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Carving Jig

George I tried to get it last year and was not able to find anyone. I called their store and asked about shipping and kind of felt from the response they really didn't want to mess with it and it was expensive. I ended up witht he Trent Bosch clamp and have been happy so far, but I would have really liked to have tried the McNaughton.
Bill
 
One is also available from Best Wood Tools.....

I just saw and played with the Trent Bosch carving stand at the Symposium, and it looks like an excellent tool. I REALLY like his air-clamped ball mount carving support and some day hope to get one, but it's a bit too rich for my blood right now (....in the college tuition payment season).

A few years back I bought the Articulated Carving and Finishing Post from best Wood Tools, and it has worked very well for me. Nicely built and quite versatile.

Have a look at it HERE.

Hope this helps,

Rob
 
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George, carving jigs are like other wood working tools, it depends upon how frustrated you will become with one that is cheaper, but doesn't do what you want.

After spending years using and playing around with carving jigs I found a few very important things.
1. if it fits into the banjo, instead of the toolrest, it will generally be too high ( once the work and chuck is fitted) unless it can be fitted up from underneath the banjo.
2. most only move in a limited range of axis, which can become very annoying when trying to move the piece to the best angle. which is why the 'better' designs opt for a ball. HOWEVER
3. generally the ball designs are limited in their travel, and cant go upside down.

You probably noticed that the Kelton has overcome all of these issues. You really have to use one to know the differences.

I hope this helps.
 
Again, thanks to all who responded. I truly appreciate the feedback from those who have used the various vices, jigs, clamps or posts. It seems like every manufacturer wants their own unique name.

I decided to go with the unit from Best Wood Tools; it looked like the best bang for my buck and besides it was on sale with $30 off. How can you beat that? :D

George
 
I wish I saw this thread earlier......and you might, too

Hi George

I ordered the Kelton Carving Jig after getting a good look at it at the Symposium in St. Paul last weekend. It's shipping here (I live in NH), so haven't received it yet.

I bought the Best Wood Tools carving jig 6-8 years ago, when it was the first and only one on the market. I see from Rob Wallace's link that they've made some improvements to it, such as longer handles. Once a block of hardwood goes in, and you drop it 90 degrees, the weight tends to torque those handles even more. I had to use an 8" section of pipe over the handles to get enough torque to loosen it every time I needed to move the piece. Don't know if they've made the handles long enough - but I guess you can tell us, right? :)

What it doesn't appear that they've done is offset the mounting arbor (the screw where you thread your chuck). Eventually the two handles interfere with each other while you're rotating your work, and it becomes a PIA. Like someone posted earlier, eventually you discover the shortcomings if you use it a lot.

I looked at the Trent Bosch, and wish I could afford his pneumatic carving base, but it wasn't in my wallet (or even in my credit card limit right now). I liked his single handle offset system, but the Kelton had more versatility available. I often use my lathe, my bench mounted carving vises and my Triton Super Jaws to hold my pieces when carving. The Kelton and acccessories gives me all those options. I also considered the Woodfast, but not having an opportunity to actually see/use one was a downside.

I have several pieces that are awaiting delivery of my Kelton carving jig, and I will be putting it through several tests over the next couple of months. Stay tuned, and I'll offer my honest opinion.
 
I have the Bestwoodtools stand. It does come with a holder for the workbench so I can use the lathe banjo or the one I have on the carving bench. The two levers are good and bad. As Donna said every once in a while the two handles get too close together and you have to kind of back up to make them release. Also for some repositioning it takes loosening both knobs.
On the plus side. for some carving it's really nice to be able to lock the angle and just rotate the piece using the rotating lever. A good example of this is carving repetitive patterns on the rim. I can lock the rim at a good angle and then just rotate it. That's harder to do with a single lever.
I also am a fan of the pneumatic holder but as the others have said it is out of my price range.
 
Donna, I am sure you will find the Kelton a very versatile unit.
One suggestion. The main jig is deliberately mounted on a hexagon bar, so it can be held in a banjo, vise, Superjaws etc in various angles, without the need for a bench/lathe mount.
If you happened to also order the bench/lathe bed mount?? You may find that the 'best' position (out of an almost endless range of positions) is one where the hexagonal bar is held in the bench mount so that the work can be facing upward BUT can be rotated upside down in one single action. Wow! A feature that is not always needed but makes life very easy.
When I first found this nice 'sweat spot' I thought there is nothing like it (at least nothing I have seen yet)

I first patented my original carving jig almost 10 years ago and have made quite a few over the years, so it takes a lot to impress me. My original jigs now collect rust.
 
Hi Glenn

I did order the additonal bench/lathe bed mount, because of the versatility of options it gave me. And like (I think it was you) mentioned, a jig that mounts in the top of the banjo, at tool rest height, is too high for carving. I frequently had to stand on a 2-step ladder for some of the carving. That's not the safest way to be using a very sharp and dangerous tool.

