switched over to cut the micro bevel. It would angle the grind so as to skew the edge quite badly. I bought this issue to the attention of the local distributor who agreed that this was a known problem with an early run of this tool. The jig was replaced with a new unit at no cost for product or freight and that replacement works extremely well.

The result is that not only am I very happy with the results of using the Mk2 in conjunction with my sheet of 10mm glass and abrasive sheets, but I will also continue to buy and recommend Veritas products confidence in the knowlege that not only are they of superior quality to most. But also comforted by the fact that should a problem arise, this company will acknowledge that problem and take immediate steps to rectify it in order to maintain their well deserved reputation.

It just does not get any better than that IMHO.

Cheers

Kim

Way cool Charlie. Good for you.

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Aoibeann

I got one last year and am enjoying nice sharp tool as well!!! Congrats

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

[QUOTE=larkim] Nice score Charlie, I to found my first Veritas Mk2 was "off" as well, especially when switched over to cut the micro bevel. It would angle the grind so as to skew the edge quite badly. I bought this issue to the attention of the local distributor who agreed that this was a known problem with an early run of this tool. The jig was replaced with a new unit at no cost for product or freight and that replacement works extremely well.

The result is that not only am I very happy with the results of using the Mk2 in conjunction with my sheet of 10mm glass and abrasive sheets, but I will also continue to buy and recommend Veritas products confidence in the knowlege that not only are they of superior quality to most. But also comforted by the fact that should a problem arise, this company will acknowledge that problem and take immediate steps to rectify it in order to maintain their well deserved reputation.

It just does not get any better than that IMHO.

Cheers

Kim[/QUOTE]

Kim,
Boy I sure wish that I had the same experience as you - I still have the messed up one,,, when I brought it up with Veritas they kept sending me information sheets, and trying to problem shoot it - the problem was however that it needed to be shot!
Anyway no refund or replacememnt unit, but with this "odd angle.pdf" they sent me I was able to correct the misalignment....
I would like to have a working MkII... mabye Ill try and get someone at Veritas who gives two bits on the phone...
Im not sure but I think that it was John How who was telling me that he also had a problem with his MkII guide!!!
This Veritas Power Sharpening System is pretty great from my limited experience with it, however.
Thanks for the responses!
Cheers
Charlie

Todd
Im sorry I didnt mean to bash Veritas,,, but between my praise for the Power System and my disappointed comments on the MkII honing guide, I guess it evens out,,,
I dont want anyone to think I have any bad feelings towards Veritas, however I just dont think that I could ever really get anyone on the phone there - who could "really" help me with my problem,,,
and when someone on a customer help line cant help - they often give you the advice they think is the best help they can give - sadly its often no help at all....

Thanks Todd, you are the voice of reason often enough here... I will think twice before I comment on a person or product..
Of all the luthier sites out there - the OLF is by far still the best mannered of them all... and a great place to learn.. thanks to people like you Todd.
Cheers
Charlie

UPDATE
Well I fooled around with the system all day yesterday... I must say, everything that is stated in the literature about this machine is absolutely true!! Its exceedingly easy, its accurate and its super FAST!!!
Wow man-o-man...... what takes a long time on my various stones goes pretty quick with the Veritas Power System... as a matter of fact 3 seconds on the micro bevel grit was too long and I ended up putting nearly 1/8" of one on... I had to back track and redo the previous bevel grit, and then reapply the micro bevel again.
All in all - although a pricy unit, this will definitely ensure more time working with my tools and less time working on them!
I was planning on trying my hand at building something akin to this, and in reality if the motor I had in mind was a little tougher in the h.p. dept I might have been able to give it a shot,,,
But thankfully the $$$ to buy one came my way... enabling me to simply lay out on it,,, and spend more time working on the shop and preparing to get going building,,,
Id definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to minimize thier sharpening tasks.... and doesnt mind spending that extra bit of cash for a quality tool...
I had seen alot of similar/imitator disk style sharpening units at my local House of Tools store,,, all brands I hadnt heard of....
but I couldnt be sure if they were as high quality as the Veritas, so I went with the mark of quality,,,,
Hopefully this will help anyone who was/is thinking of buying one of these,,,
Cheers
Charlie