Curious

[woodrat]

What do you use to sharpen you chisels and plane blades? :dontknow:


Thanks,

 

[Bas]

WorkSharp 3000. For anything that's too wide, sandpaper/ scary sharp.

 

[Sandy Rose]

I only use the sandpaper method...I put this together few months ago - it's just plate glass secured to 3/4" MDF with 6 different grit sandpaper from 120 - 1500 grit. The paper is just spray-adhesived to the glass. It works really well.

 

[Mike Davis]

I use the sand paper for regular maintenance.

When I buy a new one or pick one up at a sale then it usually needs major work and that takes a belt sander or a diamond plate.

 

[Don Sorensen]

I use a WorkSharp 3000 to sharpen my tools, too. Well, mostly my friends' tools. Before that I didn't realize my tools weren't sharp.

And if I haven't said it lately, thank you again Steve for the picnic and the door prize.

 

[woodrat]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Question for the ones that use sandpaper...what do you
use as a way to hold the angle correctly? :icon_scra

Thanks,

 

[Tarhead]

I use a high speed grinder and artificial (Ceramic?) waterstones.

I used scary sharp for a long time until I read a article in FWW #198 May-June 2008 by Joel Moscowitz. Now I get better, faster, less expensive (in the long run) results using a high speed grinder to establish the initial bevel followed by honing on artificial Japanese waterstones. I grind the initial bevel with a blue 60 grit wheel followed by a pink 120 grit wheel and then work through 1000, 5000 and 8000 'Superstones'
( http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/...op&Product_Code=MS-SSWAT.XX&Category_Code=THW )
without a guide. The wheels are dressed with a diamond multipoint wheel dresser and are crowned (like a bicycle tire), This crown allows only a small section of the blade touching at any time and won't overheat the steel using Joel's technique. The Superstones are pretty fuss free and don't need pre-soaking and constant leveling just a spritz of water from an old Windex spraybottle.

 

[LeftyTom]

I use scary/sharp method, as illustrated above. :thumbs_up

 

[JimReed2160]

Well, to start with, I sharpen over 1,000 blades/cutters a year. Speed is essential for me. I use a Norton pink wheel (fine, I think) on a high speed grinder & keep a Cool Whip tub of water on the stand for constant dunking. Then I use 220 aluminum oxide paper on a marble floor tile, followed by 400. The paper is not glued down because I change it too frequently. Does not seem to make a difference. I also do this freehanded and rarely spend more than 3 min per blade. They end up sharp enough to shave with.

Practice should help you develop a feel for proper angle and should also help you develop a technique for consistency. I like long diagonal swipes on the paper. One or two swipes raises a wire that a short back rub will remove. Works for me. I graduated from a Tormek which taught me what a sharp edge looked like. These days I hardly use the old T.

 

[Gofor]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Question for the ones that use sandpaper...what do you
use as a way to hold the angle correctly? :icon_scra

Thanks,

I started out using a carriage bolt with washers and wing-nuts for my plane irons (bolt head on the surface going through the slot on the blade with a wingnut and washer on both top and bottom of blade). This allowed me to adjust to whatever angle I wanted. I still use this method for my scrub plane irons, as it allows me to get a consistent bevel on a radical radius. For my chisels I was using a homemade clamp made from a marine antenna mount made to clamp on a bow rail.

I am now primarily using a $15 empire type guide (the sides clamp the blade or chisel and it has a fairly narrow roller underneath) I bought at Klingspor's.

For my flat spokeshave blade, and for some scraper blades that are too short to use the empire, I just use vise-grips.

However, the next time I am at Klingspor's, I will be buying the Veritas, as it looks much better suited for the plane irons and wider chisels.

HTH

Go

 

[woodrat]

I appreciate all the good help and advice.

I need to get out my old Stanley (about 30 years old)
and spruce it up for working with. Never sharpened one
before.

Thank you again for all the help.

 

[Makinsawdust]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Question for the ones that use sandpaper...what do you
use as a way to hold the angle correctly? :icon_scra

Thanks,

I use scary sharp/sandpaper and I use the Veritas honing guide to hold the angle.
Rob

 

[Ken Massingale]

Worksharp 3000

 

[Threejs]

When sharpening a new blade I start with sand paper, and flatten it. I then work my way up through finer grits till I get to my japanese water stones.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=33026&cat=1,43072,43071