Now where is that UPS driver????? :D
 
Just thought I'd throw another option into the ring...

I had the Bosch for a few years but didn't like the single lever action for both angle and rotation. I needed two hands to adjust the rotation so that the piece didn't flop over - and that meant putting down the sander/carver to adjust the piece. Tiresome and interfered with the Zen of sanding.

The Bosch got sold and I replaced it with the Woodcut Pro-mount. The angle is secured with the large inner handle and the rotation is secured with the small outside handle. Rotating is a one-handed affair now with no worries the piece will flop over unexpectedly. I recently added a vacuum hookup and I'm more pleased than ever with the Pro-Mount.

Pro-Mount @ Packard
 

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Donna, I appreciate your input, but for the price difference I just could not justify the Kelton at this time; $387 vs $119. Best Wood Tools had an additional 15% off when I ordered. I have no doubt that the Kelton is one fine jig, but at this time any work holding device is a big step ahead of where I was and the difference will buy me a carving tool or two.

George
 
I Understand Completely, George

I frequently started with the smaller, reasonably priced tools myself; I never knew if it was something I would really love. I upgraded when they either burned up and out because it wasn't intended for that use/abuse, or the number of times that I used it justified the expense of upgrading.

The Best Wood Tools carving jig is absolutely better than not having a way to hold your work for carving, because that's what it does. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new tool.
 
I'd like to see a jig with both benefits. On ball axis what when released would let you move the piece any way you want. A second one on the end of this that would allow only rotation. The bowling ball carving stand I plan to make one of these days will have both. of course it will be much larger but it's something I can build myself. I have planned to make it free standing so you could walk around the piece while working but my shop is getting too crowded.
 
George Clark;77357I have no doubt that the Kelton is one fine jig said:
George, wish I had read this thread earlier. I would have sold you my Best Wood vise cheap! Very dissatisfied. I needed a mallet or a pipe to tighten it enough so that it would not give way if using a chisel and mallet (very dangerous situation), then it was worth my life to get it loose. The handles get in the way of each other. I am now awaiting delivery of my Kelton Carver's Jig. A friend got his today and I checked it out. This is the LAST vise I will buy.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, but unlike many of us, you have the capability of building just about ANYTHING Hugie! :D Actually I don't think the price is really over the top when you compare it to other jigs out there and the prices charged for inferior products.
 
Its easier than you think

But this jig is not hard to replicate, in fact its quite simple. OK you will need access to a lathe and a welder or a tame machinst. :)

But the ball is a tow ball :D with a small amount of turning to reduce the neck area. The threaded portion is from an chinese chuck insert that was hopelessly out of true,[ :mad: mutter-mutter ] that has been welded on to the tow ball. Actually any sort of welder will do. TIG, MIG, Arc or stick and at a pinch gas weld, and you could probably braze it on as well.
The rest is flat bar with holes drilled into it, plus 4 pieces of 3/8 steel tube to space top plate from the bottom. The locking thread could easily be long bolt, with the head pushing up against the ball. CA a couple of nuts the other end to tighten it up and your done.

Maybe I should write some of these ideas up somewheres
 
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I have been using the Best Wood Tools carving jig for a couple of years and have grown to hate it. The issues that have been mentioned earlier, the handles interfering with each other and the sudden release of the vertical axis with catastrophic results, have got to the point that I am ready to replace it. The trouble is that I have not found a replacement that looks like a good alternative. There are too many times that I lock up the vertical axis and rotate the unit at the base, mounted to a bench, and/or around the spindle axis. Is there a unit that I should be looking at?
 
I just did a search for Carving Vice. Lee Valley sells the Veritas Vice which looks very nice and all of their stuff is high quality. Grizzly also has one that uses one lever. Rockler sells one but not sure I like that one.
 
John, Thank you for the information. I have variety of Veritas stuff and it is all top quality and a pleasure to use. The vise does not look to have a threaded spindle that you can use with a chuck. The vise that seems to be the closest to what I want is the Woodcut pro Mount. I have a old Wilton vise with a 1 1/4 x 8 threaded stub that was given to me, for free, that has a ball and socket type mechanism. I am going to see if my friend can modify it to do what I want.
 
I’ve been using the Woodcut Pro Mount for about 5 years - with chucks, faceplates and vacuum setup. It has worked great in all cases. The two handles are easy to confuse (probably due to senior moments and only occasional use), but work fine and hold securely. Reasonably priced, works with the banjo or on the bench mount although I use it nearly exclusively with the bench mount. Good unit for the price...
 
Ended up modifying my Wilton vise. Got lucky and found that the shaft on the vise and the head of the Best Wood Tools vise bolted together with no modifications. My brief trial looks very encouraging, it seems to do everything that I was looking for.
 

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